courthouse on blyth

 One last post about our trip down south....
This is the place we stayed in Central Otago.  We stayed in Clyde for almost a week.  Clyde is an old gold mining town and it had lots of old historic buildings.  The house where we stayed was the former the courthouse.

The building was beautiful and had lots of character. 

The kids loved playing in the large fenced in area and quickly discovered ripe white nectarines growing on the vines.  

The building has been beautifully restored.  The kitchen counter is right where the old judge's table sat.

The old jail cel has been turned into the bathroom, you can see it in the far corner.

cromwell and lake dunsten

This is just a small sampling of the amazing wildflowers we saw all over Central Otago.

The water was pretty cold but Max and Maya insisted on stripping down and getting in the water like the big kids. 

After testing out the water the kids returned to the playground before we could catch them and put clothes on them.

Old Cromwell was relocated to accommodate the Lake Dunsten Reservoir.  The result is a cute old town area that the kids loved exploring.  

bendigo ghost town

On one of the rainy days when we didn't want to wander too far from our temporary home we explored Bendigo Ghost town and ate a picnic in an old abandoned house.  (More info)

road to haast

The road to Haast had hundreds of waterfalls.  I've never seen more waterfalls in my life.  Every time I looked into a little crevice there was another waterfall.  Max and Maya learned to find them by listening for the running water.   The road passed over the narrow passage between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea and also had a view of  Mt Aspiring (another great name).

Go here for a link to short walks along the road.  http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/otago/wanaka-makarora/haast-pass-short-walks/

This photo also shows my growing baby belly.

One of our only family photos from the trip.  

Stopping for a little picnic with an amazing view.

Maya wanted to wear earrings made from cherries.

Max was a great hiker.  He ran on most of the hikes.  When I would slow down he would say "Bound with me, bound with me!"....quoting his all time favorite movie Milo and Otis (Click here and go to 5:40)