Good-bye Jessica

Yesterday afternoon we took Jessica to the airport so she could make her long and tedious journey back to the UK.





She was been here for three weeks and it has been great that she has been able to combine work with a catch up with friends and family.  I know that her grandparents in Geraldine were very pleased that she was able to spend so much time with them.





While it is always sad to say good bye we never seem to be out of contact for very long. Modern communication like Skype and emails make it very easy to stay in touch, and even her Grandma is able to speak to her on a regular basis on Skype. It is such a long way from when family left to live on the other side of the world in years gone by. Saying good bye in those times must have been so much more difficult.

Jessica spent the final week of her stay at Lincoln with her Aunt and Uncle and used this as a base to see us in our bus, visit friends and to sort out 'The Storage Unit.' Jessica and Andrew have had this unit since the days they lived in CHCH, originally for Andrew's motor bike collection and then for all that extra "stuff" that they didn't want to throw out when they moved to the UK (over 4 years ago now.)
The first problem was that the access card and keys for the padlocks. None of the small group of people who could possibly were 'looking after' them could find them so a new set had to be purchased.




We hooked up the trailer and headed in with the borrowed bolt cutters to see what treasures could be found, and what 'stuff' could further be parted with. We can see how that programme on TV where they auction off the contents of abandoned containers can be quite a good gamble.

Jessica diligently worked her way through all sorts of stuff she felt she no longer needed. Photos were taken and emailed off to Andrew for him to decide on, and Jessica took lots of paper work and books back to sort through during her evenings.  We took a trailer load of it to the Salvation Army, some paper work (including lecture notes from Uni days) were shredded, some was consigned to the rubbish and some to her suitcase to take back to the UK. Even we fell heir to some bits and pieces.  A customs search of her bag would be interesting as it now includes tools such as spanners and the like. Just as well Emirates allow 30kg of checked luggage.








What is now left is mostly Andrew's motor bikes and the associated parts and tools. What will be come of this is yet to be decided. I know he would like some of them in the UK but shipping is a costly exercise but not impossible.

Halswell Quarry

After enjoying a leisurely brunch with friends Dave and Pam, and Jessica at Thyme Cafe in Prebbleton we decided that some exercise was called for. My sister recommended both the Halswell Quarry Park and the Kennedy Bush track which takes you up through farmland and onto the Summit Road.

So off we headed to Halswell and our first stop was the Quarry Park. 
We studied the information board and decided to walk around the Rim track and before going down into the gardens. It is a round trip that takes about 40 minutes and follows the quarry crater rim. There are fantastic panoramic views of the Canterbury Plains, the Southern Alps and the city itself.  

Some informations panels are still in place but many have been fenced off since the earthquake as they are no longer sitting on safer ground.  The following link gives up lots of information about the history of the quarry as well as the development of the park itself.
Halswell Quarry Park

The park covers 60 hectares and has something for everyone and it was great to see so many people enjoying the space. There were families enjoying picnics, groups playing sport, people exercising their dogs in the special designated areas and cyclists enjoying the extensive cycle tracks. A trip to view the gardens is worth it alone. There are  six botanical collections that reflect the native plants that come from Christchurch’s city Sister Cities, as well as examples of our own natives. They are interspersed with sculptures and seats which allow you to sit and reflect on the area.

Some of the sculptures and plantings in the Korean section of the
garden. The bridge is a memorial to the NZ soldiers that lost their
lives in the Korean War during the 1950s.

There was a linking track to the Kennedy Bush Track but we chose to drive to this, up through a new subdivision about the Quarry. We didn’t complete the whole of this track, but did go far enough up to get some excellent views. It is a windy spot but perfect for blowing the ‘cobwebs’ away. 

Two of the views from the Kennedy Bush Track.

Akaroa Day Trip

Saturday dawned a beautiful day here in Christchurch so we decided we would do a road trip to Akaroa for the day (in the car). It is a number of years (like 20 for me and even longer for Stephen) since either of us have been so we thought we would make use of a free day.

Unfortunately we were only pulling out of the service station at Hornby when it clouded over but undaunted we headed off anyway. It really is quite a drive especially as you leave Little River and head up over the hills. We arrived in time for a cuppa but it was too chilly to sit outside so we had to be content to sit and look at the harbour from the car.

We donned jackets and walked and browsed the large number of boutique shops that cater mostly for the tourist trade before returning to the car and driving around the coast line for some lunch. Being hardy Southlanders we found a large outside seat to set up our picnic lunch.

Before heading back towards Christchurch we would have liked to have walked around the Giant House with the sculpture Mosaic Garden but decided, as the drizzle was setting in,  that was something to leave till next time. Word has it that it is well worth a visit.

As we had plenty of time we decided to return via the Summit Road and take in some of the bays. Once again are plans were thwarted as the higher we went the less we saw. The low cloud levels meant we were driving in a thick fog and we can only imagine the magnificent views we missed.  

Okains Bay and Little Akaloa Bay were pretty much deserted except for one or two camper vans.  We did get out and have a short walk on the beach at Okains Bay and Stephen collected a bag of cones from under the pine trees. These make for excellent fuel for a small wood burner in abus.

A coffee in Little River, was followed by a browse through the art gallery and a look at the latest accommodation being built there before we made our way back to the bus. The accommodation at Little River is certainly interesting and as the sign says, ‘watch this 

space.’  It was only that morning we had listened to story on National Radio about how grain silos were being turned into eco accommodation. You can listen to the story by clicking on this link:

Sleeping in Silos 

Central Otago

Following the MacKenzie Highland Show we headed off to Clyde, driving along what is now becoming a very familiar road for us. However we never tire of this landscape which is such an open vast area of tussocks surrounded by towering mountains.  We are concerned to see some of this changing as dairying moves in with its vast irrigation structures to turn patches into an emerald green. It just looks so out of place. 

An aerial view showing the changing landscape
(Photo; Peter Scott: Forest and Bird)

Before

After

We also were able to observe how quickly it can change from one season to the next. When we returned through the area just one week later the mountains were sprinkled with snow and the lake levels had noticeably dropped.

Attacking the poplars

It was nice to get back to our base in Clyde and we were able to spend a few days taking stock, as well as making a start on pruning back some of our trees, and in particular the poplars,  which seem to grow like 'the triffids'. A couple were pruned at ground level and the remaining ones we will take back to a more hedge like height. At this time of the year the sun is much lower in the sky and this will help with letting more light into our living area.

All dressed up!!

The main reason for our trip back down this way was a wedding in Arrowtown.
We had a lovely time though the weather had certainly changed from summer to autumn. We woke on Saturday morning to a very hard frost but a clear Central Otago day.

Adele and Regan 

MacKenzie Highland A&P Show

Alister  McKenzie with Pete at the
MacKenzie Highland Show

Easter Monday has always been a significant day on the family calendar. Dad has been competing in the dog trials now for 67 consecutive years at the MacKenzie Highland A&P Show in Fairlie. We were staying with Mum and Dad over Easter along with Jessica so it was an early start to the day. The lunch had to be made and five us needed to be ready to leave by 8:30am when my brother came to take Mum and Dad. We followed in our vehicle. 

The dog trials always have their own area at any A&P show but fortunately this one is not too far away from the main event. We managed to park on the fence line and were able to watch each competitor and his/her dog match their skill against the sheep. The sheep this year were particularly obnoxious and being most uncooperative with all but the very best of the trialists. 

Dad was competitor no 36 and we had to wait until after lunch to watch his run with Pete. 

We were hoping that the sheep would be more settled but no such luck. Not that Dad was too worried. He loves the outing, and camaraderie and working with his dog.  

   One man and his dog

   against three sheep.

A good few years back he had won a couple of trips up to the Auckland Easter Show to compete with his dogs, and each time he made sure he was back by the Monday to compete at Fairlie.

This year, as he is turning 90 the Association acknowledged his contributions and he got to walk in the Grand Parade with his dog.  A small presentation of a Mackenzie scarf was made and he responded by saying he would be back next year. Watch this space.

Two good walks in Hanmer

Our final destination before we needed to head back into Christchurch was Hanmer. The Motorhome Association have a campsite/park 6km out of the township and this is where we stayed.

The weather was very hot and dry. It has been a while since we have been into this area so we started by exploring the township on our bikes. At the top of Conical Hill Street is a walkway which takes you to the top of the hill and gives great views out of the whole area. So off we went (bikes left to rest!) and made the half hour grind to the top. The views were worth the effort.

Hanmer prides itself with lots of walking and cycling trails especially through many of the forested areas. Dog Stream Falls looked like a popular choice of walk so off we went to find the start, a small drive in the car.  The sign at the start said two and a half hours and like much of the signage we have encountered it is hard to know whether this is one way or return. Personally I think this is something that needs to be standardised through out New Zealand. I had this theory that if it doesn’t say return the time is for one way but not this time. While I was having this conversation with Stephen a chap sitting at a picnic table informed us that in this case it was the return trip. He was waiting for a group of school children and said that they could do it in just over two hours.  

Based on this information off we headed. Much of the area is in pine forestry but in this valley we were climbing through native bush still remained.  It was a steady climb to the waterfall and we took the mandatory photos. We could see that we weren’t at the top of the ridge and the track continued, with warnings about being very steep, to join up with another track.  We had thought we could get to the top of the waterfall so off we went to see how far we could get. We didn’t get to where the waterfall started but we did come out to a rocky outcrop which actually looked down on Conical Hill. 

I continue to be amazed at my level of fitness as I have no trouble walking these sort of distances or heights. 

Later in the day (Wednesday 27th) we packed up the bus and started our journey back to Christchurch, wanting to be off the road before Easter as we anticipated the traffic would be very heavy the next day.  We parked at Balmoral Forest while I cooked tea and then made our way back to our camp site at Weedons (NZMCA park near Templeton) just after dark.

A Hidden Gem

One of our books ‘The Great Kiwi Road Trip’ lists our next destination as a hidden gem - Sylvia Flats.  We have been here before and it really is a gem, hot thermal water running into the Lewis River. I had read though that this area was now closed because of a slip but we still thought it was worth checking out for ourselves. There was always the possibility that this had been remedied.  The turn off into this once picnic area is about 2km from Boyle Village but of course we were coming from the other direction so it was tricky.  Luck was on our side, with no other vehicles behind us, we spotted the track and turned in. A quick walk to along to the river confirmed that the area was still in fact dangerous and it looked like no one had been digging out a pool for themselves in recent times. We decided to stay the night in the area anyway as it was very picturesque beside the river and we were well out of the way of the slip. It was surprising the number of vehicles that came in for a look even in the short time we were there.

Stephen soaking in the pool alongside the Lewis River.

However luck was to be on our side. Later on in the evening another van came in and joined us and it was still there when we went to bed. We were nearly asleep when our company called out to us that he had dug out a pool if we wanted to join him. We declined but said we would look it out in the morning.  I don’t think he had been in it all night but he was definitely there again first thing in the morning, enjoying his own private thermal pool.  A short discussion re the safety etc of the area had us decide we would be back after breakfast. Evidently the slip came down during a flood two and a half years ago, and our friend had been there at the time. He said he had been monitoring the site since then and decided that there had been no movement in over a year now and deemed that he was prepared to take a risk. He had fashioned out an excellent sized pool and the water temperature was just perfect. The only complaint were those dammed sandflies again otherwise it was perfect.  As the book says  ‘a hidden gem’ but now obviously it comes with a certain amount of risk.  We thought it was worth it.

A view of the slip caused by flooding in November 2011.