Easter

It has been back to Clyde and the camping ground for our Easter break. Once again we have had our sleeves rolled up to do the cleaning and a little bit of office work for six days.  It has been  great to be back, to catch up with new friends made at Christmas as well as add a few more dollars to the bank account.



The weather in Central Otago has produced lovely autumnal days which has helped create a very happy and relaxed camping experience for the campers.

Certainly one of the better places in the country to have been, and certainly better than much of the Christmas break here. I think the lack of wind is what the main point of difference is.


Clyde and Central Otago have provided plenty of activities for holiday makers to get out and enjoy.
Three specific events in the area that have attracted large numbers are:
War Birds Over Wanaka: Warbirds over Wanaka
The Festival of Speed in Cromwell at the Highlands Motorsport Park: Festival of Speed
Clyde Wine and Food Festival on Sunday.Clyde Wine and Food Festival

The crowd in the historic precinct of Clyde  enjoying a previous festival.

Home Creek

We have been involved with a volunteer project in Manapouri under the umbrella of the Waiau Trust for a number of years.  Our friend Edith is the driving force behind this project and each year, usually on the 2nd Saturday of April, a number of natives are planted at Home Creek, with an activity arranged for the afternoon. In the past we have visited eco-homes, wetlands and other places of interest.





So it was on a cold miserable Saturday morning last week that we headed down to Home Creek, along with about 15 other volunteers, to plant the 300 natives that Edith had sourced from Pukurau Nurseries.  This year there were just 3 species:  flax, mingimingi (coprosma propinqua) and corokia cotoneaster.









This is a very challenging site as it is both exposed and has very poor soils. In the past some of the plantings have not been successful and it is alway disappointing to return the following year only to find that many of the plants put in the previous year have died.  Edith has narrowed her plant selection to only the very hardy and finally we are beginning to see some success. This is the first year when many of us have noticed just how much some of the plantings are coming away.

Home Creek is a good place to visit at any time to take a stroll. Being just 1km east of Manapouri on the road to Tuatapere, it is easy to find and the 40 minute walk takes you along both sides of Home Creek which meanders through the reserve.















Our afternoon project was to do some spraying at the Wildness Reserve, on the road into TeAnau, but this was abandoned because of the conditions. Some chose to do a walk along the Waiau River at Rainbow Reach, while Stephen and I retreated to the bus for a rest. Before we headed  back to Manapouri to share a meal with Edith and Rances we called into to see a pizza oven that an Invercargill couple had built on their lifestyle block. (Of course Stephen is still working on our one and is alway keen to see what others have done.)   All in all a very good day.

Final days in Te Anau

After nearly two months of being based in Te Anau it was  getting close to the time we had to move on.
There were still quite a few jobs that we wanted done before our new tenant, Chloe, wanted to move in on Saturday.  We were very excited to find her - she had an advertisement on the notice board at the supermarket, as she has a permanent job with DOC as a marine biologist and is keen for a long term tenancy.

Stephen has beavered away at his project in the garage and it is now starting to really take shape. The new sliding doors that he fitted have added a lot more light and the loft area upstairs is now all lined and insulated. We managed to squeeze a queen sized mattress up there but I suspect the only way it will ever be taken out is if Stephen lifts the roof to make a more useable space in the future. In the meantime we could use it is as an extra sleeping space. One day we will also add a bathroom in the space he has framed up.

One project I was keen to do was a restoration of an old bedroom suite that is in the main bedroom. A veneered duchess, two bedside cabinets and a bed head were all looking very much worse for wear and were threatened with being taken to the recycling centre. When I was in Greymouth, Shirley's niece Brooke inspired me with her ideas on giving such furniture a facelift.  Not wanting to spend too much I used the exterior house paint (we had quite a bit of that left) after applying a special coat of smooth coat which helps paint stick to surfaces like laminates, glass or previously varnished surfaces.  It is hard to believe the transformation and we are extremely pleased with the results.

The final project that Stephen wanted to complete before we left was the removal of the VERY LARGE walnut tree. We don't normally like to cut down such large and beautiful trees but this one was very much in the wrong place. David and Stephen had planted it nearly 30 years ago when they first bought the section and it had just got too big for such a small site. As well as blocking the view of Mt Luxmore, it was also cutting a lot of light of the house especially in the afternoon. The trunk at this stage has remained and I should imagine that it could easily come away again so a final decision on its fate is still to be made.

Moving back into the bus was also a much bigger exercise than we expected. It is amazing how much 'stuff' had migrated from it to inside.  By Friday night we were all finished and were ready to pull off site on Saturday morning, just as Chloe was preparing to move in.

Kepler Track

We have often looked up at Mt Luxmore - we have a view again from from the bedroom window now that some of the trees have been trimmed back,  and thought we do that part of the Kepler Track some time.  Stephen has done it before but not myself.  It is quite a walk as it rises very quickly from 200m to about 1000m above sea level. There is a hut below the summit and although some people choose to do a day walk I thought that with all that effort it would be nice to stay the night and return the next day.

So we watched for a good weather window and thought that last Sunday would be a good choice. 

Loaded up with a pack each and enough food, sleeping bags and clothes for one night we headed off. We of course walked from our wee rental in Eglinton Place so we had another 5km to go before even getting to the track.  First stop was the DOC office to buy our hut ticket. Normally it is $54 per person but luck was on our side and 'locals' qualify for a 25% discount in April. 

The walking is relatively easy until you get to Brod Bay. We stopped here for a cuppa and a snack before we started the section called the "Grunt".  (There are a group of 'nutters' who actually run it there and back as a race in early December.)  Those who plan to just do a day walk often get dropped off by water taxi and in hindsight we can see the advantage in that, especially as Stephen has suddenly realised he isn't 20 anymore!!                                       

We didn't stay here long as the sandflies weren't being very kind so off we went, full of enthusiasm.   It is indeed a 'grunt',  taking us three hours of steady uphill walking. We stopped at one point to have some lunch and another time to chat to a young British couple who were scampering up and back as a day trip.  

We were very pleased to reach the bush line and see the sign that said 45minutes to the hut. Unfortunately the weather gods weren't with us, and although it was fine in TeAnau and heavy cloud cover was well down and the spectacular views we were hoping to see as we walked along the edge of the bush line were almost non existent. It was just as we were approaching the hut that a small window of viewing opened up for us allowing us to look down into the south fiord and across to the the Murchison Mountains.

Hut almost visible in the cloud. 

What you can see on a clear day!!

Once in the hut we chose our bunks and signed in before making a very much needed cuppa.  After a rest we joined the hut warden, Pat, for an informative talk about the pest trapping programme and  a tour of the surrounding environs so he could explain the local alpine vegetation. 

After our evening meal, we weren't long out of bed. Sleeping in a communal bunk room is certainly an interesting experience. The hut holds 55 people and we were in the larger of the two bunk rooms. Mostly we slept all night though one tramper needed a lesson on communal sleeping etiquette. Twice during the night someone rummaged in a very noisy plastic bag and we certainly weren't the only ones disturbed by such behaviour,  listening to the comments during breakfast.

Contemplating trek to the summit!

Unfortunately the cloud was still low on the mountain tops and after initially thinking we would climb to the summit (another hour + walk) we abandoned the idea. It was cold and there was going to be no rewards for our efforts and it was still going to be a 19km hike to get home.  

A view of TeAnau through a gap
in the forest.

We managed to walk down to Brod Bay much quicker that the walk up but walking down such a steep slope is much harder on the legs and hips than going up.  Of course we still had another 2 hours to get back home and my goodness it nearly finished me off.  My hips and shins were very sore for a couple of days but we would have to say we were very pleased that we had made the effort - views or no views. We are now planning how we will do it the next time. Probably a water taxi to Brod Bay and maybe complete the whole track with a pick up from Rainbow Reach.

The Kepler Track belongs to one of our 'Great Walks" and is aptly named. For anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness it is definitely worth it though it isn't cheap. We met several people who were either doing one night like us, and others that were pushing themselves hard to do it in two nights to save the cost of a three night trek.  Costs for DOC of course are fairly high with all waste, gas and supplies helicoptered in, and then of course there is a warden in each hut. 

Check out the link for further details. Kepler Track

Herb Society Outing

The Southland Herb Society usually meets on the last Thursday of the month, but this month a trip had been organised for the following Sunday so I decided to stay on in Invercargill one more day so that I could join them.  I have been a member of this organisation now for nearly 10 years and begin based away from Invercargill is one thing that I miss.

A big day was planned so we needed to be ready to leave by 8:30am. With 15 of us we had a van and a car. Our first destination was The Catlins Soap Company and Kinross gardens in Owaka. Jude had spoken to the group last year and we were keen to see her shop and garden. It is a good two hour drive but very pleasant through rolling farmland.  Since I had last been there for Lisa's  (niece) wedding 16 months ago a new shop has been built with space to accommodate groups for morning and afternoon teas. As Judy was away on a trip, explaining their business and set up was left to Ross and I would have to say he did a great job.
 This link takes you to their website where you can see all their wonderful products as well as their latest news:  Catlins Soap Company

Next stop was Owaka where the group went to the Museum and a 'collectable' shop. I, however, too the opportunity to visit our niece Lisa and to meet the newest great-niece 'Bella'.  Bella, aged one month,  chose to sleep peacefully on the couch for the hour that I was there. Getting to know her will have to wait for another visit.

Our lunch spot initially was to be the McLean Falls but we were getting a bit short of time so it was a quick stop at Tautuku Beach. Actually the stop was even quicker than anticipated as the sandflies were not being kind to us at all.

Our final point of interest was the Holms homestead at Waimahaka.  This is a magnificent old Georgian style house, in much the same style as that at Anderson Park in Invercargill. Built in the 1920s it is full of family history as well as being very much the large country manor house.  The view from the front steps sweep down through the lawn, over the haha and into the farmland beyond.

We arrived back in Invercargill just before 5pm after a great day out.