This halo was only spotted because I was experimenting with a superwide lens to find some new way of photographing the old ruins. And there it was! The halo was dipping right down into the top of my viewfinder.
After grabbing a couple of shots, I scanned the sky for other rings and arcs, but in vane. I made this wide field panorama of most of the sky, just in case there was something overlooked. Eventually I figured out the left hand sundog, discerning the other from the faint cloud later when stitching multiple images for the panorama. Next time I must remember to photograph the entire sky. Observed 23 March 2014 1:20pm.
The main area around Welshtown was mined for about 40 years on and off from 1862. Shafts into the reefs started from 1867, yielding the greatest gold mining fortune in New Zealand. Today, dozens of crumbling stone cottages and huts remain along with numerous deep mine shafts.