Mt Nessing Golf Course

It’s taken 18 months but now, at long last, we are heading to my “new” golf club, Mt Nessing, to have a game of golf and meet some of the members. Mt Nessing is inland, about 40 minutes from Timaru, just east of Fairlie and very near Albury. And why am I member of this rather obscure (sorry Mt Nessing) golf club? Because I wanted to keep my NZ Golf handicap running while I am travelling, because I can play at other clubs as an affiliate member & because Mt Nessing has the lowest subscription fees in the country. Unfortunately the associate subscription  fees at my old club were nearly six times the cost of Mt Nessing so it made sense (cents) to join Mt Nessing.

We left Waitaki Waters Holiday Park after a most enjoyable stay, I’d highly recommend a stop there if ever you’re in the area. Derek runs a great ship, with neat & tidy grounds & buildings. Although I found it a little bit disconcerting sharing the “winter ablution block” with men. Crikey you never know who’s in the shower next door to you, one morning after quietly showering & making sure everything was covered & contained when I emerged, I had a great laugh when it turned out to be David next door!

It was another lovely winter’s day and we could see the Southern Alps as we crossed over the Waitaki River again, heading north.

We stopped to have lunch in St Andrews, at the well known art deco Masonic Hotel on the main road. This hotel (and its name) would have looked right at home on Emerson Street in Napier, the Art Deco Capital of the world (and my home town). And what a treat it was, we had a good chat with the landlady, who with her previous partner, had spent over half a million dollars restoring the hotel back to it’s former glory. Inside, the wooden panelling was perfectly finished after having years of grime & black paint removed. The reworked leadlight windows were beautiful with some amazing detail, especially the curved corner windows. The Masonic is also a POP (Park over property) for NZMCA members, there’s a huge back yard for parking and soon there will be a laundry & showers/toilets.

We turned inland just past St Andrews, heading for Cave. Through flat farmland at first and then just before the hills, to our surprise, a sharp turn and a choice between an old bridge or a ford. But more of a surprise was that it was called Evans Crossing (no time to stop for a photo). We chose the ford, along with another vehicle coming the other way. The car in front of us chose the bridge. This wouldn’t usually be that unusual but all the fords we’ve crossed in our travels have been on remote gravel roads and this road was quite a well used route.

We climbed up and through the Pareora Gorge then dropped back down to the river flats. Then just before Cave I spotted a sign for a historic church up a side road (I’m still taking church photos for the Historic Places Trust). Too late for David to haul the rig up and turn around and by now we were climbing again. We turned around down at the cross roads and climbed back up the hill again. At the top I took a quick shot of this memorial stone, another beautiful piece of work out in the middle of the countryside. I also spotted a very tall celtic cross high up on top of a nearby hill.

David felt obliged to turn around for this particular church, I wonder why….

St David's Pioneer Memorial Church was erected in 1930 in memory of the pioneers, runholders, shepherds and station hands who developed the Mackenzie district into one of the major pastoral areas of New Zealand. This beautiful stone church was constructed without the use of nails.

Oops……David wasn’t too pleased when he had to pull off the road to let a vehicle pass. We needed that ford again.

After all the sheep, dairy, cattle, deer & alpaca farms we’ve passed on our travels we finally passed a pig farm between Cave & Albury. Happy free-range pigs with good shelters and plenty of grass & mud to enjoy. It brought back memories of my childhood on our pig farm.

We pulled over at Albury to get our bearings & freshen up before we headed down a side road to Mt Nessing. The Albury Tavern, another hotel that’s the centre of the community. We didn’t know it then but were told later that the chef here is well known for his fabulous meals & in particular his Thai menu.

We turned into Mt Nessing Road and headed for the hills, The Hunters Hills of which Mt Nessing is part of. After 6 or 7 kms the road turned to gravel and before long we could see a row of dusty cars parked up and across the road the golf course. You'd never have a clean car out here in the country, if it's not mud it's dust. We felt right at home, our rig needed a darn good clean & it's been driving David mad for weeks!

We travelled a little further on to find a place to turn around and then pulled onto the long acre beside the course. Immediately we were made to feel very welcome when Penny, the secretary who I have had contact with, came off the course mid game to say hello & to tell us to make ourselves at home while they finished their club day golf. Next came Noel, the course convenor to say we could pull the fifth-wheeler off the road through the gate and park up there if we wanted. We decided the grass strip outside would be fine, we didn’t want to add deep tyre grooves to the course!

We set up camp while everyone finished their game & then we made our way to the deck of their brand new extended clubhouse to have a drink and watch the last players finish. There were about 20 golfers playing and they made us feel very welcome as they came in, introducing themselves and keen to hear about the fifth-wheeler & our travels. There was lots of friendly banter too, it was like meeting old friends. We were officially welcomed during the announcements & being a paid up member, I even got to have a vote on the new interior colour of the clubhouse. Although I suspect David got a bigger say in that than me.

Before long we had an invite to come and share a roast dinner, after our golf tomorrow, at Dusty’s place! Not only that but to park “Out There” up at his place for the night. And that is how we managed to be parked up at Albury Park Station.

After we’d said farewell to everyone & promised to come and play with them on club day next time, we had the road to ourselves for the night. Well nearly. It was pitch black outside except for the odd car that came barrelling down the road past us, lights on full flooding the interior. This was once the rugby test match had finished & the pub had closed no doubt. We were a little worried that they’d get a fright when they saw us and take out our slide out.

Sunday dawned cold but sunny & we were woken by a whole lot of magpies having a meeting on the verge beside us. I’m sure one of them was also tap-dancing on the roof. Next came a hundred & one tractors & quad bikes, up & down the road they rumbled & roared, there's no Sunday sleep-in for farming folk. It wouldn't have surprised me if next I was to hear a whole heap of mooing outside the window.

Time to have a game of golf. It was why we were out here in the middle of the countryside after all. We had the course totally to ourselves and what a lovely country 9-hole course it was. Very well maintained with well marked tees and all 18 holes named, and some great names too. I was looking forward to playing number one as we’d been told yesterday there would have been a fine view of Mt Cook (Aorangi) if the cloud hadn’t rolled in and sure enough across the valley & far in the distance Mt Cook peeked out from behind the hills.

Number 2, The Woolshed. Mt Nessing Station’s woolshed sit’s beside the green. The course is located on station land and is grazed by sheep during the summer. The course closes earlier than most other clubs, in September and opens again in February. Spring & summer are busy times for farming folk.

Initially we thought we’d be playing golf quite often while we were on the road but in fact this was only my 3rd game & David’s second. And although we thoroughly enjoyed our game, the results were nothing to write home about. A few good holes, a few average & more than two very bad. Never mind, it was a lovely to be out in the fresh air enjoying the sunshine. We didn't enjoy the mud that built up on our shoes and trundler wheels though. Thick sticky mud which took a fair while to clean off at the end so we could pack it all away clean in the storage box.

And so that was that, we’d made the pilgrimage, played the course & met some lovely people. Thanks Mt Nessing for your hospitality & for making us feel so welcome. We’ll look forward to seeing you all again one day.

Love that hair colour! It's easier to experiment on the road :)

Especially for Dad



....and Pam and Trish & Len and Rodger & Heather and Gladys and everyone else that plays golf & has been waiting to see if we were just taking the clubs along for ballast. We finally dusted (literally) them off and played a round of golf at the Lumsden Golf Course this afternoon.

 

 

When we decided to have a game this morning it was cool, grey & misty, by the time we got to the course early this afternoon it was blue sky, beating sun, and a scorcher of a day! We didn't plan that very well, we could have decided to have our first away game on a nicer course (we've seen plenty) & a cooler day (we've had plenty of those too!).  Lumsden is a very uninteresting flat up & down 9 hole course with plenty of trees & very dry fairways. We were the only silly buggers on it and we both started with a hiss & a roar but faded on the home straight, the heat was unbearable as were my golf shoes on my sore feet. All things considered we both had a few really good holes, some average ones & a couple we'd both rather forget; so that would be......the usual game of golf!

 

The highlight was back in the carpark, in the tree just above our ute. I wonder how many of you know what this is?

This is a black phase fantail & what a sweet little bird he(or she) was. Black fantails are not that common and are mostly found in the South Island, they are virtually non-existent in the North Island. This would be about the 7th or 8th one I've seen down here but all the others haven't waited around for me to take a photo. This little guy was more than happy to pose, I had my arm outstretched to within a foot or two of him & he didn't move for ages and then when he did, he flitted closer still. Unfortunately I only had my cell phone to snap him. I may just have to go back there tomorrow with my camera and try for some better ones.

We were so hot after golf we decided to go for a swim at the stream where David had been fishing. The water was just as cold as the other day but it was so refreshing. I've always preferred river (or stream) swimming to the beach, especially with it being so crystal clear on a shingle base; no sand or salt just ice cold fresh water.

Those brown trout were still taunting us too, we had a swim in the pool right beside their patch & they continued to swim in and out of the flow right beside us! Trout would usually hide away under the fallen logs until we were downstream or out of sight. Not them. One of them was a monster too.

On the way back home we stopped so I could get this shot of the Oreti River looking west towards Fiordland. We feel like we have a connection with the Oreti, the river flows south to Invercargill & it's mouth is beside Sandy Point, a recreation area where we went with the family & by ourselves walking & bird watching.

And one more photo from Lumsden, this is the local hotel with it's fabulous paint job. Originally named the Railway Hotel it was built in the early 1900s, it had 27 rooms, including 19 bedrooms, 4 sitting rooms, 2 dining rooms & a billiard room. The hotel stables had 20 stalls and the owner ran two coaches a week from Lumsden to Lake Manapouri via Te Anau. Lumsden was once the centre point for travellers, gold prospectors & drovers alike.

Well that's it for Lumsden, we move on tomorrow. We have actually been here longer than we intended but we've been waiting for the weekend to arrive. David saw a flyer back in Mandeville advertising a fundraising self drive 4WD safari through the private Nokomai Station. We've booked for it and are moving up to Athol tomorrow so we're closer to the starting point. It's a day long drive through the station and we exit near the Nevis, where there is a well known public 4WD crossing which we'll probably do when we get to the Queenstown area.

It's going to be a great day, apparently the views are amazing so lets hope the weather stays fine. The organisers Oked our Ute but suggested we put some weight in the tray, they didn't know about the fifth-wheel assembly & the deflated inflatable which will give us 100kgs extra. All diesel vehicles must have a spark arrestor fitted- on most new vehicles it's standard- they don't want us setting fire to the tussock. We also have to sign away our life, carry a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher & have suitable tyres, so this isn't just going to be any ordinary drive in the park!

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again, I think we'll be away from cell phone reception but I'll have a post ready to go as soon as I can with photos of course!

"Out There" doing it.

Catching up in Napier

Well we've been parked up here beside my parents place in Napier for the last two weeks & it looks like it'll be another week before we have finished with all we have wanted to do. Not only that but at this stage we can't book our ferry trip across the Strait as all bookings have been suspended while the problem is sorted with one of the ferries(not our one) which lost a propeller while crossing Cook Strait a couple of days ago.

Hopefully things will be back to normal next week & once we have a day to cross in mind we can book ahead as we want to travel on one particular ferry; the drive on, drive off Kaitaki which is ideal for fifth-wheelers. The Kaitaki also has recently been relaunched after a major refurbishment, inside & out & comes with a Premium Lounge. I have too many bad memories of long ago Cook Strait crossings so I'm hoping a little more luxury this time (& fine weather) might help erase the horror of those past rough rides.

Last week was Dad's birthday and we celebrated it by having lunch at Off The Track restaurant in Havelock North, a restaurant that Dad & Mum had wanted to take us too the next time we were in town. It was a lovely spacious restaurant & café just off one of the many Hawkes Bay cycle trails, hence its name, and had Te Mata Peak framed in this large picture window. The meals were great although rather large, the coffee was superb & topped off with a fine work of art.

In the evening we went to a film I had been chasing around half of the North Island to see. It was in the NZ Film Festival & I had missed it in Tauranga as we'd been in Auckland, it was then in Whangarei but we left a day earlier, then Whakatane but we were in the process of moving house & now finally I saw that "Soul of the Sea" was here in Napier but only on the night of Dad's birthday. So I convinced the family to come with me & not knowing how large the theatre was going to be I wanted to arrive early enough to get a good seat. I needn't have worried there were only about 10 people in a theatre that sat a couple of hundred!

No problems seeing the screen!

Soul of the Sea is the story of Moko, the friendly bottle nose dolphin that I swum with a few years ago. I had met most of the people in the film & in fact there was a fleeting view of me as the camera zoomed past the sea of faces at Moko's memorial. As an added bonus & a surprise I got to see my name on the big screen, in the credits at the end, because I had donated some money (& photos) to help the film maker, Amy Taylor produce the movie. I was pleased to have finally caught up with the film, the final chapter for me, on Moko.

Not only did we go to the Moko movie we were given tickets  to the premier of the Paul Potts movie, One Chance, the story of the rags to riches story of the Welsh opera singer & winner of Britian's Got Talent. We all thoroughly enjoyed it too, it's well worth seeing. So after not having been to the movies in quite a number of years Mum & Dad got to go twice in a week!

Over Labour weekend the Gypsy Fair was in progress just around the corner in Anderson Park. We had a wander through the odd assortment of vans, buses, stalls, people & dogs. And marvelled in particular at the bus in the top photo. That must surely be the earliest version of a slide out there is. Maybe that's where the alternative term of "push out" (& push in) comes from.

During the week I took the opportunity of paying a last visit to my favourite pair of ducks. These plumed whistling ducks are very rare visitors to New Zealand (only 2 or 3 sightings have ever been recorded) and they have made a suburban pond their home for the last few years. I have been visiting them regularly on my visits to Napier and up until the beginning of last winter there were in fact three ducks. Sadly one has disappeared sometime over the colder months & I wonder what will happen if & when another disappears. There will be one very lonely duck left behind.  Their natural habitat is in tropical northern Australia & Indonesia so they are a very long way from home.

Yesterday I had my first round of golf since my foot operation, just six days short of four months since the op & I was a little nervous of how my feet were going to stand up to the rigors of playing 9 holes of golf even though I had a cart to carry me (& Mum) around. My feet are still quite swollen & I have only been able to wear a couple of pair of shoes with adjustable straps, up until today that is. I couldn't get my golf shoes on but I managed to get my walking shoes on with their softer sides. It was still quite a tight fit & I worried that I'd have to remove them before I got too far but they were fine. And my golf wasn't too bad either, I managed to match Dad on a couple of holes & beat him on another, I was just a little rusty here & there but I was happy I did as well as I did. Although I did lose two balls in exactly the same spot which didn't help with my score.

                                       Waiohiki Golf Course Hole #9                                                      Mum looking for my lost balls

We had a few drinks last weekend with extended family and we've come up with a name for these gatherings; we're having drinks with a "Chatter Platter". There are many females on my mother's side of the family and they span four generations in ages & we all like to talk, lots! Usually it is very hard to hear yourself think let alone get a word in so when we saw a Chatter Platter on the menu at Off The Track Restaurant we decided it fitted the Johnstone girls perfectly.

I've had a bit of a distraction while writing my blog & catching up on paper work this past week. This has been the view from the dining table as the neighbourhood transformer gets replaced right beside where we are parked. Little do they know that they are being watched as I sit typing at my laptop although I must say it's a little bit disconcerting waking up in the morning when there's just a thin wall between you in bed & them out there. There have been lots of comings & goings with anything up to six men and four vehicles here at once, they all seem to have their own particular job to do & there's much leaning on the bollards offering advice to each other. And occasionally in amongst the group I even see a white haired lady offering advice!

Golf, Gold & A Railway

We're staying in a lovely private bay at the moment(more on that in the next post) south of Coromandel township and today we've decided to travel back into town to play a round of golf & visit a popular tourist attraction, the Driving Creek Railway.

This was our first round of golf since starting our travels & we thought we'd better have a game before the clubs thought they'd just come along for the ride. Most of the land the Coromandel course covers was barren gold mining tailings from early last century and the reason each hole is named after a local gold mine. It's a very picturesque course but very challenging with lots of hills & slopes.

We were the only two on the course for much of the time & we both thoroughly enjoyed the round although it was getting rather hot towards the end caused by both the sun & the exercise. I liked their novel way of keeping the rake out of the bunker, with any luck you're ball could hit the handle & ricochet away, hopefully up onto the green!

After golf we drove over to the otherside of town, all of 3 minutes away, and booked for the 2pm rail trip at Driving Creek. We had half an hour to spare so we wandered down the road to the Driving Creek Cafe & had a bite to eat. The cafe was slightly alternative & vegetarian but with delicious food & coffee. David had the quiche & I had the gourmet salad sandwich.

The Driving Creek Railway (named after a gold mine that was located on the property) has largely come about due to the work of one man, Barry Briknall. Barry is an acclaimed NZ potter, he is also a conservationist, developer, railway enthusiast & engineer. To get the very good quality terracotta clay down from the steep hillsides on his property he built a narrow gauge railway (381mm, 15inches) through very rough & steep terrain, surveying was done with home made instruments and a slasher to get through the scrub.

Barry began the project in 1973 eventually building 3kms of rail. But it wasn't until 1990 that Driving Creek opened to the public after Barry's bank manager suggested it was a way to reduce his considerable debt.



Bridges & viaducts, three short tunnels, two spirals & five reversing points are required to gain the elevation to the Eyefull Tower where there are fantastic panoramic views out over Coromandel, across the Firth of Thames & up to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. On clear days the skyscrapers of downtown Auckland can be seen. Thousands of bottles form retaining walls in many places & pieces of weathered pottery sculpture dot the line along with  6 or 7 small but perfectly formed railway huts. Over 27,000 native trees are planted each year and the scrub is slowly returning to the native forest of yesteryear.

In the first year of operation just 15,000 people road the rail, in 2011 the one millionth person was celebrated. Most of the income from the railway is used in conservation & upkeep on the property, but Barry also donates to the local community in many ways. Driving Creek will be left to the people of NZ when Barry (who is 72) passes on.

Good Time Golf Girls

I mean.....Good Bye Golf Girls!

I love my golf and especially being a member of the Womens 9 Hole at Tauranga Golf Club. We have the largest 9 hole membership in NZ with over 140 ladies and over the last eight years I have made many friends. Sadly there will be no more Tuesday club days for me, no more competitions, no more mystery bus trips, no more entertaining fundraising evenings, no more haggles, no more driving range balls or giving Jack, in the Pro Shop, stick. I knew from the beginning of this journey that giving up golf at Tauranga was going to be another hard thing to do & I was right. I felt rather sad when I couldn't access the booking forms the other day or print out a card with my name on it, number 400-4369 no longer exists, I've been moved on. I guess that means my carpark will be free too! :)

I'd like to say a big thankyou to all the lovely ladies I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the years, thanks for the fun times & the laughs, I'll miss you all.

And today I played my last Thursday morning game of golf with my regular duo of happy ladies, Kerry & Jane. Unfortunately Chris who has recently joined us & usually makes up our four was unable to make it. I took along a bottle of bubbly which we opened on the 4th (I figured that was as good a hole as any to have some added help, Tauranga members will know what I mean) and we'd finished it by the 8th! We had a quite a few laughs & the golf wasn't that bad either. I did take some nibbles to slow down the bubble effect but we were definitely looking forward to a coffee by the time we walked the 10th back to the cars. Thanks for the company & happy putting girls, you've definitely had my last $2

Tauranga Golf Clubhouse                                                                Who is that under the tree?                

I'm not giving up golf, just the club for now. And I will come & play as a guest when we're back in town so Tauranga  hasn't seen the last of me yet. I'm now (along with David) a fully paid up member of the Mt Nessing Golf Club. "Mt Nessing? Where on earth is that?" I hear you ask. McKenzie Country, inland from Timaru & not far from Fairlie in the South Island. They have a 9 hole course that is open once lambing is finished; from February through to September. Owned by a local farmer & run entirely by volunteers I think their membership is a little over 100.

The attraction is the $110 membership fee which allows us to be affiliate members so we can play at any of the hundreds of golf clubs around the country. It also allows me to keep my NZ handicap running. And it's not like we won't know anybody either if Mt Nessing decide to have a shindig for their members, friends from the Mount (hi Trish & Len) who are also touring NZ at the moment in their bus, joined Mt Nessing last year. I would have loved to continue with Tauranga but the affiliate fee was just a wee bit too steep and I'd also have to pay for each round over and above the fee.



A marks the spot