It was therefore with much excitement that we raced to the airport on Thursday night after work (firmly putting the stress and inconvenience of poor Jessamy having her car almost stolen out of our minds - we are currently working on getting sign writing for the car stating - 'I may look sporty but really I am gutless so don't steal me') and took a flight down to Christchurch. At the airport we were met by a beaming Bousie family, up north for the convention, and Jessie's mum Marilyn, who had kindly driven all the way from Ashburton to pick us up, having left Grant, Jessie's dad, at the hospital suffering from broken ribs after being thrown off a tractor!
We set off bright and early (well it was still dark) at 5.30am, as per Jess's very well produced itinery so that we could make the most of the day and stop at a few key sights along the way.
Not a hobbit in sight!
It was VERY cold but as we entered Mackenzie Country (famous for its sheep, and even having a statue of a border collie to celebrate the fact) we could appreciate just how beautiful the area is. At Lake Tekapo we saw the Church of the Good Shepherd, apparently the most photographed church in NZ and one of the oldest in the area, and then further along the peaks of Mount Cook - the tallest in New Zealand at 3754 metres. Its official name is Aoraki and it lies in the Southern Alps. Trivia fact - although named after Captain James Cook, he never actually saw it! For those of you who remember the tramp we did in March on the West Coast, if we had carried on walking the Copeland track for another day or so we would have eventually reached Mt Cook, so it was weird seeing it from the other side!
Mount Cook
After a few hours and a much needed coffee stop, we approached Wanaka and paid a visit to the wonder that is Puzzling World! Famous for its illusion rooms and maze, it really is quite bizarre and the longer you spend in the illusion rooms, the more you end up feeling slightly sick... but check out the video below to show how amazing the place really is... The Leaning Tower of Wanaka actually leans at a 53 degree angle (the Leaning Tower of Pisa only leans at six degrees!) I particularly enjoyed the Ames room - it finally gave Michelle the opportunity to feel tall!!! And whilst the toilets weren't quite as impressive as the ones in Ephesus, some people will go to great lengths for a good photo op!
In an amazing ability to stick to Jessamy's schedule, bang on 12 noon we arrived at the very cute Cardrona Hotel / Pub. Built in 1863 during the gold rush era, Cardrona is one of the oldest hotel's in New Zealand, and the landlord used to ration the customer's pints - you were allowed only one if you were heading over the Crown Range, but two if you were going to Wanaka! We managed to get two by making them shandys and soaking them up with some lovely beer battered wedges out in the garden by a roaring open fire!
Jessamy proves that ladies can drink pints!
The sign reads ' This gondola may slow or even stop.Do not be alarmed - we will have you moving again as soon as possible!' I was not reassured...
As the night was still young, we headed back to Arrowtown to the Blue Door, aptly named because its only signage really is a 'blue door' and you feel like you have walked into someone's living room. Loved the ambience, yet more open fires, and only one slightly creepy man hovering by it trying to join in our conversation and being soundly ignored!!
We decided to travel home via Cromwell, a little town famous for a couple of reasons - like Arrowtown it was originally a gold mining town, as it is situated at the junction of two major rivers. When the gold ran out, the fertile land was put to good use and it is now a major fruit growing area - as the town sign shows!. It also has a claim to fame because back in the 1990s, half the town disappeared under water when the work was done on the Clyde Dam. They flooded the area and rebuilt whole sections of the city on higher ground. Some of the historic old parts of the centre of town were rescued and moved to a higher elevation and are preserved to explain the town's history...and provide us with some amusement!
We finally arrived back in Ashburton in the pouring rain, having survived the long drive back, and managed to still all be speaking to each other in spite of the drama now referred to as the "Clay Cliff standoff", when Jessie and I had a debate over the wisdom of taking the car 4 wheel driving in the dark, over some very deep gullies in soft clay like soil on a road that contained no risk signs because we'd ignored the 'No entry unless you pay'signs 10km down the track. As I clung to the open window frame, Jessie was determined, uttering the ultimatum 'either step away from the window or get in the car, either way I WILL be moving!' Whilst all this was going on MZ was standing by the side of the road looking forlorn as she contemplated the liklihood of either being the one who had to walk to civilisation in the dark and rain in high heels, dodging deranged rangers, or being the one abandoned alone with the ruins of the car and just the plaintive cries of the maimed or dying... Jessamy of course had already disappeared around the corner in bare feet excited about the adventure!! I stepped away and let her do her thing, and let her take responsibility for her own actions, reasoning that it was her dad's car after all... fortunately we all survived and made it out without any axe murderer jumping into our path or rolling the car!
All in all, it was a great roadtrip - although if we'd only timed it right we could have got back to Christchurch in time to have been able to blog the earthquake!!!
Do NOT like the topsy turvy house-it hurts my eyes!
ReplyDeleteIt made me feel rather seasick!!
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