TRAVEL TALES

Finding Golden Treasure on the Old Miner’s Track

And hiking along the halfway mark between the Equator and the South Pole

Dramatic-looking clouds are zooming through the sky while gale-force winds are blowing across the golden terraces of Cromwell. The poppies are bent over backwards trying to survive the storm.

Driving every day past this hill shining in golden blooming flowers on my way to work I tell myself to come up here before the flowering season is over.

On the rare occasion of having a Sunday off (due to the wind of course), I hesitated for long unsure if I’d enjoy being up there in such conditions but decided I’d rather be out on the hill in miserable weather than inside my home on a sunny day.

Parking the car by the lake, I followed the river up the creek in search of a bridge but ended up crossing the water over a fallen log. Isn’t that enough of a bridge?

Bringing back those joys of childhood memories when balancing on anything. Such experiences should be relived by anyone capable of doing so. What’s the worst that could happen? I’d slip, get wet and head back to the car.

But focusing instead on my steps and holding onto the branches I could grab rather than thinking and worrying about what could go wrong is the key to success.

Reaching the bottom of the trail I stop at the information board to read about gold mining along this track and further up in the mountains. But this trail isn’t just about mining. It is the exact spot where the 45th parallel runs through. This is the theoretical halfway point between the Equator and the South Pole.

Unlike its northern counterpart, the 45th Southern Parallel passes mostly through open ocean (97%), only crossing Patagonia in South America and the South Island of New Zealand.

While this area receives almost 16 hours of sunshine in December, it houses sparse biodiversity due to the semi-arid and low rainfall climate with light soils which is why many small native grasses are growing here on the plateau.

“The Sugar Loaf terrace land as it is locally known, contributes values as part of the registered geo-preservation site — G41 Lowburn glacial outwash terraces. Its significance being it is the best example of fluvio-glacial outwash terraces in New Zealand. A sequence of widely spaced terraces.” — Central Otago District Council

But like everywhere else in New Zealand, introduced vegetation has spread uncontrolled and this is how the golden poppies settled on this perfect soil.

Growing up in Europe, I only ever knew of poppies being red until writer friends of mine shared pictures of these distinct cousins in my favorite color. The California Poppies were brought across the ocean by gold miners carrying the seeds from San Francisco with sand on their ships.

“As in California, the poppy likes an open and sunny environment with well-drained or dry soils. As the seed capsule browns and dries, it explodes, dispersing its seed up to two metres away. In New Zealand, it has established itself in habitats such as braided riverbeds, scree slopes and disturbed land.” — Nomadic Horizons

With new knowledge in my brain, I make my way up the well-marked and well-prepared trail without managing to walk more than a few meters at a time stopping regularly to capture every single bush of blooming poppies.

Y’all know yellow is my favorite color but on top of that, the contrast of the lush green vegetation and the deep blue of the lake are simply mesmerizing.

While most of these poppies are either golden with a darker inside or entirely orange, I did find a few white examples with yellow center petals across the hills.

Walking up the creek, I notice how wind-protected this area is as I’m getting hot climbing in altitude despite the overcast sky and chill in the air. The higher I get the more of the gale-force winds I feel until I reach the top of the plateau where a wall of air hits me straight on.

Do I regret my decision of heading out?

Certainly not.

Do I consider returning?

Definitely not.

I walk along the crest of the hill with the golden slope to my right descending to the shore of Lake Dunstan where the highway connecting Cromwell with Wanaka winds its way North.

To my left, the Pisa Mountain Range is rising steeply out of the plateau toward what is right now a bit of blue sky with few patches of snow remaining on the top.

This is where I find my writing spot. Sitting down on the bench, I face the wind as I scribble down my thoughts in the journal.

Now and then couples ascend from the lake below where several campers are parked daily. We exchange friendly greetings after which they disappear soon behind the plateau again.

I can hear birds singing high above me, but they might as well be sitting in the trees hundreds of meters ahead of me as sound travels far in this weather and open plains.

I’m taking in the views for just a little longer before continuing my walk. Unsure where it will lead, I decide against the trail descending to the lake and follow the path along the crest toward Pisa Moorings.

The golden poppies disappear for a few hundred meters, and I have the chance to inspect the native grasses and weeds all blooming at this time of the year.

Next to the weeds, some lichens catch my attention covering almost every flat rock surface atop. While they have a green/blue color, yellow dots appear from some of them looking like flowers.

Do lichens bloom? I guess they do, looking at this landscape.

Being fully exposed to the force of the wind, I feel now the real chill in the air and put on my jacket.

The trail is very narrow, and I regret only wearing my trekking sneakers instead of my hiking boots. I simply feel so vulnerable without the added protection of high shoes covering my ankles.

I often see other hikers in low trekking shoes wondering how they manage on those challenging trails but then again, I see them just as often stopping and holding their ankle. It’s just not worth the risk for me. While this trail is very easy and I’ll be fine in my sneakers, if I return to this place, I’ll definitely put on my hiking boots again.

Deciding I walked far and long enough in this dreary weather, I turn around hiking the trail along the crest with the wind in my back. Passing the 45th parallel trail marker, I head toward the end of the terrace where the slope drops down toward Lowburn and Lake Dunstan with Cromwell in the distance.

A few more minutes and I’m back down returning again across the natural bridge. I didn’t look for miner’s gold but found some of nature’s golden treasure on such a bad weather day. While taking photographs was certainly a challenge, I do not regret having gone out in this.

And one thing is for sure.

I will be back.

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