And More Adventures

Warning - photo heavy!!

I have one more adventure to share, before I can (hopefully) get into some sewing and quilting!

You may remember that at the beginning of April, I was in Australia attending Scrub Stitching and road tripping with kiwikid Sue.

I was home for only 10 days before the MOML (hubby) and I set off on another road trip. We had a family wedding to attend halfway down the South Island.

We decided to drive down so that we could see a bit of the countryside. We decided 5 hours a day was good - lots of driving but it gave us the chance to stop and look around if we wanted, have a long lunch, etc etc.

Whangarei, near where we live, is in the north of the country (several hours north of Auckland city, if you know a little of the geography). 

Day One we drove to Taupo. We stayed on the shores of the lake, which is the largest lake in New Zealand. It was a bit cloudy but we still got a lovely view of the lake, and the mountains beyond it.

The next day we travelled to Wellington, at the bottom of the North Island. We stopped at Bulls for lunch.

Of course when you have a town named Bulls, it is full of bull....lots of puns and statues, etc.

And cafes full of bull. We had lunch in La Bull below and enjoyed it a lot.

We stayed the night in Wellington. To be honest, as rural folk, we didn't really enjoy Wellington. We're not used to cities, one way systems, no parking, cyclists and so on!!!

We were not far from The Parliamentary buildings; in between heavy rain we said hello to The Beehive, and surrounding area, but decided not to venture out to fight for our dinner - ordering pizzas to be delivered instead!

The next day was really when all the excitement begun. We crossed over on the Kaitaki ferry to the South Island. This was a first for the MOML and my only other crossing was as a child so we were looking forward to it and hoping that we would have a calm day.

Leaving Wellington Harbour-

There is a really good map *here* showing the route.

After the wide open waters of the Cook Strait we approached the Marlborough Sounds of the South Island.

We stayed the first night in the South Island at Kaikoura. We had a good little wander around, did some shopping (topping up our wedding outfits!) and finding somewhere for dinner.

Me being on a strict gluten-free diet means that we do have to choose carefully for all our meals and it's a great excuse to explore a town. But I didn't get sick so the efforts were worth it!

The next morning the sky was nice and clear and we had our first decent sighting of the Southern Alps. These run the length of the South Island and we were hoping, being autumn, we'd see some snow.

We drove to Fairlie, which is south of Christchurch and more inland. We had a wee walk around the township and I channelled my inner kiwikidSue and took a photo of the infamous Jock MacKenzie, sheep rustler and his mate. Fairlie and the area around it is known as MacKenzie Country. It's about the centre of the South Island.

The next day was wedding day. It was held in a rural setting and had a lovely relaxed vibe. 

Bridal Party-

The MOML and I-

Being May in the South Island, the day cooled down a fair bit and we were all pleased there was a heater in the marquee!

The next day we hit the road again - we headed further inland hoping to see Mt Cook. It was very foggy and we weren't sure we would see anything at all. All of the MacKenzie country farmland we wanted to see was hidden from view. and even Lake Tekapo was underwhelming. We nearly turned around there, having been to told that if you can't see the mountains from Tekapo, don't bother! However we carried on, past the nearly invisible Lake Pukaki - and then all of a sudden the sky started clearing! 

First glimpses!

We drove to The Hermitage and had a good look around (and tried our hands at a selfie)-

Then drove a little more so we could walk up to the glacier look out.

It was all so beautiful - well worth the drive, and we could have spent a lot longer there taking it all in. 

On the way back we had beautiful views of the lakes we had missed earlier on!

Travelling back through Fairlie we HAD to stop at the famous Fairlie Pie Shop. Every one we met said it was the place to go...there were queues way out the door (and it wasn't even lunch time!) which shows we weren't the only ones who'd been told that!.

We weren't disappointed. They even had small GF pies and GF Lamingtons so I was one happy gal.

We spent the next two nights in Christchurch and enjoyed exploring. Once again a case of leaving the car at the motel and spending the day walking. We clocked up 10 kms around the city centre and the Botanical Gardens. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Christchurch has lots of beautiful old stone buildings.

And this was a common sight - still plenty of work to do after the 2011 earthquakes.

We loved the Botanical Gardens. This photo shows the Avon River which flows through the city. There was lots of autumn colour.

From Christchurch we headed up to Picton - 

And the next morning we boarded the Awatere Interislander ferry to get back to the North Island.

It was another beautiful day on the water-

And this non-descript photo shows a pod of dolphins who accompanied us for a wee while-

(I was too busy watching to take a photo, and then it was too late.

You can just make out some splashes.)

We drove to Palmerston North for the night, where we met, at Massey University many moons ago.

Taupo again the next day - there was was more snow on Ruapehu than a week before and it was bitterly cold. Colder than we'd been in the South Island!- 

Waiouru was the first meal fail of our holiday - with half the cafes closed and no GF options....so it was potato chips, chocolate and coffee from the service station!

Our last night was spent back at Taupo. After the driving I enjoyed a nice walk along the lake edge. This area is known for its geothermal activity and you might be able to pick out a person in the bottom right of the photo? There was a small pool there by the rocks and about 6 people were in it, enjoying the warmth - they were in togs and I had my beanie and jacket on!!

And a frosty start to the day for our drive home (taken from the same spot as the very first photo)-

It was a wonderful holiday, all the more special as the MOML hasn't had a holiday for this long while the cows have still been milking for a very long time - if ever?

Now that our son-in-law is working on the farm we're able to do this a bit more often. I look forward to next year's jaunt!

Well done if you've got to the end of this. I know, lots of scenic photos, but that's what struck us as we travelled around.

No more holidays to catch up on so I'll be able to get back to quilting!!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Heading home.....

Well my posts have jumped around a little bit time wise but this is the last bit of travel for our Scrub stitching adventure!

After leaving Nathallia, we drove to Rochester to see the Silo Art there. These were painted by the artist who had also painted the silos at Picola and they definitely did not disappoint.

The duck billed Platypus - 

The Campasre River Azure Kingfisher-

The third silo I didn't even want to photograph as it reminded me too much of the dreaded possum (well, dreaded here in NZ) - however Sue encouraged me to have a look. It was the Squirrel Glider -

In spite of what one might think of possums (and their like) you still have to admire the artistry!!!

Some of the painted silos are in townships and others are in more remote locations, a wee village or similar. While most have some sort of descriptive board, some also have nicely laid out carparking, facilities, playgounds which of course encourages visitors to stay a little longer. I guess it depends how much funding each community has been able to raise. Here at Rochester there was a very nice playground - 

After Rochester we made our way to Colbinabbin, where we viewed the last painted silos of this trip.

These silos noted the importance of the railway line in the early years, as well as events which brought the community together in the early years, such as picnics and race days.

If you look carefully, you'll notice a smaller silo beside the bigger one below; it has been painted to blend in with the painting on the larger silo-

It was interesting driving through the country side in New South Wales and Victoria, to see the number of UN-painted silos there were out there. They really are very strong grain growing areas!

Sue left me at the airport, where I stayed the night and she drove home. And first thing next morning, it was time to fly home.

A mosaic on the floor at the airport-

And a row of bears, for some reason, there was no explanation as to why they were there.

Leaving Melbourne/Tullamarine Airport- 

A nice day for flying-

And back to Auckland, NZ-

I thoroughly enjoyed my time away, the tiki tour we went on and the wonderful time at Scrub stitching. Unfortunately lovely memories weren't the only thing I brought home from Australia - also a case of Covid. However, I haven't been terribly unwell and I've had a nice time isolating downstairs with all the sewing I didn't get done at Scrub Stitching!

The kids came to visit (ED brought me out some food) and entertained me through the windows!

Today I tested negative. And it was back to reality having to cook dinner and do housework!

This was the gorgeous sky the other night-

'til next time,

happy stitches,