Blanketed by Fog and Another Lesson Learnt!

We woke to fog. Thick, dense fog. Everything was shrouded in grey, and the vibrant autumn colours were muted. And it was amazing.

Today our plan was to drive to Bannockburn, an old gold mining town, just 7km out of Cromwell. With all the fog about, my chances of getting some autumn photos weren't looking good, but being hopeful, I decided to go regardless, just incase there wasn't any fog in that area.

First, things first. Another walk around the lake's edge for the dogs. 

The reflections over the water had softened, and the vibrant golden hues had toned down, but wow, it was still incredible and breathtakingly beautiful. Looking at these photos, you might be mistaken in thinking it was cold, but it wasn't, it was mild. 
I felt content and very grateful to be experiencing this dreamlike setting.

Destination - Bannockburn.

The drive to the historic town of Bannockburn was an extra careful one. I could barely see a metre in front of me. Vehicles that were approaching had their lights on which helped, I too had my lights on but it didn't seem to make much difference with visibility. 

Still, I took it slowly. After about 5 kms of crawling along, I wondered whether I should turn back. It seemed pointless to carry on in this weather, the fog wasn't lifting and there wasn't much I could see! However, as there was only a couple of kilometres to go, I carried on.

Once at Bannockburn, there was a hint of some daylight, so I knew if I hung around long enough the fog would lift.

I had read about the Bannockburn Sluicing track, so I drove there.

A quick photo of the nearby vineyard and then we set off for our walk.

The walk started along an easy track, through barren landscape.

The track loops around what was once the Bannockburn Gold Field,. The area was sluiced and mined for gold from 1862 to the 1930s. 

Quarter of an hour into the walk, the fog was lifting, and it looked as though it was going to be a cracker of a day.

Don't you think, it looks a bit like 'The Wild West'?

The landscape was truly incredible and the fog added another dimension to it. To think that all this area had been changed by hand in the pursuit of gold. Towering cliff faces had been sluiced away in the hope of finding this precious yellow metal.

I remember, it was about here (in the photo below), as I was approaching a narrow track hugging the side of a bank, that I thought how pleased I was that I'd persevered driving through the fog and not turned back. And, immediately after that thought, my next thought popped up, which made me literally stop in my tracks!
Had I turned the bus's lights off when I parked? I had turned them on driving through the fog. But had I turned them off?
Now, if I had of been in my car and had forgotten to turn the lights off when I stopped, a beeping noise would remind me. However, the bus doesn't have this handy little gadget. So .... here I was 30 minutes into the walk, with a little dilemma. Do I carry on, or turn back? Had I left the lights on or had I turned them off?

I tossed up whether to continue walking and just hope for the best, or whether to turn around right then and there and head back to the bus.

I walked a few more metres, as I just had to see what kind of view would be around the bend, but then decided to turn back. If I carried on, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much. If I hurried back, and the lights were on, maybe the battery wouldn't have gone flat yet!

I was kicking myself! Grrrrr.....I really wanted to carry on with the walk because I had read there were remains of dams, water-races, tunnels, old stone buildings and stone walls ahead. From what I had seen of the walk so far, I loved it. And now the fog had lifted the views were sure to be even better.

Eventually we arrived back at the bus ..... and ........ YES! Dammit, I had left the lights on!

So, with some apprehension, I jumped in the bus, turned the key....and that sweet sound of an engine bursting into life greeted me. Phew!

Another lesson learnt. This trip was turning out to a be a journey of lessons...haha