McKenzie Country sky

We were on the road by 12.30pm, just a quick stop at Geraldine and the next stop the famous canals. I turned around to see what was behind me and this is the sky I saw.

It is an expansive landscape with an even bigger sky

These canals carry water for the various hydro schemes in the McKenzie country and Waitaki Valleys. Over the years salmon farms have developed along the canals. The fish farm food floats down stream and there are some very large trout taken from the canals. Some salmon have escaped and have established their own population, some of them quite large too.

While perhaps not a pure form of fishing, the canals are a popular place. I don't know if there are as many fish as in the past but in the hour we were there it was quiet. Someone nearby caught a salmon and my mate a small brown trout. He offered it to me but no, sometimes it's good to give back the first of anything. Plus this girl needed the chance to feed on some that fish farm food.

It cooled off while we were there and the breeze became cool. We packed up and headed off to where we were to stay for the weekend. It's a bach but more at the bed and breakfast end rather than the outdoor toilet type-bach.

My room looked out across the road to Lake Benmore a couple of hundred metres away. How wonderful, a lake, mountains, a beautifully barren landscape and new experiences about to unfold.