A Bleak Day in the Maniototo

It's been a very wet day everywhere in the South Island, and we've not been spared in the Maniototo.

This shot, at this well known Rabbiter's Cottage Shearer's Quarters at the foot of the Hawkduns, was far from pleasant - the rain horizontal, the wind stinging in its bitterness. Just to make it a bit more miserable I got my feet wet in this little burn that drains from the property. But still, even in this weather, the landscape is stunning - well, what you can see of it of course!

Eventually we ended up in Gilchrist's General Store in Oturehua, hiding from the elements amongst the eclectic collection of old and new.

It looks like I'm going to be stuck here for the next couple of days as all but one of the routes north is blocked by flooding. The other requires 4WD vehicles and chains. No problem there, but why rush eh?