Reflection and Ripples
.....on Blue Lake, St Bathans.
More of the Blue Lake and its amazing reflections.
In 1864, Kildare Hill loomed 120 metres over St Bathans. Within a few years, gold mining reduced it to a 68m deep pit that is now the Blue Lake, the deepest mining hold in the Southern Hemisphere. From the 1880s, miners used hydraulic technologies, which rather like a vacuum cleaner sucked gravel out of the pit for gold recovery. Although a considerable amount of gold was mined at St Bathans, fears that the town would be undermined ended operations in 1934. The huge hole was left to fill with water draining off surrounding cliffs bringing with it minerals which normally form the intense blue colour of the lake. Today the Blue Lake is popular for camping, walks, swimming and other water sports.
St Bathans, Central Otago, NZ
Day 4 of our two week holiday in Central Otago, NZ.
Reflection and Ripples
.....on Blue Lake, St Bathans.
More of the Blue Lake and its amazing reflections.
In 1864, Kildare Hill loomed 120 metres over St Bathans. Within a few years, gold mining reduced it to a 68m deep pit that is now the Blue Lake, the deepest mining hold in the Southern Hemisphere. From the 1880s, miners used hydraulic technologies, which rather like a vacuum cleaner sucked gravel out of the pit for gold recovery. Although a considerable amount of gold was mined at St Bathans, fears that the town would be undermined ended operations in 1934. The huge hole was left to fill with water draining off surrounding cliffs bringing with it minerals which normally form the intense blue colour of the lake. Today the Blue Lake is popular for camping, walks, swimming and other water sports.
St Bathans, Central Otago, NZ
Day 4 of our two week holiday in Central Otago, NZ.