4WD Trip through Central Otago

We took part in the annual Closeburn Station 4WD trip last weekend and spent three days touring dusty back roads through Central Otago, our new backyard. Every vehicle in our caravan, after the leader, was lost in the cloud of dust churned up by the car in front. But when the dust settled and the wind was in our favor, the sights were amazing. The grasses and tussocks on the hillsides are turning brown. The landscape looks soft and muted. A few wild flowers still bloom, especially along green slopes of the lazy summer streams. Actually some of the streams were still quite deep, which we discovered trying to cross them. Strangely, the open ranch lands of Otago remind us of our old stomping grounds in Park County, Colorado. Both locales are rich with legends and ruins from their gold rush days. We spent the first night at the Vulcan hotel in St. Bathans. The Vulcan Hotel is supposedly haunted. None of the Kirkpatricks saw the ghost, but one member of our party switched rooms in the middle of the night. The second night we stayed in a nondescript motel in Omarama. The trip was a fun opportunity to get to know some of our new neighbors. In fact, they all got to know a side to Doug I don't even know! I took Colin and Liam back to motel for bed. Doug headed out to the local pub with the rest of our group (not to return to early morning). It was Karaoke Night at the pub. I learned at breakfast that Doug treated our group, and many other Kiwis, to a few songs. Unfortunately, I was snoozing back at the motel and wasn't able to recored the event.