Beavertown

Many years ago there was a town in Marlborough known as Beavertown or The Beaver. Nowadays, its known as 'Blenheim'. Back when the settlement was establishing, there were frequent floods and the township was often surrounded by floodwater. The buildings resembled beaver lodges, which led to it being named Beavertown. And I guess that also explains why Blenheim's town mascot is the beaver.

As a result of repeat flooding the Taylor Dam was built. It's the largest flood protection dam in New Zealand. Stop banks near Blenheim township were also made, which has created a large area known as Taylor River Reserve. It's a popular spot for walking, exercising dogs, cycling and jogging - the reserve has a network of paths, which go as far as the Taylor Dam.

The other day, while Bernie was sleeping after a night shift, I got up early and took the dogs for a walk along the Taylor River. First, I stopped to get a sunrise photo of the Wairau River. I was standing on the little one way bridge (Ferry Bridge) in Spring Creek, close to where the bus is parked.

It was good to start the walk early. There were few people about and the temperature felt refreshing.

The Taylor River was named after a New Zealand surveyor, Joesph Taylor.

Beside the path, one of several information boards stated, Taylor Dam was a 10km walk. The dogs would be fine with that distance, providing we took our time and stopped often so they could cool off in the river and have a drink.

Blenheim Riverside heritage railway follows the river from Bradshaw Park into central Blenheim.

After about 3km we left the residential area and the first signs of rabbits appeared. As mentioned before, it was good to be out early as there weren't many people about, however  that meant we were first on the scene to surprise any rabbits. The dogs were delighted and thought they'd arrived in paradise. They darted about with their noses glued to the ground. The funny thing was, they were so busy sniffing and looking downward that they missed seeing four rabbits. I noticed them and was grateful that my buddies didn't.

We carried on, albeit the dogs needed a lot of coaxing as they were fixated on a particular pile of rocks ... certain a rabbit was hiding in there somewhere.
Further along, a sign warned of possible Chilean needle grass ahead. Knowing this invasive weed will begin seeding soon, we turned back. I didn't want to risk it. Boo had some trouble with grass seed a few summers ago (read here). Now, if we know it's in an area, we steer clear of it.

Local school children have written poems about the Taylor River, which have been made into plaques and embedded into boulders along the walkway. What a great idea.

Even though we didn't walk to Taylor Dam, I was still keen to see it (again). So we drove instead. Once you turn into Taylor Dam, on the left is a small area to freedom camp. There are only a couple of camping conditions; you must be self contained and the maximum stay is two nights. Dogs are allowed providing they're on leads.

I took this pic with my car parked in the freedom camping area to show perspective of space.

Behind the dam a small lake has formed. Although it's not suitable for people to swim in, it's the perfect place for bird life. It's become a sanctuary for teal, black swans, pukekos, mallard and paradise ducks and shags.

There were lots of swans with their young ones (cygnets) in tow. A couple of years ago when we visited Taylor Dam, I wrote a blog with information on the dam and a few things I found out about swans. If you'd like to read that, click 'here'.

The stop bank above the lake was draped in blue wildflowers and wild sweet peas that were about to flower. Just imagine the fragrance in a couple of weeks time when those sweet peas are in bloom!

By this stage the dogs looked as though they needed a cool drink and a rest (I know I did). It was time to head back to the bus.