On the left are an assortment of baches, cribs, holiday homes. Some are permanent dwellings, while others seemed closed up, maybe they're used for holidays or fishing weekends. And on the right is a grassy covered stop-bank.
Steps dug into the stop-bank's edge make climbing easier. And down the other side of the bank is the Selwyn River - a popular spot for trout fishing.No dogs are allowed on the reserve (the stop-bank area).
Locals have grown flowers around the bases of power poles adding character to this delightful settlement.
The sealed road stops after the last house before merging onto an unsealed road.
A couple of kilometres further on are the Lower Selwyn Huts. The area's more open and is nestled beside the mouth of the Selwyn River.
Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihoura) can be seen in the distance (when standing on top of the stop bank). The tiny black dots you can see in the murky coloured lagoon are maimais. And although it's too far away to see, lots of swans and cygnets were swimming and feeding in the lake.
The photo below was taken at the end of the road looking out towards Lyttleton.
The 50 odd holiday homes are situated on the left of the road driving towards the lake. The area of the Lower Selwyn Huts allows dogs, perhaps it's because duck shooters dwell there.
Residents of the Lower Selwyn Huts were evacuated a few months ago (near the end of July) due to flooding. Unfortunately Lake Ellesmere wasn't opened prior to the bad weather. Large swells had made it unsafe for machines to work, so a channel was unable to be formed. The lake is regularly opened to the ocean for cultural and environmental reasons. On average about 30, 000 cubic metres of gravel is removed to open the lake, it closes naturally as gravel washes back into the channel.
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