Farmers Curse

Both the self sown lupins and the rabbits are a major threat to the livelihood of Mackenzie Basin farmers. The lupins are quickly naturalising and effectively 'eating' paddocks.

I seem to recall that in the late 1990's RCD (Rabbit Calcivirus Disease) was released (illegally) in this area of New Zealand. It did a powerful job of decimating the rabbit population. More recently the rabbits have made a come back. I saw literally dozens of them as I drove from Twizel to Tekapo this morning. I didn't bother trying to photograph them, but I did stop a number of times to photograph the lupins.

I had decided that on my way through Tekapo I was going to duck up to the observatory for a photo of Lake Alexandrina. Last time I photographed the lake it was mid-winter and it was frozen and surrounded by snow. I thought it would make an interesting contrast today to see it in summer as the countryside surrounding it browns off. Unfortunately the observatory road is closed until 9 a.m. and I was there at 7.30. I didn't wait around.

Not a bad trip home for the first half. I came the back way through Rakaia and Oxford, avoiding the main road. There was next to no traffic until I merged onto the highway at Amberley - from then on it was an exercise in frustration. Crazy busy with holiday traffic for the next 250 km.