A Visit to the Mainland

Catch-up; March 2021

Back in late March, Royalty arrived in the high country. Family Royalty that is. Mum & Dad who came to check out Night Sky Cottages for themselves. They flew into Christchurch from Napier on a direct flight and I met them at the airport after catching a bus from Twizel. We hired a car and I drove them back to the cottages, they hadn't been in the South Island for many years so it was great for them to sit back & enjoy the scenery.

For the first ten days we relaxed at the cottages and fitted in day trips (complete with a picnic lunches) around the Mackenzie Country. One of our first trips was to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

Mt Sefton & White Horse Hill Campground- Aoraki/Mt Cook

The weather was fabulous, we'd timed the visit just right, not too cold nor too hot. Just stunning blue bird days. 

It was an especially calm day when we visited Lake Ohau &  the Ohau River weir, the water crystal clear.

T-Ohau River, Left- Ohau River outlet, Right-Lake Ohau & Ben Ohau

Looks like Banksy's been visiting the high country too. Rude Kids- on one of the canal towers 

I took them to see some of my my favourite places- Lake Ruataniwha

Oahu C Camp Lagoon at Lake Benmore; autumn was just around the corner.

We took the long way back to Christchurch; down the Waitaki Valley to Oamaru, checking the dams out as we went and stopping at Kurow for lunch & a hot drink on the way.

Followed by a pit stop at Duntroon where the art on the toilet block brought a smile to our face. The A2O Cycle Trail (Alps to Ocean) passes down the valley too. There's now a new toilet block nearby but I think they've left this there as well.

While Mum & Dad rested up at the Oamaru Air BnB we'd booked for the night, I took myself on a walking tour of the Oamaru Public Gardens which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially the colourful blooms in the hothouse.

The next day we headed off to Christchurch, first stop just up the road at the Rainbow Sweets factory shop. Just for a look of course. We all have a sweet tooth although I think Mum & I take the family cake for scoffing our loot in no time at all. Dad tends to make his last a few weeks (if Mum doesn't find his stash). Half an hour & several large bags of sweets later we made it back to the car. 

Our next stop was Riverstone Castle, one of my favourite places to visit whenever I am passing. I knew Mum & Dad would enjoy a visit too.

We had a lovely lunch at Riverstone Kitchen before exploring the gardens & shops. Dad looked very pleased with his favourite Blue Cod & chips ('rabbit food' passed over to me). I had great delight in letting him know that this particular dish was our 'takeaways' back in the original Level 4 & 3  lockdown last year. We spent that Lockdown just down the road at the Glenavy Waitaki Holiday Park & Riverstone Kitchen supplied takeaway fish 'n chips when we moved to Level 3. 

Mum was in her element, she had a craft shop at Bay View in Hawkes Bay for many years and spent her 'retirement years' selling at craft markets. She even met and had a natter with the owner, Dot, who was unpacking stock. 

For the next few nights we stayed at an Air BnB in Rolleston (near Weedons NZMCA Park, where David was due to arrive from Twizel with the 5th-wheeler a couple of days later).

Dad wanted to do a tiki tour of Akaroa Peninsula, he hadn't been on the road around the top of the rim before. We stopped at Little River for a morning coffee and then I turned off at the summit and travelled clockwise around the top. Which was just as well when Mum saw how far down it was on some of the road edges on the inside or when I pulled over to show them the view.

Akaroa Harbour, Banks Peninsula

Once down from the top we had lunch & an icecream in Akaroa township before heading home.

When planning the trip I had asked Dad if he wanted to visit some of his old haunts; he's a born & bred South Islander. At the time he'd said no he wasn't fussed but once we were in Christchurch we decided we couldn't get this close & not check his old hometown out. He was born in Woodend just north of Christchurch, went to school in Woodend and also spent some time in Sefton just a little further north before his family shifted north to Havelock North in Hawkes Bay.

St Barnabas Anglican Church, Woodend

So we did the obligatory tour, stopping at the family church (which is on the main highway) and finding many of his Eder relations on the cemetery burial list. Next stop was Dad's primary school, then locating his old house (with add-ons) down a back road & checking out the cenotaph roll of honour for relatives & finding his Uncle Jim Eder listed there. 

Then it was off to Sefton where some of his cousins still live. We drove a few more back roads, Dad giving us a running commentary of who lived where & what went on there before finding our way back onto the main road near Saltwater Creek where he used to go white-baiting with his cousin. Funnily enough the rest area beside the creek is where we often stop for lunch or a cup-of-tea break when we're travelling. 

And then before we knew it it was time for them to fly home. We all had a lovely time and for me it was great to spend some quality time with Mum & Dad and show them around our new home province. 

 

Stepping Back in Time- Oamaru

Catch-up

I've managed to come up for some air with a little free time to write a blog after spending the last few weeks buried in boxes, bags, bubble wrap & way too much gear that I was sure I thoroughly sorted out eight years ago! It is amazing how your priorities change after living full-time on the road, where life is much simpler and where you only have so much space to keep 'stuff'. It was a little over-whelming as I unpacked box after box, reacquainting myself with furniture & furnishings, trinkets & treasures from another life. Now to sort it all again; you wouldn't think I'd already halved the haul twice way back then.

And now to catching up on the blog. Again. November 2019 (seems a lifetime ago)

We were still staying at Glenavys Waitaki River Motor Camp and after ticking Riverstone Castle off our 'must visit' list we took some time out to visit Oamaru, 20kms south of Glenavy and check out several historic buildings that had been on my radar to visit but had always been closed when we passed by. 

The first was Totara Estate, a historic farm that had a significant role in making New Zealand what it is today. As an added bonus the volunteers on duty in the shop were in period costume (the reason will become obvious further down the page). 

Before I could explore the grounds I was directed to a small room at the end of the entrance building to watch a 10 minute introduction video on Totara Estate. I was itching to get out there and explore but I dutifully sat and saw it through to the end. If there had of been more people, I would have sneaked out before the volunteers spotted me. 

Farming began at Totara (south of Oamaru) in the 1850s. By the time the estate was purchased by the New Zealand & Australian Land Company in 1866 it covered almost 15,000 acres and farmed over 17,500 sheep, 200 cattle, and was purported to have the best wheat, potato and mangold (fodder beet) growing land in the country.

A downturn in wool prices combined with a nationwide over-supply of sheep meat saw the general manager of the Land Company, William Davidson, follow an ambition to be the first in New Zealand to use new steam-powered freezing technology to send meat to the other side of the world. 

And so it was, then, that the first ever shipment of frozen mutton made a three-month journey from New Zealand to England in 1882, launching an industry that brought success to Totara Estate and well beyond. By the end of the 1890s, New Zealand’s frozen meat industry was a powerful force – economically, politically and socially – and still earns billions in foreign earnings each year. 

I had a grim fascination with the description of the piggery beside the killing shed (having been brought up on a pig farm). Click the photo to read the gory details.

Our next stop was just down the road at the historic Clarks Flour Mill, built in 1866 and originally part of Totara Estate. Clarks Mill was one of 13 flour mills in North Otago District and the last one running, outliving all the others by 50 years by the time it ceased operation in 1976.

Since it's closure, the machinery inside, including a rare collection of roller milling machinery installed in 1893, has been fully restored to operating condition by a team of volunteers. The mill grinds into action on the last Sunday of each month, offering visitors the opportunity to see, hear and feel what it would have been like to work in the mill.

The imposing four-storey mill building was constructed in local limestone and is of a Scottish design.  Other highlights include the original water race, and the railway line built in 1877 to connect the mill to the main trunk line.  

The miller's house and a cottage are both also constructed from local stone. The small cottage is known as Smokey Joe’s and remains largely unaltered since it was built in 1860s. During the prohibition years the Clark family turned the cottage into a private hall for the locals to gather for a beer or two. 

Our next stop is back in Oamaru town at this lovely little cottage tucked away in a quiet back street. I wonder if you can guess who once lived here? (Before you scroll down the page). 

This modest house was once the home of internationally renowned New Zealand author, Janet Frame. Janet lived here with her parents from 1931 to 1943 (age 7 to 19).

I arrived during the afternoon opening hours which was more by luck than judgement. I paid the small entrance fee and stepped back in time wandering through the various rooms furnished with authentic furniture and objects from the time the Frames lived in the house. There are also several items referenced to Janet's work including her old typewriter.

It was a lovely surprise to hear the house fill with music which I traced it back to the lounge where the afternoon's volunteer was happily playing the piano.

Thanks to the period dressed volunteers at Totara Estate we were made aware of the annual Victorian Fete taking place in town at Oamaru's Victorian Precinct.  We missed the Grand Parade, but thoroughly enjoyed walking a couple of laps of the Precinct roads.

After several days of  Victorian Heritage Celebrations, the fete is an eagerly anticipated event with many people getting right into the spirit.....

......dressing up in Victorian costume, playing games and entering competitions and selling all manner of Victorian antiques, knick-knacks and clothing from the shops housed in the historic buildings & from the decorated stalls lining the Precinct streets.

I'll let the photos do the talking while I do the walking (I wonder what that guy behind is thinking?)....

I saw this group of children several times during the afternoon, on the last occasion the bonnet on the baby in the cart had slipped right over her face as she was being trundled down the cobbles at a fast rate of knots by one of the older children. I was worried she was going to topple out but she was holding on to the sides very tightly even though she couldn't see where she was going.

This crowd of people were being entertained by...

...a very colourful lady, who was judging 'The Victorian Beard & Moustache Competition'.

There were some amazing costumes although I'm sure a few people suffered under their heavy layers in the early summer sunshine.

Several unique antique vehicles were on display (and a lady on stilts). I was sure the three wheel vehicle was going to tip over. There was a fake cow with a rubber udder where you could try your hand at milking. And amongst the food stalls, a Southern classic- cheese rolls- were being sold from a pop-top VW Kombi.

Entertainers and stall holders included a puppeteer with Mr Bones...

...Morris Dancers, a shoe shine boy (who also wanted payment if you took a photo), a facepainter & balloon modeler, period costume family photos, Christchurch's Wizard (how did he get in on the act?) and a burlesque show.

Oamaru's more famous Steampunk genre was taking a backseat during the Victorian festivities although I did see several people dressed in a combination of both.

Steam Locomotive B10 operated by Oamaru Steam & Rail was running short trips from Harbourside Station around the harbour to the Blue Penguin Colony attraction and back again. 

I waited several times to catch it as it passed, finally deciding that you'd hardly notice that it is actually going in reverse here!

So all in all, we made up for lost time and managed to cram quite a bit of historic Oamaru into just one day.

If you notice a slight change in the layout of the blog (not a major one I hope), it's because Blogger have done an upgrade to the programme and this is the new format which is also meant to be mobile friendly. Please let me if there's anything unusual.