Two Knitting Projects, plus Tripping Around

Why stick with one knitting project when you can have two going at the same time?  Actually, I’ve got a third, but I haven't started that one yet, can’t be too greedy, can I.  I've been knitting away on my second project from time to time for a change in pace.  This one is a little boy’s baby/toddler jumper, using up some spare wool I had at home.  Because it is small,  I’m knitting the back and front at the same time.  I’m almost at the front neck shaping so I’ll work on them separately from now on.  Robin did ask me why I was knitting these two colours together.  The answer, because I want to use up the odds and ends of my wool.

Little boy’s jumper

We are still enjoying our South Island holiday, stopping here and there for a few nights, and having a good look around.  Moving on to Twizel, we stopped at another “photo stop” sign overlooking Lake Pukaki.  These stops showcase some amazing views, so much better to stop safely for photos in an off road area, rather than try to get a shot out of a moving vehicle.   This one had a huge car park, plenty of room for those towing caravans, and there were cars, campers and another caravan ahead of us.  Just look at that glorious view, with Mt Cook (Aorangi the cloud piercer) looking back at us across the lake.

View across Lake Pukaki

In the afternoon we stopped at High Country Salmon café for a drink, what a busy place, heaving with visitors.  Many of them were purchasing fish food to feed the salmon in the pools, this was a real favourite with children.   After my coffee I helped out the local economy  and bought some salmon from the fish shop to take back to the caravan.  Have I mentioned just how much I love both fresh and smoked salmon?

High Country Salmon

The next morning we packed a picnic lunch and set off to see the clay cliffs near Omarama,  up a long dusty drive on  an unsealed road to reach the car park.   The cliffs are on private land  protected under QE2 Covenant, and there is a charge of $5 per car to go in the honesty box as you proceed through the gate.  The information board explains that these eroded cliffs are formed by the active Osler fault line which continually exposes the clay and gravel cliffs.  Wind and rain has eroded into the canyon walls, producing gravel debris which has been washed out during flash floods.  The debris has accumulated in alluvial fans that slope down to the Ahuriri River.

The clay cliffs of Omarama

It was a stinking hot day, and crowds of people were slapping on sunscreen, hats, and setting off up the track.  After a good look around, and taking some pictures, we returned to the car with the windows wound down, and ate our picnic lunch.  But not before we asked one of the friendly visitors to take our photo for us in front of the info board.  I’m sure I heard him mention “how cute” –  we are a bit old for cute, I would have thought!

In front of the clay cliffs

We were reasonably close to the settlement of Omarama so decided to drive though and check it out.    This place seems to be thriving, the Wrinkly Rams café was full of customers, they offer a Merino sheep shearing show as well, and we noticed plenty of other cafes and pubs doing very well too.    No wonder the sign for Omarama features a Merino ram.  Merino wool is a bit pricy but wonderful to knit with, and is used in high end knitwear.

Omarama town sign

The next day took us up and over the Lindis Pass which links the Mackenzie Basin with Central Otago, crossing  a saddle between the valleys of the Lindis and Ahuriri Rivers at an altitude of 971m.  Stopping at this sign at the top, we were now in Central Otago. 

At the top of the pass

At Cromwell I just had to take a photo of the famous fruit sign, the huge  1.7 tonne apple, pear, nectarine and apricot landmark, designed by Otto Muller and completed in November 1989.    Cromwell  has a well-earned reputation as the fruit bowl of New Zealand. The ideal climate makes  Cromwell’s cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums  sought-after by high-end export markets, supermarkets, and visitors who call in to buy from the local growers. As we did, buying a box of delicious peaches, and a bag of new seasons apples, then queuing up with other eager customers to buy  a “real fruit” ice-cream.    Absolutely delicious – there is nothing better than an ice-cream on a hot sunny day!

Giant fruit sculpture in Cromwell

We had a big bag of laundry to do too, so off we went to find the local laundromat.  Round and round and round it went, al last it was done.  Holiday or not, some chores still need attending to.

Always plenty of this to do

Time to move on again the next morning, to head down to Lumsden, starting with a drive through the steep and  winding Kawerau Gorge.   There is a new bridge across the gorge now, built in 1963, but the old historic 1880 bridge has found a new life when   the bridge became the site of the world's first commercial bungy jump. A.J. Hackett set up operation on the bridge in 1988, with people testing their limits by leaping from the equivalent of a 10-storey building held safe by just a giant elastic band around their ankles. No, not us, we are not that crazy!

We drove alongside beautiful Lake Wakatipu for some time – the name means “place where the demon lies”.  According to Maori legend the curiously shaped lake was created when a giant demon captured the daughter of a Maori chief and took her to his home in the mountains.  After struggling against a strong north-easterly wind, the demon lay down with his head near Glenorchy, his knees at Queenstown, and his feet at Kingston.  The girl’s lover crept up to sleeping demon and set it on fire, and its body burnt deep into the earth.  All that remained was the beating heart within a gigantic trench which gradually filled with water to form an enormous lake in the shape of the demon.  We pulled off the road at a photo stop to capture some snaps of this beautiful lake.

Lake Wakatipu

Lumsden, our stop for the night, used to be a major railway junction with lines departing to all four points of the compass. Sadly those  days are long gone now.  The  railway station is now preserved as a tourist information centre, and there are some heritage trains on display.  Lumsden welcomes freedom campers and the  railway station offers free parking for caravans and motor homes, sinks available for dish washing, toilets, fresh water and a dump station.

Who doesn't love an old train

Set up in the former station waiting room was “Five Finger Crafts”, a cooperative craft shop stacked full of all sorts of interesting things. Yarn, knitted hats, scarves and socks,  crochet, baby dresses and bibs, woodwork and even painted stones!  I purchased some home made jam, and hand made chocolates.

Craft shop at the station

Poor Gemma got into a bit of strife at the cap.  She was minding her own business, happily outside on her lead, underneath the caravan in thee shade, when I heard a lot of hissing and growling going on.  There are two cats running loose from the bus next door who obviously got close and upset her, so I gathered her up and took her inside our van.  According to the rules,cats as well as dogs must be on leads outside.  It took Gemma a while to settle down, and I was upset that she couldn't enjoy the sunshine in peace outdoors, because others don't abide by the rules.

 

Robin comforting Gemma

Hello Santa, Train Ride, and a little stitching

Santa and his Elf friend came calling while we were at Pauanui, weren’t we lucky he knew just where to find us.  Guess the pair of us had been very well behaved this year as our names were called up to go and sit on Santa’s knee.  Poor Santa, we didn’t really want to cause him an injury, so just gave him a cuddle instead.

So nice to see you, Santa

I had a mishap in the caravan when we first arrived, tripping and falling and giving my jaw a great whack.  So spent the rally sporting  a large bruise, which seemed to get darker and more purply each day.   I’m sure the club members were looking at the pair of us sideways, wondering what on earth had happened, but rest assured, Robin was completely innocent, I managed to do it to myself.  Not a pretty sight at all, but luckily nothing was broken.

At the end of the rally we oved on to Coromandel, named after HMS Coromandel, which arrived to pick up a load of kauri timber, just the thing for ships masts.  Down by the waterside is “Ship in a Bottle”  by Rebekah Pearson to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the anchoring of British Naval Ship HMS Coromandel off Colville in June 1820.  It really is a beautiful piece of sculpture and only completed this year.

Ship in a Bottle

Right at the top of our “must see” list during our short stay in Coromandel was a visit to Driving Creek Railway.   Last time we were here, about 25 years ago we reckon, the train tracks only went part way up the hill, and now go to the top.  If we had stopped to think what the name “Driving Creek” actually meant, I’m sure we wouldn’t have worked it out.  It refers to the early days of kauri logging, much prized by the British Navy as masts and spars.  The loggers built dams across the creeks which slowly filled up, and the felled logs were placed in the dams or in the dry creek bed below.  When the dam was full, a rope was pulled, releasing a large wooden gate, and the water drove the logs down to the harbour.  So ingenious, but this practice also carried much silt and debris down too, causing them to start to silt up.

Potter Barry Brickell purchased 24 hectares of hilly scrub covered land in the 1970s, which just happened to have plenty of clay needed for his pottery.  The idea of the railway came about to transport the clay down the hill, plus pine to fuel the kilns, but has come into it’s own as a tourist attraction.  The narrow gauge railway winds up through the hills, with steep grades, curves, tunnels and viaducts.  As New Zealand’s only narrow gauge railway the track also has zig-zag sections for gaining altitude within a limited space.  All the trains have been purpose built in the workshop to Barry’s designs.

The scrub covered hills have been replanted over the years with native trees, tree ferns, kauri, totara and rimu much in evidence.  The story goes that Barry swapped large quantities of  his famous home brew for thousands of young trees, with are thriving on the hills.  Quirky pieces if pottery are placed by the track, and the areas of clay digging are much in evidence.

On our way to the top

We chugged over the viaducts, through several tunnels, reversed into the switchbacks, stopped while the driver jumped down to change the points, and climbed ever higher.  One last tunnel, and what a beauty it was.  We had reached to end of the line.  The view from the top was amazing.  The bush clad hills were covered in flowering manuka, ferns and native trees, hard to imagine this was once scrubby farmland, with the coastline in the distance.  This wonderful area is protected in perpetuity by a QE11 Trust Covenant.  Barry Brickell died in 2016 at age 80, and is buried on his property.  He truly was a man of vision, combining his love of art, conservation and engineering.

View from the top

We are now back in Taupo and the weather has turned wet, cold and miserable.  But there was a definite bright spark to the morning today when we called to see Linda and Peggy, my Colourpoint Cat quilt was finished and waiting for me.  I’m only giving a little sneak peek at the moment, and it goes without saying I’m thrilled with Linda’s quilting.  When we return home next week, this will be top of my stitching list, to get the binding and hanging sleeve applied, and then I will show it in all it’s glory..

Colourpoint Cat

So what else have I been doing?  A little more hand quilting on my teddy bear cot quilt, and some knitting on another baby beanie.  Plus another laundromat visit, but that really goes without saying.

Stitching and knitting

Tomorrow we are driving over the Napier-Taupo road to see my sister Kathleen.  She is not well and is scheduled for an operation soon, so we want to take this opportunity for a visit before we make our way home.  The Hawkes Bay area, where we are heading to, usually has warm sunny weather so we are looking forward to a change of temperature, after several cold days.

Will we - wont we?

Here we are camped in the little town of Takapau in the Hawkes Bay where we have been for a couple of days. Other than the caretaker, we ae the only ones staying here, so had the choice of where we wanted to park.  This is a very reasonably priced camp, and we are nice and toasty with a power site, plus our cozy diesel heater too, keeping us warm.

Staying at Takapau

The weather started out fine, but rather chilly, probably because of the snow on the Ruahine Ranges.

A little snow on the Ruahine Ranges

Our trip to Hawkes Bay was to attend a family 21st Birthday on Saturday, but things are a bit unsettled at the moment.   Unfortunately, after 100 plus days of nil cases of Covid 19, there have been a cluster  of cases detected in Auckland.  The Auckland area is now at Alert Level 3 in the meantime, many workplaces closing and only those returning to their homes can enter or leave this area.  The rest of the country is at Alert Level 2, and we are all waiting to see if we go up a level as well.  Further plans will be announced on Friday evening, then we will know  if the family party can go ahead, or will have to be cancelled.  So it is “will we, won’t we?” at the moment.  Just as well we have a nice pleasant place to stay here at Takapau – there is no point heading into the Napier NZMCA Park just yet, as we had planned, till we know for sure what will be happening.  We are thankful that the Health Department and the Prime Minister are acting decisively to nip this outbreak in the bud.

In the meantime, I’ve been doing a little knitting, and  hand quilting around the cute little girly teddy on my stitchery.  Then I will be doing big stitch quilting with Perle thread along the dashed blue lines.

Hand quilting around the teddy

While we are waiting to see if we will be driving up to Hastings or not, we have been doing some exploring.  Takapau is quite a small town, but must have been rather prosperous in it’s time.  In fact, the caravan park where we are staying used to be quite a busy sock manufacturing business some years ago.  The local hotel is now closed, but is still rather a handsome building.  It doesn’t look derelict, so I do hope someone is living in it, and taking care of this building.

The Takapau Hotel, no longer trading

I wanted to have another look at Onga Onga, founded in 1872 by runholder H. H. Bridge. Like other runholders who founded towns, Bridge built a school and church and provided land for a recreation ground.  These days the small village draws admirers to view the wonderful historic buildings dotted along the main street. The Coles Brothers building is the jewel in the crown.  The category 1 listed building was built in 1878 and housed the Coles Brothers’ various businesses including carpentry, surveying, interior decorating and even coffin building and the local undertaker business.  Fund raising is taking place to help with the restoration of this wonderful old building.

Coles Bros building, Onga Onga

 

Another interesting building was the recreation of a bush settlers cottage.

The weather then changed to rain and a marked drop in the temperature.  We went for a drive this morning and called into the sleepy little village of Ormondville.  For those train lovers amongst you, Ormondville Station is “a modified Vogel Class 5 station building, the only surviving Class 5 station left on the operating system”.

Historic Ormondville Station

Next stop was Norsewood, which together with other southern towns emerged in the 1870s from the bush that covered most of southern Hawke’s Bay. This was burned and felled by Scandinavian immigrants who were brought to New Zealand in 1872 to clear and farm the land. The process of transformation from forest to farmland was a huge task, which took decades.  We called onto New Zealand Natural Clothing, formerly Norsewear Factory Shop.  This must be the right place, just look at those signs.  It was lovely and warm inside, with the wood burner giving out plenty of heat.  Lots of knitwear to check out, but interestingly enough, Robin was the one who came out with parcels, not me!

Norsewear – now known as New Zealand Natural Clothing

While we were away, Gemma kept herself occupied with catching up on her beauty sleep.  Cats have a really good life, don't they!

Gemma snoozing again

There will be a news briefing given by the Prime Minister and the Dir Gen of Health early this evening to inform the country what further steps need to be taken to deal with this latest Covid outbreak.  Then we will be able to plan the rest of our weekend, whether we travel on to Hastings, or go back home.

Holiday Stitching

Not a great deal of stitching has been happening on this trip – just a little more on my teddy stitchery.  I’ve now added some blue flowers to the yellow daisy garland, it’s looking quite nice I think.  By doing a little stitching here and there, it all slowly adds up.

A little more done on this

We had a fun day out with Awakeri Rail Adventures the other day   on one of those dinky little  rail carts, traveling along the former Taneatua Branch Line.  Rail traffic declined over the years and the line closed in 2001.  Awakeri Rail Adventures was set up by former NZR engine driver, Paul Francis in 2014, after hard work clearing the overgrown track.   We were to travel on modified golf carts, although we weren’t going anywhere until we were given the necessary safety briefing.

Ready for our adventure

Luckily the heavy morning rain had eased before our trip started.  Robin was given instructions on how to operate the cart, and I was given responsibility of becoming the radio operator.  This notice was firmly attached to the steering wheel, which incidentally, does no steering at all!

The wheels on the cart made a delightful “Clackety Clack” railway sound as we trundled along, slowing at the Slow and pausing at the Give Way signs as the railway line passed over bridges and farm tracks.    The two way radio crackled to life instructing Robin to “Pull up here by the orange cone”.  My goodness, just look at all the birds racing to meet us, chooks, ducks and geese.  They know it must be feeding time, and we were handed a container of corn to feed them.  I’ve never had such a crowd so happy to see me!  There was some rather handsome plumage on the roosters, together with very sharp looking spurs, I noticed.

They all know it’s feeding time

Our next stop was at the 4.5 hectare  White Pine Bush Reserve, a rare example of untouched lowland kahikatea forest.  We took a bush walk into the reserve and our guide pointed out a 600 year old kahikatea tree so tall we couldn't see the top.  How wonderful that this piece of forest has been saved from the axe for all to enjoy.

Kahikatea trees and Nikau Palms

Our next stop was  in the middle of nowhere at a rather rustic shelter.  The billy was boiled, tea,  coffee, and biscuits produced, and we settled down to enjoy our afternoon tea.  Then we traveled up to the end of the line, and the rail carts were turned around on the small turntable.

Cart on the turntable

It was much quicker on the return trip with no stops on the homeward journey.  We spotted several pheasants and quail on the side of the track as we traveled along, they soon flew off when we came too close.  And look, here we are, back we we started from at Awakeri Station.  It was a wonderful trip, something we had wanted to do for a while, and we certainly enjoyed our afternoon riding the rails.  Thoroughly recommended and such good fun.

Such a fun afternoon

We are now at Island View Holiday Camp, joining in with our ICA friends for a three day rally.  At the beach we got a glimpse of the volcanic island Whakaari / White Island, which erupted on 9th December 2019.  There were 47 people on the island at the time. This tragedy left twenty-one people dead, including two who missing and declared dead, and a further twenty-six people suffered injuries, mainly severe burns.  We took a trip out to the island some years ago, it is a weird place with the smell of sulphur in the air, I remember we had to wear hard hats and gas masks.

Whakaari White Island

Previous to coming here,  we had get permission to bring our cat Gemma, so she became a “pre approved pet”.  And sign a Dog Policy when we checked in, (yes, we know she is a cat) agreeing to keep Gemma on a lead on our own site,  and not walk her around the camp.

What’s in this bag, she wonders?

This rally is the “Big 0 and 5 Rally” for those celebrating major birthdays and anniversaries this year.  We started off with a splendid roast lunch cooked on members BBQs, roast lamb, roast pork, roast veggies, oh so tasty.  Followed by celebration cake, we were certainly spoiled.  Everyone helped with cooking, preparations, or dishes.  And we were rather taken with our dining friend’s snazzy wine bottle cooler, just right for a couple of “grey nomads”.

Lunch time

Then the awards were made.  Two couples were celebrating their 60th Anniversaries, and there were five big birthdays, including me!  (I’ll be turning 75 in October).  Cathie made and presented  all the beautiful cards.

Happy Birthday

Today, Sunday, is the shortest day of the year.  And it is pouring with rain outside, so no chance of sitting outside doing a little stitching in the sunshine.  What sunshine?  Gemma is quite happy, doing what she does best, relaxing on the caravan bed.  Cat’s certainly have a great life, don’t they!

Time for another snooze