Breakfast At Rakaia Gorge...

 I'm on  my way back to Christchurch. I've just spent a couple

of nights in the Ashburton area but left early this morning

and decided to avoid SH1 and tiki tour through Methven,

Rakaia Gorge, Hororata and call and visit a friend

on the Bealey Road near Aylesbury.

Ashburton was cold and frosty so I went seeking

some sun and ended up here...

 My view from my bus... The Rakaia River and bridge...

 Then looking further east along this huge braided river...

 I ventured out... Well wrapped up... This coat has been my

best South Island buy ever... All my layers of wool underneath,

and with wind proof/water proof leggings, two pairs of gloves,

woolen socks and boots... I'm set for anything.

 I walked to a lookout nearby... Looking west towards the

 mountains... I drove past the Mt Hutt ski field turnoff...

So snow around and more forecast tonight.

 A big over view to the east...

And of course... Collected a bag of pine cones for my fire

tonight. I'll be snug and warm.

Rakaia Gorge...

We left Hororata... Driving through the flat Canterbury Plains...

Crops growing here...

Sheep grazing... Unperturbed by the bitterly cold climate...

We got closer to the mountains... Not much snow...

And here's our next destination... The Rakaia River...

At the gorge.

On one side of the road, overlooking the river is the

Mt Hutt Lodge, close to Methven and the ski fields.

On the other side of the road is the Rakaia River with the huge

wide expanse of shingle river bed... One of the largest

braided rivers in New Zealand. 

 The Rakaia River has a mean flow of 203 cubic metres per second and 

a mean annual seven-day low flow of 87 cubic metres per second.

It rises in the Southern Alps travelling 150 kilometres in a

 generally easterly or southeasterly direction before entering the 

Pacific Ocean 50 kilometres south of Christchurch.

it is briefly confined to a narrow canyon known as the Rakaia Gorge.

The Rakaia River is bridged in two places. The busiest crossing is 

at the small town of Rakaia 20 kilometres from the river mouth, 

where State Highway 1 and the South Island Main Trunk Railway

cross the river using separate bridges. These two bridges are New 

 Zealand's longest road and rail bridges respectively,
approximately 1.75 km long. A second bridge, much shorter
and less used, spans the Rakaia Gorge.

These are the two bridges at Rakaia Gorge...

Both with a lot of history.

This concrete pole measures the water depth, of particular

 interest when in flood. You can see how the water flow has

washed away the bank and the different colours of the silt and

 stone buildup over the years.

The Rakaia River is fed by meltwater from the Lyell and Ramsay Glaciers.

There are some people in this photo that I took standing on one 

of the bridges... Puts the size of the river into perspective!

There is a small sheltered camping area with water and toilets.

I want to go back when the weather improves

and do some of these walks.

The Rakaia is also well known for Salmon and Trout fishing.

I'd like to try that! Need some lessons and a license first!

Having walked over both bridges and looked around

it was time to head for home...

Along the endless flat roads, the huge shelter belts...

In this photo if you look carefully you can see the enormous

irrigation machines that stretch the width and length of the paddocks.