The Nevis - just like the Clutha, another wild river at risk

In my last two posts I've written about the threat of four new dams, and published landscape photos of the Clutha River. While I gather steam on this one I'd like to draw your attention to yet another proposed travesty of our wild rivers and places. The nearby Nevis Valley - one of my favourite haunts.

Looking across to the backside of the Remarkables Mountains from the Duffers Saddle - the spectacular mountain range that Queenstown sits underneath of...

The first use of the Nevis Valley was as a trail route for the Maori. When the gold rush arrived in the 1860s, two small settlements appeared in the lower Nevis. Now only the family at Ben Nevis Station occupies the valley.

Due to the remoteness of the valley, miners' workings have been left largely untouched and now provide an excellent representation of an original goldfield. These remains include everything from the cemetery and settlement buildings through to a woolshed and the first ski hut.... more>>

Apart from outstanding and unique landscapes, remoteness verging on wilderness, and historic examples of the gold era, the river itself is cherished by trout fisherman...


The river valley is subject of New Zealand's Tenure Review process and in this instance it seems to be flawed... more>>

It becomes even more remote in winter...


Gold dredges left modest pools of water behind...


And the landscape was compromised years ago - back when it was thought OK to plunder the resources leaving a mess behind...


In our quest for energy we're not alone. It'll become the currency of this world we live in, but it seems pathetic to flood our heritage and landscapes for what in the case of the Nevis is a very small generating capacity. Instead we have to embrace technology and think in new ways e.g. Auckland has to be the place in New Zealand that has one of the highest energy needs so it seems it is time to harness the energy in the tidal differences between east and west coasts on-site, so power is not lost through transmission line loss.

The old miners in the Nevis knew about wind energy [vexing as it is these days of huge examples also cluttering up unique landscapes] - these are 40 gal. drums cut in half and arranged on a shaft to capture the wind. This example still turns squeakily...

The local newspaper the Otago Daily Times has published two articles if you wish to read further. Article 1, Article 2

Those of us who have the foresight to see beyond the dead water of artificial lakes need to spread awareness!