The boardwalk track at Glenorchy is a most magnificent place as it twists, turns and loops around the lagoon. It crosses and cuts over the wetlands that have incredible views of Mt Earnslaw, the surrounding ranges and is filled with amazing birdlife.
When Gold was discovered in Otago by Australian Gabirel Reid, in 186, it started what was to become known as the Great Otago Rush. The rush brought miners from all over the world to the Otago region who steadily made their way inland as the hunt for gold, fame and fortune took them all over the barren hills of the Central Otago landscape. By around 1863, the search for gold had brought miners to an area known as Dunstan Creek, a place now called St Bathans, and a town quickly grew. The famous Vulcan Hotel was built in the area in 1882 and by 1887, the place had developed into a bustling town of over 2000 people. In the area, one of the main ways to search for gold was by sluicing, where powerful jets of water are blasted at banks that wash gravel in sluice boxes. The boxes then trap the gold at the bottom of the box. In St Bathans, this method was so popular that the nearby Kildare Hill was transformed into a 168 metre deep pit. It was only when the pit started getting too close to the town that mining was halted in 1934. Once mining was stopped, the huge hole was filled with water which created the beautiful blue lake that we see today.
