Friday, February 12, 2010

let me show you Twizel

well I truly do live in paradise

how many of you live with landscapes like this huh??

Twizel is in the McKenzie basin (so named after a famous NZ outlaw - sheep rustler), it was never supposed to be a permanent town, but sprung up whilst the hydro-electric damns and canals


were being built in the 1960's and 70's. At one time there were 10-12,000 people living here, but today only 12-1400 permanent residents, and many holiday homes and holiday makers

The area is well known for it's outdoor sports, cycling, skiing (water & snow), fishing, mountain climbing, heli-skiing, tramping and many many more outdoor activities; it is a very popular tourist destination with Mt Cook right on our doorstep, in fact this is Mt Cook from my back door step;

shame about the power lines, and my how those trees have really grown over the last few years...

this photo was taken a few years back, and from Lake Pukaki (slightly north of Twizel)


Lake Ruataniwha (Maori translation: lake of the two monsters) is a man made lake;


the engineer that was working here on the dam projects was himself a rower, and thus had the lake dredged, and a perfect rowing course put in, - needless to say when his boss man found out he was fired! ...but the lake remains and many local, regional and national rowing championships are held here every year...


Lake Ohau in the South of Twizel - great skiing in the mountains here in the winter!!

but here, let us follow this track and see where it takes us huh;

Twizel is locally known as the town of trees, when it was settled in the basin there was nothing to protect from either the winds or the strong sun, so these trees were planted 'cos they were quick growing

these trees have since become a bit of a nuisance with a lot of wilding pines, larch, silver birch ...


and rowan tree seedlings popping up absolutely everywhere; and pine cones galore....look at these marvellous bright red berries from the rowan,

and the wonderful flower from the flax

now that track takes along the banks of the Twizel river, if we continue along here we come to Mt Cook seat, where - yep you guessed it, another beautiful view of Mt Cook - somewhere along here the local lads and gals have a jump rope to fling themselves into the river, and this is the local swimming hole for man and beast (aka dog)

and back into the town - these are the houses that were built as relocatable homes, many have been moved off, and most of those that remain have become holiday homes, the odd one belonging to a resident;

they really are kinda cute, but very small,


quite full of charm and character


all the usual amenities,

and plenty of room for these beasts which are very frequent visitors

yes we have a mall, but not really by the modern expectation, or teen's definition - more of a market square really, and this is the main hub of Twizel town,

Mr 4 square

local cafes

I love the lake at dusk...

the medical centre where Rowing Man does his stuff

and my favourite - Shawty's - great for pizza, pasta and yes, fine wine..... and yes we have a cocktail bar too!!

right now 'tho, I'm for one of these

I hope you have enjoyed your tour, come again,

have a wonderful weekend!

22 comments:

retdairyqueen said...

I enjoyed my tour Thankyou
NZ is on my list of must visit places We were coming 4 years ago but hubby got sick

Simone de Klerk said...

I definitely enjoyed the trip, Shiree! Wow! And I would have loved to join you in such a nice cup of coffee (O:

Potpourri said...

Thanks so much for the tour of Twizel, it truly is beautiful. I enjoyed it "in the flesh", in June 2008 on the way to visit friends in Dunedin.
The scenery is awe inspiring.
Every place on this Earth has its own spectacular charm but the South Is,and seems to have most of it. I would love a Flat White with you, haven't enjoyed one since I returned to Nova Scotia.
Ciao, Jane

Terry said...

Lovely tour! What a beautiful place to live! :0)

suzitee said...

Thankyou for the Twizel tour Shiree...what a gorgeous part of the world you live in!

Melissa ;-) said...

Oh, Shiree! How wonderful! I will have to get there one day!

By Hoki Quilts said...

What a great tour Shiree and a delightful spot to live in. Oh I wish I could get my hands on some of those pinecones (there's a craft project stored in the back of my head for them). You even have a mall! We don't.
hugs - Miche'le

carole brungar said...

Wow! It's more built up than I thought! Amazing scenery you live with every day. Quite a contrast to our flat green paddocks! :)

Leanne said...

I love visiting others what a beautiful place. Does it get really hot there? We use to have 4 square here I had forgotten about it until I saw your picture. Thanks once again for a wonderful tour.

Sue-Anne said...

Looks like you live in a beautiful part of the world. I am assuming South Island with all those snow covered mountains? My son has visited a couple of times for snowboarding. Every photo I see of NZ, I can't get over the beautiful blue colours of the lakes.

Chookyblue...... said...

thanks for the tourist report.......looks gorgeous....

Cardygirl said...

What a great post Shiree...I was wandering along quite enjoying the walk! It really is a beautiful little town in an area of great beauty...thanks for sharing!

Elyte said...

It looks so beautiful and peaceful. In my late teens (about 30+ years ago) in my first year at university 3 girl friends and I hitch hiked around New Zealand. If my memory serves me correctly we were in your part of the world. We had a memorable time - but hitch hiking! My god, what was I thinking! Thanks for the tour.

Marlene said...

Great photos Shiree.Enjoyed the tour. It certainly is a beautiful part of New Zealand.

Narelle said...

Thankyou very much for a lovely tour around your town.
Beautiful scenery!!!

Lisa said...

Very nice Shiree..We were down that way 3 years ago and we bought some salmon around that way. The water is the most amazing colour....coming from the glaziers.I love the South Island and Id LOVE to live there... hugs Lisa

Anita said...

Oh Shiree, I love the scenery, lucky you. Thanks for sharing with us, it was a lovely tour. Kind regards, Anita.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely tour of Twizel. The lake is so pretty. Maybe when I win the lottery I'll visit it for real. LOL

Kirsti said...

What an awesome place to live, the scenery is fabulouse... and I might even join you in a nice cup of coffee in a little while...lol...

PS - thanks for becoming a follower of my blog...Happy Valentines day...xoxo

Gail said...

What a gorgeous place! I love snow capped mountains and hardly ever get to see them. Can I live with you? ;)

loulee said...

Droool. Remembering a fantastic meal in Shawtys. Lots of lovely memories, thank you. XX

Tara said...

Hmmm, pretty sure this will be a stop on the dreamed of NZ vacation somewhere in my future! Just beautiful!! So glad you want in on the Bee Balm 2!! looking forward to getting to know you!