INSIDER TIP

Cromwell’s Bannockburn Sluicings is a conundrum: a natural landscape that was destroyed by men for food then money, polluting the environment and altering its profile, but is now fiercely protected.

To¯tara forest was burnt off by Ma¯ori hunting moa; then, in 1862, gold was discovered at this remote spot. Despite the land being so dry and bare, miners arrived in their thousands to seek their fortunes.

Unimaginable effort was expended in shifting, by hand, tonnes of rock and soil to get at the gold-bearing schist eight metres below that was then sluiced using water brought in from far away along handbuilt races.

What resulted is a spectacular landscape that mimics the hoodoos you might see in the Wild West. A 3.5-kilometre loop track takes you along deep gullies, past tunnels in high cliff faces, and up to where a huge shallow reservoir was built to enable the sluicing.

Under a classic Otago blue sky, the land is baked orange and black, draped with pink and purple wild flowers and hardy thyme.

Few buildings remain, but Stewart Town cottage is a good example of the most luxurious accommodation enjoyed here – which is not saying much. For about 30 years, though, there was a community here and even a school. Until the gold ran out.

The water races are dry today, so take plenty to drink. If you go in late summer, look out for the apricots, and later pears, to pick for a treat from the trees by Stewart Town.