In the month plus a couple of days since we returned from New Zealand I have endured considerable irritation firstly by 4 days of Thomas the Tank Engine events over two weekends, and four rounds of AFL football some of which I have enjoyed but has frustrated me greatly, twice by my teams inability to press home an advantage when they have worked hard to get into a winning position, and of course the umpiring, which seems to have deteriorated even further, not helped by two strange variations to the rules or interpretation to rucking contests and deliberate out of bounds, which at times seems farcical.
The Thomas Tank thing has caused me to attend three further meetings in the last month, to add to the five I attended since last September before our holiday, relating to Gembrook now being the 'Event Hub' of Puffing Billy. At all of these I have been outspoken in opposition, alas no fruit has come from my efforts, the latest situation being that the newly formed Gembrook Community Voice group is to conduct a survey as to whether residents want all these events, or what changes they would like to the program and management of traffic etc. I wait with bated breath the results of this survey in the hope there will be some data as a result that supports my opposition to this fiasco inflicted on us by the PBRailway Board and the Cardinia Shire Council, without any courtesy or consideration to residents in a disgraceful act of belligerance.
But putting all that aside, and the state of world affairs, which includes the real threat apparently of thermo nuclear war at any moment, cruise missile attacks in Syria following the use of chemical weapons and the mother of all non nuclear bombs dropped in Afghanistan, I have enjoyed some joyful moments.
Firstly, outside our bedroom window is a shallow bird bath on a metal stand under a tree fern. It was designed and made by a friend of mine some twenty years ago, Peter Van Ketchwick, affectionately known in Gembrook as Peter Potter before he moved away more than a decade ago. Peter sold pottery at the Gembrook market and worked from his home 'Sunset' where he was kind enough to let me pick cherry laurel and other foliage from his old garden which was seriously overgrown and weed infested. In return I slashed his grass with my heavycut mower now and again and did some weed removal.
One day Peter showed me one of his innovations, a bird bath stand made by three steel rods of about 5/8 inch twisted together to form a strong upright, and the ends of the rods bent out at the bottom to form a stand. The ends at the top were similarly splayed out to form a platform, with a rim welded to it, for a shallow pottery dish to sit in and serve as a bird bath, elevated from the ground by about 4 feet. I bought one as a Christmas present.for my mother in law Molly who lived in Wangaratta.
Molly loved it, and for many years she watched small birds in her front garden sustaining themselves in her bird bath, through her loungeroom window, or sitting on her front porch. When Molly died some five years ago the family tripped to Wangaratta to move all the stuff from her recently sold house and the birdbath that brought Molly so much pleasure found its way back to Gembrook.
I was taking Lib breakfast in bed a week or so ago and I noticed the thornbills, which we see often, flitting about outside the window and taking it in turns to have a plunge and splash. Others commonly seen are the grey fantail and eastern spinebill, the dish being probably too shallow for the larger birds.This day I noticed other birds, similar in size and colour to the thornbills, but with noticably red feathers about the face. There was a colony of them, maybe a dozen or more, and I can only conclude from reference to bird books, that they were red browed finches. Some years ago I was picking in the garden and a large number of them came by quite close to me and that time I concluded they were red browed finches so I'm thinking that was what these were the other day, although the red on their faces seemed to be more on their chins than their foreheads. Mind you I didn't have my glasses on.
Another joy was having my 65th birthday. It was always a target I hoped I'd reach. Not that I'm retiring, but throughout my life I always wondered if I'd make that milestone and it's nice that I have. My niece Annie had her 40th birthday the day before and her daughters Ella and Evie turned 12 and 10 shortly after.
The other thing that brings me joy every day is being surrounded by trees. I stand on our deck in the morning and look out at a vista of shades of green and autumn colour in all manner of subtle shapes. Trees are a tonic to my mind and spirit, and memories of their beauty on our recent holiday in New Zealand flood back to me in my quiet meditation, leaving me in an almost hypnotized trance of peace.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Easter Monday
The day started out well with a good sleep in. Friday, Sat and Sunday we were up at 6am as Lib worked. I was up briefly at 5am Monday. Pip came to our room and woke me as she does if she wants to go outside, and due to a muscle strain around my shoulder blade which troubled me all Sunday, I took 2 ibuprofen tablets and a cortisone with a cup of tea and a biscuit and peanut butter. You take these things with food and not on an empty stomach.
I went back to bed and slept till 9am then cooked Lib tomatoes on toast with fresh basil for breakfast. I picked a lot of tomatoes on Friday when I went out to Margeurita's to clear some room and turn ground over to plant broccoli seedlings she'd bought. The ones I cooked yesterday were cherry toms in a small frypan, done with as low heat as I could and left for some time so juice comes out and slowly thickens. They were delicious.
I was quietly busy right through Easter but at a leisurely pace. After a few hours at Margeurita's on Friday I picked some cherry laurel foliage around the town for an order of fifty bunches for Monday morning pick up. Saturday I finished the laurel picking and washed and graded all the tomatoes picked the previous day and generally tidied up round the house and rested. Sunday I picked bay foliage for an order for Tuesday (today) pick up and did an hour at Margeurita's pruning a photinia hedge before taking the laurel and the bay to the farm.
A florist who usually picks up on Fridays changed to late Monday because of Easter so Monday I set to pick her foliage as well as some variegated pitto for the bay lady. While I was doing the tomatoes for breakfast the phone rang and it was Meredith saying the herb and spice people wanted elderberry flowers which I pick in a creek bed in Emerald. It's difficult terrain getting down into the creek and I took gumboots as there's a lot of mud, but my foot sunk in the bank and I crashed to ground as I jumped the creek, missing the mud fortunately, but smashing the styrene box I was collecting the flowers in. I was carrying my pole and cutting head and a bottle of wine for the lady whose house adjoins the creek where I pick, and was unbalanced when my foot sank. I'm not trespassing but the people in the house have a vegie garden the other side of the creek and treat the creek as their own garden although it is council owned. The lady has talked to me on previous occasions, she doesn't mind me picking the flowers and I leave her a jar of honey on the path. Last time she said she had a good store of honey thanks so I suggested a bottle of red at which she was happy about although she said I needn't leave anything. The elderberry thing will be over soon till next summer but I'm more comfortable with a gesture of honey or wine than trudging through someone's space offering nothing in return. Goodwill goes a long way, possibly I'll be wanting the flowers next summer.
It was good to get home and watch Hawthorn get another flogging in the last quarter. Lib made meatballs for dinner which were great with Margeurita's sauce. She has a passion for making tomato sauce and she made me up a big batch of bottles which she gave me on Friday and will last us for many months.
My crook shoulder held up well and last night I gained relief from massaging myself with a hard spikey ball that Gord got from the physio. I have had a tight hip and discomfort for a couple of weeks as well. Rubbing the ball up and down my leg muscle and my arm and chest muscles seemed to really loosen me up, then I lay on my back and put the ball under hip first then the shoulder area, moving myself over the ball. It worked a treat, and may well save me seeking a masseur this week as was my intention.
Speaking of Gord, he went to lakes Entrance on Good Friday by himself and stayed till yesterday. He mowed the grass which hadn't been done for three months. Lib's sister Margaret who now lives in the Lakes house was away for Easter. It was very good of Gord to do that, he has a sense of responsibility to the slashing at Lakes and has his own mower down there and an old whipper snipper so we don't have to cart one up and back when we go. With our trip to New Zealand and general work and duties Lib and I have not been able to get down there and won't for a while. It was good to see Gord get back safe and sound after the Easter traffic. That's the first time he has done that by himself.
Another sleep in today, and for the first time since last week there is not the constant roar of motor bikes going up and down Launching Place Road. They all were out joyriding over Easter and it was like constant thunder. It says a lot about our society. I guess it's some form of escapism from the boredom and banality of city life, to dress up like a bikie and ride into the country and drink coffee at a village cafe instead of in the local mall or strip. It's the same just about every weekend except if the weather's wet, or very hot. Probably they head down the coast then.
I went back to bed and slept till 9am then cooked Lib tomatoes on toast with fresh basil for breakfast. I picked a lot of tomatoes on Friday when I went out to Margeurita's to clear some room and turn ground over to plant broccoli seedlings she'd bought. The ones I cooked yesterday were cherry toms in a small frypan, done with as low heat as I could and left for some time so juice comes out and slowly thickens. They were delicious.
I was quietly busy right through Easter but at a leisurely pace. After a few hours at Margeurita's on Friday I picked some cherry laurel foliage around the town for an order of fifty bunches for Monday morning pick up. Saturday I finished the laurel picking and washed and graded all the tomatoes picked the previous day and generally tidied up round the house and rested. Sunday I picked bay foliage for an order for Tuesday (today) pick up and did an hour at Margeurita's pruning a photinia hedge before taking the laurel and the bay to the farm.
A florist who usually picks up on Fridays changed to late Monday because of Easter so Monday I set to pick her foliage as well as some variegated pitto for the bay lady. While I was doing the tomatoes for breakfast the phone rang and it was Meredith saying the herb and spice people wanted elderberry flowers which I pick in a creek bed in Emerald. It's difficult terrain getting down into the creek and I took gumboots as there's a lot of mud, but my foot sunk in the bank and I crashed to ground as I jumped the creek, missing the mud fortunately, but smashing the styrene box I was collecting the flowers in. I was carrying my pole and cutting head and a bottle of wine for the lady whose house adjoins the creek where I pick, and was unbalanced when my foot sank. I'm not trespassing but the people in the house have a vegie garden the other side of the creek and treat the creek as their own garden although it is council owned. The lady has talked to me on previous occasions, she doesn't mind me picking the flowers and I leave her a jar of honey on the path. Last time she said she had a good store of honey thanks so I suggested a bottle of red at which she was happy about although she said I needn't leave anything. The elderberry thing will be over soon till next summer but I'm more comfortable with a gesture of honey or wine than trudging through someone's space offering nothing in return. Goodwill goes a long way, possibly I'll be wanting the flowers next summer.
It was good to get home and watch Hawthorn get another flogging in the last quarter. Lib made meatballs for dinner which were great with Margeurita's sauce. She has a passion for making tomato sauce and she made me up a big batch of bottles which she gave me on Friday and will last us for many months.
My crook shoulder held up well and last night I gained relief from massaging myself with a hard spikey ball that Gord got from the physio. I have had a tight hip and discomfort for a couple of weeks as well. Rubbing the ball up and down my leg muscle and my arm and chest muscles seemed to really loosen me up, then I lay on my back and put the ball under hip first then the shoulder area, moving myself over the ball. It worked a treat, and may well save me seeking a masseur this week as was my intention.
Speaking of Gord, he went to lakes Entrance on Good Friday by himself and stayed till yesterday. He mowed the grass which hadn't been done for three months. Lib's sister Margaret who now lives in the Lakes house was away for Easter. It was very good of Gord to do that, he has a sense of responsibility to the slashing at Lakes and has his own mower down there and an old whipper snipper so we don't have to cart one up and back when we go. With our trip to New Zealand and general work and duties Lib and I have not been able to get down there and won't for a while. It was good to see Gord get back safe and sound after the Easter traffic. That's the first time he has done that by himself.
Another sleep in today, and for the first time since last week there is not the constant roar of motor bikes going up and down Launching Place Road. They all were out joyriding over Easter and it was like constant thunder. It says a lot about our society. I guess it's some form of escapism from the boredom and banality of city life, to dress up like a bikie and ride into the country and drink coffee at a village cafe instead of in the local mall or strip. It's the same just about every weekend except if the weather's wet, or very hot. Probably they head down the coast then.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Back To Christchurch
I have left it too long to post about our NZ holiday and already my memory of details is dimmed but I will have a go before moving on to recent topical things which have been distracting enough to prevent me blogging lately. At this moment I can't lay my hands on the itinerary so I'll wing it.
We left Doonadin for two nights at Lake Tekapo, a decent drive of about 5 hours I think. We were booked into another Peppers resort which had excellent facilities including a good kitchen, and a good view of the lake. I went to find the guest laundry to wash our clothes and while there I talked to a lady from Sydney who had traveled from the Nth Island to Picton on the ferry, then drove to Kia Koura. She said the main Rd was closed due to the earthquake of last November and the detour through a big loop round mountains and with much roadworks took 7.5 hours and was a nightmare. This alarmed me as I knew we were scheduled to drive from Kia Koura to Picton in a few days time and were to spend one day in Picton before returning the next to Christchurch which would mean a 7.5 hour drive one way then returning the same route two days later. My mobile phone was not working there and for some reason the landline could not get through to our travel agent, so Lib had a conversation with Rob on We Chat and he on our behalf contacted Emerald Lake Travel to cancel the two nights in Picton and try to get two more in Kia Koura. This took 24 hours to expedite and unfortunately the Picton Motel said they would not give us refund so we did $550 cold, but saved $200 in petrol and avoided two days sitting in a car. Such is life.
Another disquiet at this point was an email (which I could access on the mobile phone) from Peppers at Christchurch saying we had used items from the minibar and they had billed the credit card $70. This riled me because we never use the mini bar.. never.. wherever we go. I disputed this with them and they said they would credit the card and it must have been a mistake, and the amount was credited. Strange business really, I can only assume a staff member knocked off some items (wine, chocolate bar and chips). When you stay in these places you have to give them your credit card details, just like when you hire a car, so they can bill you if they wish.
Our full day at Tekapo was spent driving to the alpine village of Aoraki near Mt Cook past the beautiful blue waters of Lake Pukaki and the snow covered mountains as backdrop. This certainly was jaw dropping spectacular. We picnicked lunch and walked to a viewing point of the Tasman glacier.
With the effects of global warming and other climatic processes taking their toll on New Zealand glaciers, their retreat is imminent. Now approximately 27km long and 600m deep, the Tasman Glacier is melting and calving at an exponentially increasing rate. In recent years the Tasman Glacier has changed from a 'melting' to a 'calving and melting' terminus, resulting in a terminal lake that is rapidly increasing in size. - See more at: http://www.hermitage.co.nz/en/activities/glacier-explorers#sthash.7TE3gmf3.dpuf
I lifted that from a website and somehow the black and white reversed. The lake had mini icebergs floating in it. Apparently NZ's glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate and will disappear in the not too distant future.
As we left Tekapo on the morning of 11 March the weather closed in with drizzle and low cloud. If this had come a day early we would have seen nothing of the magnificent mountains and blue lake scenery we had enjoyed in the clear full sunshine of the previous day.
We arrived in Christchurch in the afternoon and took a full hour driving (and parking and walking) around the renovated city to locate our hotel which was built pre earthquake but was contemporary in design and apparently one of the safest or strongest buildings in the city. In the vicinity there were many vacant lots where damaged buildings had been removed and much construction. It was a bit scary. I spoke to a lady who said she fell down when the earth shook and had carpet burns from the ground moving so quickly underneath her. On a building site fence near our hotel there were flower wreaths, all dried out, with the names of people who must have perished there and the date of the eathquake. Presumably they were put there on the recent anniversary of the event. Christchurch is built on reclaimed swamp land, not ideal on a fault line.
We found a Japanese dumpling shop for dinner. It was a no alcohol zone but the guy gave us a couple of teacups and said we could drink the wine if no one saw us pouring it, which wasn't hard as there were few people and they were engrossed in their food.
It was then on to KiaKoura. What would have been a drive of a couple of hours was double that due to a detour caused by rain on roadworks repairing damage to the road by the earthquake that hit KiaKoura last November. We had three nights in Kiakoura and two full days to explore. We needed this rest. My right foot had flared up and become very painful because of the RA. I didn't take my weekly abatacept injection in NZ (it needs refrigeration) so I missed one, and by day 12 since the injection on the day we left, I was in a lot of pain walking with a serious limp. I had brought cortisone tablets with me as precaution and got into them and the pain eased but was with me for the remainder of the holiday and in fact right up till last week when my resumed injections and tumeric daily intake got on top of it and much to my relief I'm pain free again, a great feeling.
KiaKoura is fascinating place. The weather was cool and windy while we were there but we weren't concerned. It's a coastal town, a tourist venue for Christchurch residents and famous for its fish and chips, historically many families driving from Christchurch to enjoy on weekends. It's now well known as a whale watching base. Whaling was the early industry of the town and and also fur seals. We didn't see any whales but the seals were numerous on the point below the lookout in fact there was a number of them sleeping on the boardwalk or just off to the side each time we went there. They are known to often be on the road and apparently they have no road sense at all and you have to watch for them when driving.
Along the roadside in a couple of places there was silver beet growing in clumps, strong and healthy, which we picked for our dinner. I later learned when we visited the museum that Kiakoura is one of two locations in NZ where silver beet has naturalized and grows wild. The museum is in a new building, a part of the community centre and is packed with history and information. It has not been open long and the lady who was on duty said she was a paid part time employee funded by the admission price which was $12 a head or $30 for a family. The museum board received a grant of some $millions from the NZ lottery and the new display was about 5 years in the making and is a work in progress.
The town is built on the shore of a bay protected by a rock platform where the seal colony hangs out, to the south and east of which is open ocean across which cold winds can rip from the southern ocean or the antarctic. A mountain range runs along the west of the town which is snow peaked in winter. This range protects from the cold westerlies from the alps, but in the cemetery I saw the graves of two young men in their twenties who perished in a storm on 4 December 1904. I guess they were trying to save livestock and were caught out. In the museum there was a photo of a man who also perished in the mountains, found frozen with his brother's dog still by his side. It left me in no doubt that the climate of the South Island can be extremely harsh.
The weather cleared on the day we left Kiakoura enabling us to get some good photos. We returned to Christchurch to a different hotel, Chateau on the Park, next to Hagley Park. We took a walk and found the old home Mona Vale, a mansion built in 1902 now serving as a restaurant surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens which abound in Christchurch. We had dinner in a Korean restaurant in walking distance from our hotel. The service and food were exceptional.
Next day after checkout we went to the amazing Botanic Gardens again. Lib didn't really see them on our first day as she was catching up on shut eye. Following a little souvenir gift shopping in the mall in the city we went to Mona Vale gardens and rested till it was time to head out to the airport, returning the hire car at the scheduled 5.30 pm and waiting for our flight out at 9.05pm, arriving Melbourne about 11pm EST. Rob picked us up and took us home. Home sweet home at about 1am 17 March, after a truly memorable holiday.
We left Doonadin for two nights at Lake Tekapo, a decent drive of about 5 hours I think. We were booked into another Peppers resort which had excellent facilities including a good kitchen, and a good view of the lake. I went to find the guest laundry to wash our clothes and while there I talked to a lady from Sydney who had traveled from the Nth Island to Picton on the ferry, then drove to Kia Koura. She said the main Rd was closed due to the earthquake of last November and the detour through a big loop round mountains and with much roadworks took 7.5 hours and was a nightmare. This alarmed me as I knew we were scheduled to drive from Kia Koura to Picton in a few days time and were to spend one day in Picton before returning the next to Christchurch which would mean a 7.5 hour drive one way then returning the same route two days later. My mobile phone was not working there and for some reason the landline could not get through to our travel agent, so Lib had a conversation with Rob on We Chat and he on our behalf contacted Emerald Lake Travel to cancel the two nights in Picton and try to get two more in Kia Koura. This took 24 hours to expedite and unfortunately the Picton Motel said they would not give us refund so we did $550 cold, but saved $200 in petrol and avoided two days sitting in a car. Such is life.
Another disquiet at this point was an email (which I could access on the mobile phone) from Peppers at Christchurch saying we had used items from the minibar and they had billed the credit card $70. This riled me because we never use the mini bar.. never.. wherever we go. I disputed this with them and they said they would credit the card and it must have been a mistake, and the amount was credited. Strange business really, I can only assume a staff member knocked off some items (wine, chocolate bar and chips). When you stay in these places you have to give them your credit card details, just like when you hire a car, so they can bill you if they wish.
Our full day at Tekapo was spent driving to the alpine village of Aoraki near Mt Cook past the beautiful blue waters of Lake Pukaki and the snow covered mountains as backdrop. This certainly was jaw dropping spectacular. We picnicked lunch and walked to a viewing point of the Tasman glacier.
With the effects of global warming and other climatic processes taking their toll on New Zealand glaciers, their retreat is imminent. Now approximately 27km long and 600m deep, the Tasman Glacier is melting and calving at an exponentially increasing rate. In recent years the Tasman Glacier has changed from a 'melting' to a 'calving and melting' terminus, resulting in a terminal lake that is rapidly increasing in size. - See more at: http://www.hermitage.co.nz/en/activities/glacier-explorers#sthash.7TE3gmf3.dpuf
I lifted that from a website and somehow the black and white reversed. The lake had mini icebergs floating in it. Apparently NZ's glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate and will disappear in the not too distant future.
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| The other way down the glacial valley |
As we left Tekapo on the morning of 11 March the weather closed in with drizzle and low cloud. If this had come a day early we would have seen nothing of the magnificent mountains and blue lake scenery we had enjoyed in the clear full sunshine of the previous day.
We arrived in Christchurch in the afternoon and took a full hour driving (and parking and walking) around the renovated city to locate our hotel which was built pre earthquake but was contemporary in design and apparently one of the safest or strongest buildings in the city. In the vicinity there were many vacant lots where damaged buildings had been removed and much construction. It was a bit scary. I spoke to a lady who said she fell down when the earth shook and had carpet burns from the ground moving so quickly underneath her. On a building site fence near our hotel there were flower wreaths, all dried out, with the names of people who must have perished there and the date of the eathquake. Presumably they were put there on the recent anniversary of the event. Christchurch is built on reclaimed swamp land, not ideal on a fault line.
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| Construction site opposite our hotel |
It was then on to KiaKoura. What would have been a drive of a couple of hours was double that due to a detour caused by rain on roadworks repairing damage to the road by the earthquake that hit KiaKoura last November. We had three nights in Kiakoura and two full days to explore. We needed this rest. My right foot had flared up and become very painful because of the RA. I didn't take my weekly abatacept injection in NZ (it needs refrigeration) so I missed one, and by day 12 since the injection on the day we left, I was in a lot of pain walking with a serious limp. I had brought cortisone tablets with me as precaution and got into them and the pain eased but was with me for the remainder of the holiday and in fact right up till last week when my resumed injections and tumeric daily intake got on top of it and much to my relief I'm pain free again, a great feeling.
KiaKoura is fascinating place. The weather was cool and windy while we were there but we weren't concerned. It's a coastal town, a tourist venue for Christchurch residents and famous for its fish and chips, historically many families driving from Christchurch to enjoy on weekends. It's now well known as a whale watching base. Whaling was the early industry of the town and and also fur seals. We didn't see any whales but the seals were numerous on the point below the lookout in fact there was a number of them sleeping on the boardwalk or just off to the side each time we went there. They are known to often be on the road and apparently they have no road sense at all and you have to watch for them when driving.
Along the roadside in a couple of places there was silver beet growing in clumps, strong and healthy, which we picked for our dinner. I later learned when we visited the museum that Kiakoura is one of two locations in NZ where silver beet has naturalized and grows wild. The museum is in a new building, a part of the community centre and is packed with history and information. It has not been open long and the lady who was on duty said she was a paid part time employee funded by the admission price which was $12 a head or $30 for a family. The museum board received a grant of some $millions from the NZ lottery and the new display was about 5 years in the making and is a work in progress.
The town is built on the shore of a bay protected by a rock platform where the seal colony hangs out, to the south and east of which is open ocean across which cold winds can rip from the southern ocean or the antarctic. A mountain range runs along the west of the town which is snow peaked in winter. This range protects from the cold westerlies from the alps, but in the cemetery I saw the graves of two young men in their twenties who perished in a storm on 4 December 1904. I guess they were trying to save livestock and were caught out. In the museum there was a photo of a man who also perished in the mountains, found frozen with his brother's dog still by his side. It left me in no doubt that the climate of the South Island can be extremely harsh.
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| Earthquake damage at cemetery |
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| Add caption |
Next day after checkout we went to the amazing Botanic Gardens again. Lib didn't really see them on our first day as she was catching up on shut eye. Following a little souvenir gift shopping in the mall in the city we went to Mona Vale gardens and rested till it was time to head out to the airport, returning the hire car at the scheduled 5.30 pm and waiting for our flight out at 9.05pm, arriving Melbourne about 11pm EST. Rob picked us up and took us home. Home sweet home at about 1am 17 March, after a truly memorable holiday.
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| At Mona Vale- copper beech |
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| Lib and Gord Christchurch Gardens |
Sunday, April 02, 2017
A Day in Dunedin
A day in Doonadin. That's how Gord pronounced Dunedin when he first learned the Sth African cricket team was to be in New Zealand at the same time we were to be. It still makes me smile, Dunedin will always be Doonadin to me. As it happened our itinerary had us in Dunedin on the 8th of March, leaving on the 9th for Lake Takitipu.
We flew out of Melbourne on 28 Feb at 12.10am after Rob kindly came to Gembrook to take us and luggage to the airport. Thanks to Rob it was all quite painless as we had checked in on line and had dinner at home relaxed and ready for our expedition.
The flight was easy and uneventful. I dozed for an hour or so, Lib didn't sleep at all, she has trouble sleeping on planes. Touchdown in Christchurch was 5.20am, we were at the Avis desk shortly after 6am to do the payment for our hire car. It was a RAV 4, nearly brand new. It was still dark as we loaded into the car and tried to figure out where to go from a tiny tourist map of Christchurch The RAV 4 didn't have a GPS.
Out onto the road we took a leftie to check out where our accommodation was that night, Peppers Clearwater resort, quite close, just a few k's from the airport. Dawn rose while we found our way. It seemed very quiet and remote at that hour but at least we knew where we had to come back to at some point after the 2pm check in. Back past the airport we went to work our way into Christchurch in the the now peak hour traffic, nothing like that of Melbourne but daunting enough for driver Carey who had little notion of where he was going, with navigator Libby, hopeless, and totally useless with no sleep.
I followed the flow of vehicles into the city and we did a couple of circuits of the city through all the roadworks and reconstruction post earthquake. Signage was poor and detours and witches hats and barriers were everywhere. We could find no where to eat but a Maccas where we had a most repulsive breakfast, forced on us by early morning hunger. Eventually we found a parking area adjacent the Botanic gardens. Lib crashed, sleeping in the car, I took a walk through the gardens before I lay myself down on the grass in front of the car and slept and dreamed for an hour so. I'm not sure where Gord was but no doubt he was also recuperating.
It was balmy warm. After waking I walked again in the gardens, this time with Gord. We admired the wonderful trees and toured the museum and walked round the earthquake damaged famous cathedral. Back at the car park it was packed and crowded with incoming cars constantly looking for non existent spaces. Lib remained asleep in back of the car. She woke eventually and we left and found a Subway shop for lunch. We checked in at the Clearwater resort, a fancy golf course development with apartments overlooking a man made lake, and found our unit to be flash and well appointed with cooking facilities. We drove to a shopping precinct to buy steak for dinner and supplies for picnics on the road in the ensuing days.
Next day was a long drive across the Sth Island to Greymouth then south to Franz Joseph. Originally we were scheduled to catch a train from Christchurch to Greymouth and pick up the hire car there but the train was out of action because of a fire shortly before our trip. The scenery of the Canterbury Plains was absorbing, lush farmland with a mountainous backdrop and hedge trees extensively planted and carefully maintained, necessary to provide stock with shelter from the strong cold winds which prevail for the colder months.
Our weather was clear and mild, perfect for travelling and viewing the scenery. This kept up for 10 days. We were lucky to have clear vision of mountains, lakes and glaciers in very pleasant temperature for most of our holiday. After Franz Joseph it was Queenstown for three days following another long drive, then on to Te Anau for two nights which included a day trip to Milford Sound, again fortunately with perfect weather to view the magnificent scenery. This whole week featured mind blowing scenery.
The drive from Te Anau to Dunedin was only a few hours, we had a picnic lunch on the way and found our centrally located hotel after driving around the city a few times and asking directions. It was a small hotel room with a double bed and a single in the one room. We left soon after checking in to find the cricket venue at the university oval and arrived half an hour before the tea break. Sth Africa was batting, opener Elgar holding the innings together well supported by 4th drop Bavuma through the last session.
After returning to our hotel, Gord and I took a walk while Lib had a rest. We sussed out the 'Octogan', a sort of eight sided city square surrounded by restaurants and night life. It was really buzzing, probably more than usual because the cricket was in town. Later we had dinner in a Japanese restaurant where the food was first class. On an adjacent table were two brothers from Invercargill who were there for the cricket with two nieces. One of them had imbibed fully and fell asleep on the grassed area that afternoon and was sunburned badly. He now lived at Arrowtown, close to Queenstown, where is an electrical contractor, and he and we agreed the best pies in the world are at Arrowtown. I had lamb and mint, Lib steak and mushroom,and we shared a vegetable pie, all sensational. He said he went to the Boxing Day test in Melbourne and it was 40C and he nearly died. We said we went there once to a one day match Australia v Sri Lanka and it was hot as hell and we drank our water and the stalls ran out and it was total mayhem. He said the day after the cricket he wanted to go to Rosebud and caught a train with his wife but it only went as far as Frankston so they had a walk around there and he said he had never seen so many tattoo parlours in his life, they were everywhere.
We liked Doonadin, even though we were there for only one night.
We flew out of Melbourne on 28 Feb at 12.10am after Rob kindly came to Gembrook to take us and luggage to the airport. Thanks to Rob it was all quite painless as we had checked in on line and had dinner at home relaxed and ready for our expedition.
The flight was easy and uneventful. I dozed for an hour or so, Lib didn't sleep at all, she has trouble sleeping on planes. Touchdown in Christchurch was 5.20am, we were at the Avis desk shortly after 6am to do the payment for our hire car. It was a RAV 4, nearly brand new. It was still dark as we loaded into the car and tried to figure out where to go from a tiny tourist map of Christchurch The RAV 4 didn't have a GPS.
Out onto the road we took a leftie to check out where our accommodation was that night, Peppers Clearwater resort, quite close, just a few k's from the airport. Dawn rose while we found our way. It seemed very quiet and remote at that hour but at least we knew where we had to come back to at some point after the 2pm check in. Back past the airport we went to work our way into Christchurch in the the now peak hour traffic, nothing like that of Melbourne but daunting enough for driver Carey who had little notion of where he was going, with navigator Libby, hopeless, and totally useless with no sleep.
I followed the flow of vehicles into the city and we did a couple of circuits of the city through all the roadworks and reconstruction post earthquake. Signage was poor and detours and witches hats and barriers were everywhere. We could find no where to eat but a Maccas where we had a most repulsive breakfast, forced on us by early morning hunger. Eventually we found a parking area adjacent the Botanic gardens. Lib crashed, sleeping in the car, I took a walk through the gardens before I lay myself down on the grass in front of the car and slept and dreamed for an hour so. I'm not sure where Gord was but no doubt he was also recuperating.
It was balmy warm. After waking I walked again in the gardens, this time with Gord. We admired the wonderful trees and toured the museum and walked round the earthquake damaged famous cathedral. Back at the car park it was packed and crowded with incoming cars constantly looking for non existent spaces. Lib remained asleep in back of the car. She woke eventually and we left and found a Subway shop for lunch. We checked in at the Clearwater resort, a fancy golf course development with apartments overlooking a man made lake, and found our unit to be flash and well appointed with cooking facilities. We drove to a shopping precinct to buy steak for dinner and supplies for picnics on the road in the ensuing days.
Next day was a long drive across the Sth Island to Greymouth then south to Franz Joseph. Originally we were scheduled to catch a train from Christchurch to Greymouth and pick up the hire car there but the train was out of action because of a fire shortly before our trip. The scenery of the Canterbury Plains was absorbing, lush farmland with a mountainous backdrop and hedge trees extensively planted and carefully maintained, necessary to provide stock with shelter from the strong cold winds which prevail for the colder months.
Our weather was clear and mild, perfect for travelling and viewing the scenery. This kept up for 10 days. We were lucky to have clear vision of mountains, lakes and glaciers in very pleasant temperature for most of our holiday. After Franz Joseph it was Queenstown for three days following another long drive, then on to Te Anau for two nights which included a day trip to Milford Sound, again fortunately with perfect weather to view the magnificent scenery. This whole week featured mind blowing scenery.
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| Fox glacier |
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| Near Glenorchy out from Queenstown |
The drive from Te Anau to Dunedin was only a few hours, we had a picnic lunch on the way and found our centrally located hotel after driving around the city a few times and asking directions. It was a small hotel room with a double bed and a single in the one room. We left soon after checking in to find the cricket venue at the university oval and arrived half an hour before the tea break. Sth Africa was batting, opener Elgar holding the innings together well supported by 4th drop Bavuma through the last session.
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| One wag held up a sign "My wife loves de Kock", Quentin de Kock being the Sth African wicketkeeper |
After returning to our hotel, Gord and I took a walk while Lib had a rest. We sussed out the 'Octogan', a sort of eight sided city square surrounded by restaurants and night life. It was really buzzing, probably more than usual because the cricket was in town. Later we had dinner in a Japanese restaurant where the food was first class. On an adjacent table were two brothers from Invercargill who were there for the cricket with two nieces. One of them had imbibed fully and fell asleep on the grassed area that afternoon and was sunburned badly. He now lived at Arrowtown, close to Queenstown, where is an electrical contractor, and he and we agreed the best pies in the world are at Arrowtown. I had lamb and mint, Lib steak and mushroom,and we shared a vegetable pie, all sensational. He said he went to the Boxing Day test in Melbourne and it was 40C and he nearly died. We said we went there once to a one day match Australia v Sri Lanka and it was hot as hell and we drank our water and the stalls ran out and it was total mayhem. He said the day after the cricket he wanted to go to Rosebud and caught a train with his wife but it only went as far as Frankston so they had a walk around there and he said he had never seen so many tattoo parlours in his life, they were everywhere.
We liked Doonadin, even though we were there for only one night.
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| Dunedin Railway Station |
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