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March 2004: Cromwell
During the second half of March the four girls, Leta, Ouma Leila, Lisa and Nadine went on a whirlwind trip of Central Otago. We spent 3 wonderful days travelling by car, larking about, and generally gawking at the sights.
The first stop to stretch our legs was in Alexandra, still close to home, so we did not tally too long. There we inspected the ruins of the first bridge over the Clutha river. The bridge was designed by L. D. Macgeorge and built in 1978–82 by Jeremiah Drummey. The old bridge was replaced in 1958.
The little town of Clyde lies a mere 11 kilometres north of Alexandra and is famous for its dam and for Oliver's restaurant. No, alas, we did not drop in at the restaurant on this trip. It is interesting to note how different the environment in this part of Central Otago is — very dry and rocky.
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Then it was on to Cromwell, the centre of the Otago "fruit basket". Cromwell nestles on the shore of Lake Dunstan (the mighty Clutha river flows through this lake). One of the famous icons of New Zealand is the fruit statue at the entrance to the town. The Old Cromwell Town was established around the late 1860s during the Otago gold rush period. The office of the original Cromwell Argus is well preserved and much of the old printing machinery is on display. We had lunch at the cafe run from the old "D. A. Jolly & Sons Seed & Grain Store". Since it was a beautifully sunny day we sat outside under the umbrella.
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