A Visit to Annie's

Isn't this such a lovely looking shop?  Heading back north, we stopped at Ashburton once again for an overnight stop.  We whizzed right past Annie's when we were heading south down the island, so I was determined to call in for a visit on our return trip.  And I wasn't disappointed.  Annie’s Country Quilt Store is based in a 100 year old pioneer cottage, and is chocker-block full of delights. 

Annie’s Country Quilt Store

I had forgotten about owner Rachel’s love of egg beaters, and there they are, still hanging up on a rail.

Rachel’s egg beater obsession

Plenty of goodies in this shop

There was such a lot to look at.  I checked out some patterns, looked at lots of lovely fabric, and purchased a couple of gifts, it’s always handy to get them done ahead of time.  Then two lots of fabric for me, I have projects in mind for these.

These two for future projects

My knitting is coming along well.  I’ve passed the armhole shaping on the back of my cardigan/jacket and now I’m about half way up the back yoke.  I’m really pleased with my progress as you may remember I unraveled the back a while ago as I had not cast on enough stitches and was knitting merrily away before I discovered the error.

Nearly finished the back

So how is the South Island  holiday going, you may be wondering?  We stopped of at Waimate, a lovely little town.  Did you know that there are wallabies in Waimate?  Wallabies were introduced from Australia and released for hunting purposes near Waimate in 1874. Fifty years later, they were recognized as a pest, responsible for destroying pasture, native regeneration, damaging fences and displacing stock. They may look cute, but they are an introduced species and are not welcome.

Waimate has unwanted wallabies

Another claim to fame in Waimate is their white horse high up on the hill.  Retired farmer Norman Hayman and his wife Betty spent three months to prepare the ground and lay 1220 concrete slabs, with a huge 2.5 ton precast head. This was  tribute to the hard working Clydesdale horses who worked  the farms.  On a trip to England, Robin and I spent some time checking out several of the UK’s famous white horses on the hills,  each one was quite unique.

The White Horse of Waimate

We stopped to admire the Silo Art back in town.  Waimate artist Bill Scott painted murals on grain silos at Transport Waimate’s Queen Street yard.  The silos were built by hand in 1920 and were the first of their kind in the country.  Hometown hero  WW11 soldier Eric Batchelor was twice awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous bravery when he served in Italy.  Beside him is Margaret Cruikshank, the first registered woman doctor in New Zealand.  She practiced in Waimate from 1897 until she fell victim to the 1918 influenza pandemic while treating patients.

Silo Art

The reason I was so keen to stop at Waimate was to visit one of the pubs in my “Great Kiwi Pub Crawl” book, and check out the sad story of Ted’s Bottle at the Waihao Forks Hotel. Ted d’Auvergne was having a farewell drink or two with his mates at the pub, waiting for the train to take him to Burnham Military Camp for training before heading off to war.  Ted heard the train coming, and left an unopened bottle of beer on the bar, calling to the publican to “save it until I get back”.  Ted served for two years in the Middle East, was transferred to Greece, and was killed in May 1941 in the Battle of Crete.  The publican saved Ted’s bottle of Ballins XXXX beer, and it is now stored in a case above the bar, engraved with Ted’s battalion insignia.  Each April on Anzac Day, another poppy is placed inside the case, and the locals drink to Ted and all his fallen comrades.  There is a statue of Ted outside the pub, showing him waiting with his kit bag at the station.

Ted’s Bottle at Waihao Forks Hotel

So that's what we have been getting up to the last few days.  We are cutting our holiday short by two weeks,  as Robin has a problem with  his leg and is up to his second lot of antibiotics.  You can imagine the stress we had trying to find a doctor while on holiday and traveling around.  I felt it was better to be cautious and head home a little earlier than we had planned, but  the earliest ferry booking we could get is in ten days time.

What have we been up to?

There is an awful lot to see down here in the South Island, as we are traveling around.   We spent several days in Blackball, an old mining town.  The most famous building here is undoubtedly the pub which has an interesting story about it’s name,  called “Formerly the Blackball Hilton”.  Built in 1910 it was named The Dominion.  In the 1970s the owners changed the name to The Blackball Hilton, as the main street is called Hilton after one of the early mine managers.  However, a threat of legal action from the overseas Hilton Hotel chain caused the name to be changed by adding “Formerly” to the title.

Formerly the Blackball Hilton

Moving on to Hokitika we had couple of of things to do on our wish list, so we set out bright and early the next morning.  The snow topped Southern Alps looked so nice as we drove along.  Looks like the local farmers had been busy making baleage.

Snow capped mountains

And here we are, at the Treetop Walkway, this attraction was not built last time we were down this way.  There was a golf car available at no extra cost to take those of us with mobility issues up a reasonably steep path to the beginning of the walkway.  The structure felt very safe and stable and is elevated 20m above the forest.  The walkway is built on Department of Conservation (DOC) land, and the native trees are a sight to behold, especially knowing that they are all protected from logging. 

On the Treetops walk

Oh look, there’s the Tower.  Goodness, that looks high, and is the launch pad for all those people who want to have a go on the zip line.   At 47m above the forest floor, I climbed the 107 steps up the circular stairway to the top.  Robin wisely declined, unsure how his knees would cope with all those steps.  Can you see me waving?

I climbed the tower!

Then we headed off to check out Lake Mahinapua a short distance away. The lake side was very busy with visitors, people splashing about in the water, and on boats.  This area was once a coastal lagoon, but centuries of sand accumulation in a belt of dunes eventually cut off the sea access, creating the lake. 

Lake Mahinapua

There was still more exploring to do in this area so we set out again the next day.    But first we needed to pack a picnic lunch to take, bacon and egg croissants, a couple  of Christmas mince pies, a juicy peach each and a thermos of hot coffee.  The sun-screen and insect repellant came along too.  Now we were ready and drove 30km to Hokitika Gorge - never been there before.   Most of the West Coast was  covered by vast moving glaciers 500,000 years ago, we read on the interpretation boards, and these shaped the landscape as they moved slowly along.

A short 10 minute walk we were advised would take us to the Hokitika Swing Bridge.  It may have been short for most people, but took us a lot longer than the time stated, it was quite hard going for Robin and his knee problems.  Young people and families walked on past us, we were much slower with Robin’s crutch and my walking stick as we negotiated the sloping path.   The beautiful turquoise blue water caused when rocks are ground into a fine powder by the movement of glaciers.   We arrived at the look out point for our first glimpse of the very blue river and saw the swing bridge below us.

First view of the Hokitika Gorge swing bridge

Several more twists and turns down the track and we finally arrived at the bridge.  Here comes Robin over the bridge, and taking a photo from the middle of the slightly bouncing bridge was necessary, but a little unnerving.  And where would we be without friendly fellow sightseers  happy to take a photo for us?  Robin really struggled with walking back up the track and in the end he did much better using my stick as well, he really needed two sticks for extra balance and a feeling of security, I think.  Walking up and down this track took a lot more out of him than either of us expected, sadly.

ON the Hokitika Gorge swing bridge

The next day we started the drive over the Arthur’s Pass road over the Southern Alps,    As we drove along further into the mountains, the scenery changed dramatically, with all those rugged mountains surrounding us.

There's Gollum on the roof of the Otira Stagecoach Hotel.  Wonder how he got there, still looking for that gold ring, presumably.  The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in the dramatic scenery in different parts of New Zealand.  Back in the early days, several hotels along this road  provided accommodation and fresh horses for the coach parties making the arduous trip over the Southern Alps.

 

Hello Gollum

Arthur’s Pass was named after surveyor Arthur Dobson, and in 1864 he explored the route seeking a way to supply West Coast miners from Christchurch.  The next year construction began and hundreds of workers braved the extreme conditions to complete the road in a year.  This was the start of a new era for the West Coast, the beginning of a coaching service, and later, a railway line across the Alps.  The road has improved over the years, although it is still rather steep in places and full of twists and turn.  There was one more quick stop to make before heading to our overnight stop.  We are certainly surrounded by nature’s grandeur in this part of the country.  What a sight this must be in the depths of winter with snow covering the mountains.

Arthur’s Pass

Our stop for the night was at Bealey Hotel, free parking for NZMCA members. Of course, with free overnight parking, we had to give the hotel some custom, and booked in for our evening meal.  Very tasty it was too, lamb rump for him, and pork belly for her.  Check out the view from the dining room window.

 

Staying overnight at the Bealey Hotel

While enjoying our dinner, I glanced around the dining room, as you do, and was intrigued to find that several of the dining tables were mounted on the bases of old treadle sewing machines.  So of course I had to take a couple of photos of the tables which were happily still vacant.  I did wonder what the staff and the other diners thought what that  crazy lady was doing!  I noticed  New Home and  Singer bases.

 

Bases of the dining tables

The  Bealey Hotel’s claim to fame was the supposed sighting of a moa (a very large bird about as big as an ostrich and now extinct)  in the Craigieburn Range by publican Paddy Freaney and two friends in 1993.  They produced a blurry photo of the moa, and another of an alleged footprint.  Many believed it was a publicity stunt to increase trade to Paddy’s pub, but the local and overseas media were very interested indeed by this story.  So much so that Paddy declared “that he wished he had never seen the bloody thing!”  But who knows what is hiding in the mountains and valleys. The hotel has a large moa statue in the grounds, and interestingly, serves Moa beer in the bar.

Bealey Hotel moa

With all  this traveling, I haven't spent much time of my stitchery.  Just stitched a bright yellow sun, to accompany the two kangaroos on my next Noah’s Ark stitchery, several days ago under our shady caravan awning.  But every stitch helps, doesn't it.

I’ve started another small stitchery

A few days in Napier

We are staying in Napier for a few day - Napier is known as the Art Deco Capital of the world.  Following a massive earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) on the morning of Tuesday 3 February 1931, fires destroyed most of the commercial heart of Napier. The city was rebuilt in the style of that era and by the end of the decade Napier was the newest city on the globe. 

Later in the week we will be enjoying our very first Art Deco weekend, when the city is full to bursting with visitors, mostly dressed to the nines, we have been told.  I was delighted to discover Napier Central Store which specialises in Art Deco clothing.  We purchased some braces for Robin and beads for me, so that we will be suitably attired when we return to enjoy the weekend.  The shop was full of beautiful beaded outfits, but sadly no photos were permitted inside.  I snapped these headdresses through the shop window.

Seen in the Napier Central Store

Our camping neighbours recommended we visit  the Art Deco Masonic Hotel for a coffee and to check out the historic photos on display.  That sounded good to us, so off we went this morning. What a lovely place it was.  The hotel had a checkered life, burnt down and rebuilt, and destroyed by fire in the huge 1931 earthquake.  Luckily it rose from the ashes again, as good as new. 

It was lovely and cool inside, with the decorating style heavily slanted to “vintage”.  Toys and old suitcases were elegantly displayed, and there were cabinets full of the sort of things that Grandmother would have in her home.  I spent some time checking out the historic photos, thanks to our neighbours for the tip,  not somewhere we would have thought to visit.

Masonic Hotel

After enjoying our coffee we drove on to Havelock North, a very pretty and affluent village, especially to go to the Birdwood's Sweet Shop.  Set is a cute little cottage, stepping inside is like a sweet lovers wonderland.  Filled to the brim with jars and jars of sweets – you are invited to take a bowl or two, a plastic glove, and select the sweets you were drooling after.  I chose Acid Drops and Robin was after Blackballs – we keep these in the car to perk us up on long drives.

Cute little sweet shop

And we couldn't leave without indulging in a “real fruit ice-cream”.  Coffees and ice-creams are served in the spacious sculpture park at the back of the café and gallery.  This really is a rather delightful property.

Time for an ice-cream

Hand Stitching

Its hard work being on holiday, places to go, and people to see.  But I’ve managed to squeeze a little hand stitching in here and there.  One of my traveling projects is a little traced stitchery of a steam engine.  So far I've stitched the wheels, and feel like singing “the wheels of the train go round and round” as I’m sitting here stitching.  This will eventually be made into a cot quilt, I think.

Steam train stitchery

And tonight I sat outside with our caravan friends and did a little more on the border of my Autumn stitchery, hand quilting around each little Autumn leaf in the border fabric. 

Hand quilting the border

So what holiday adventures have we had since I last reported?  The annual Festival of Lights at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth was on our “must see” list.  We joined throngs of other people as we walked though the park, family groups, excited children, teens, and plenty of oldies like us.  The waterfall changed colours as we stood and watched, and the peacock was a sight to behold.  There were lights through the trees, on the bridge across the lake, and plenty of light wands being brandished about.

Lights at Pukekura Park

Our next adventure on our safari was a two day trip along the Forgotten World Highway, ( SH43) starting from Stratford.  SH43 is New Zealand’s oldest heritage trail at 155kms long and follows ancient Maori trade routes and pioneering farm tracks.  Eventually we arrived at our stop for the night, the Whangamomona Campground, formerly the local school, and rather rustic.

Whangamomona (doesn't that name just roll off your tongue) was first settled in 1895, and was once a bustling frontier town.  The 300 residents worked on roading and railway construction, and farming, but sadly by the 1960s the population had declined to about 20 residents.  But they were a force to be reckoned with.  When changes to the local boundarys were mooted, the locals strongly disagreed and declared themselves a Republic in 1989, and held their own Presidential Elections.  The famous Republic Day is held every two years and attracts visitors from far and wide, and Presidents have included a dog and a goat, with the occasional local wearing the chains of office too.  We spent our “happy hour” at the famous Whangamomona Hotel to soak up some of the “Whanga”atmosphere.

Whangamomona Hotel

The next morning we continued on the second half of our journey, crossing up and over the 4th saddle of the trip, and next up was the Moki Tunnel.  The single-lane 180m long Moki Tunnel was built in 1936 and is known locally as the 'Hobbit's Hole'. Home to fossilized giant crabs, the floor of the tunnel was lowered in 1989, increasing the height to 7m to allow access for triple-decked stock trucks. It has a timber gabled roof and hand carved walls.  We stopped the car, out I rushed to take a photo, then we were on our way again.

Emerging from the Hobbit’s Hole tunnel

We are still traveling, with more adventures beckoning, and hopefully a couple of lazy afternoons for stitching. 

Sydney to Auckland

It was time to leave Australia, so off we went, pulling our wheelie cases behind us.  Robin has a new case with four wheels, and it certainly is much easier to manage than mine with two wheels.  My “I Love Quilting” tag was a gift several years ago from pen friend Elaine from Oregon.

Yes, I do love quilting!

Our trip through Security at Sydney Airport was a little stressful.  Both of us were directed to the body scanner, stand there and hold our arms up we were told.  Nope, that wasn’t right, and a female officer was called in to pat me down – oh dear.  The trouble seemed to be the passport and money I had in a holder around my neck, that had to be removed, put on a tray and through the bag scan, and I went through the body scanner one more time.  Robin was getting patted down too, and all the while people are looking on, wondering what these people had been getting up to!  When we were finally sent on our way, we waited, and waited some more at the correct terminal gate, and finally were called to board.   Oh look, Air NZ knows our names!

This flight was a much shorter trip this time, just under 3 hours.  Hopping aboard the Sky Bus at Auckland Airport we drove through the rain as it got progressively darker, luckily the driver told us when to get off.  Booked in at reception, and then we were informed that we had been upgraded to  King Room, so that was a nice surprise.  It was a bit of a wrestling match to peel those extra tight airline socks off, and then we could relax.

Our room for the next 3 nights

I was a bit foxed by these sockets by the desk, and plaintively told Robin there was nowhere to plug my lap top into.  But I was wrong, seems that these strange things were universal power connectors, my 3 pin plug had to be turned upside down, and then it would fit.  How was I meant to know that – it was all a bit too technical for me.

New fangled power sockets

Up to the 13th floor we went the next morning for breakfast, and there was a lovely view over the harbour.  The rain had eased and the weather was clearing.  The breakfast buffet was amazing, much more choice and so much nicer than our previous hotel.  Robin was in Honey Heaven when he found this delightful honey comb – liquid honey was ready and waiting to be poured into a dinky little dish and spread on his breakfast toast!  And I found some smoked salmon and fancy cheese, so I was extra happy too.

Some of the delightful breakfast choices

We were told that just  across the road from our hotel was The London Lolly Shop.  So while Robin was resting his sore knee after our day sightseeing I popped across to find out.  Sure enough, there it was.  Have to admit some Fry’s Bars and Acid Drops were very keen to come back with me.

The London Lolly Shop

And lo and behold, quite by accident,  I discovered a quilt shop, called New Zealand Fabrics and Yarn tucked down an arcade.   As I entered, the girl behind the counter called out, “I do like your bag”.  I was carrying my  blue denim raggy bag, with my little blue koala purchased last year in Sydney hanging from the handle.  I like to take this with me on holiday, as I have attached “dog clips” inside to keep my wallet and camera safe.  (My bag will need a good wash when I get home).

My ever so handy raggy denim bag

This young lady is a Bag Lady, she told me, and likes to make all sorts of bags.  She showed me two which she had recently completed.  And by the look in her eye, I think she will be making herself a shaggy denim bag before too long.

Self confessed Bag Lady

New Zealand Fabrics and Yarns

It was so nice to talk to somebody so crafty, pet some fabrics and yes, a couple of fat quarters did come away with me.  Some nice batiks with NZ designs, a dark purple paua shell design and the other printed with pale green kowhai.  I’ll need the purple one when I get back to work on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  That’s my excuse anyway.

New Zealand designed batiks