20 October 2014 Monday.
After checked out from our hotel (Brydone), we drove to Steampunk HQ. This is a very unique museum.
Inside the building… complex metal cylinders and mechanism.
The most impressive part of Steampunk HQ is this light display.
On the exterior wall of building
Some flying objects…
an old fashion train…
A turbine vehicle…. fallen asleep after all the struggle.
A giant locomotive…
Overall an interesting site that offers varieties.
A stream besides Steampunk HQ.
a beautiful little garden by the stream…
Our pictures in the garden…
A close up on many colorful flowers in the garden.
wonder if this is Sakura !!!
Flowers grow very well in this country… cool and beautiful, very relaxing and wonderful place to enjoy life. We had some quick bite at Brydone. Driving on the main street of Oamaru….
We aimed to visit elephant rocks and Clay cliff before settled in at Lake Tekapo.
Outside Oamaru, it is green everywhere.
Elephant rocks is not far from Oamaru. We spent a little longer time locating the site. The signboard is not prominent. We drove pass and went further to a big cattle farm…
We stopped by and the curious animals came forward to stare at us…
Realising we were kilometers past our destinations…. we make a U turn. We noticed cars stopping by the road side and people entering a sheep farm…
we entered the sheep farm… running after the sheep.
a mixed of grass and rocky terrain…
and this one look like an owl head … not an elephant
generally the rock shows show flat top…I guessed the flat top corresponded to ground level many years ago.
and suddenly we spotted our elephant rock on the lower grassland.
zoomed in
Approaching the elephant rock and the little sheep ran away from me
Looked back at where we came from…
making our way back to our car…. from summit we could see the place is simply scenic, peaceful and relaxing.
our pictures at elephant rocks.
continue our leisure drive through scenic district…I especially love the mountain ranges hidden behind curtains of fog or mist….
A little stopover at Lake Aviemore Dam.
Took a short break by the dam.
continued with our drive…
driving along Lake Benmore.
Making another short stop at Lake Benmore…
Moving on to clay cliff.
Turning into claycliff farmland. The mountain layered like shifted / distorted unfocus images….Amazing !
It started to rain and by the time we reached Clay cliffs… the rain was fairly heavy.
These are very unique and amazing land formation….here are some close up pictures…
As the road was a little flooded and it was stated meant only for 4 wheel drive… we did not go further. We did not go between the pinnacles. Just some pictures under freezing rain water.
It was raining throughout … while we drove to Lake Tekapo Village Center
checked into Pepper Bluewater Resort
Very comfortable unit with very good view of Lake Tekapo.
It was around 1800 hrs that the rain subsided…. checking on Lake Tekapo.
People and dog having fun
We had our dinner at Mackenzies Bar and Grill. Raw meats on hot stones….the soup was very good.
End of Day 17 : It was a day we planned for places off the beaten track. Steampunk HQ offers odd varieties, while elephant rocks and Clay cliffs are special land forms… and all the scenic drive in between. This is what I love about driving tour…. mixed of local experience in farmer markets and shopping district, standard tourist attraction and sprinkled with some off the beaten track places…. enjoyable !!!!!!!!!!!!!
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