South Island – Kaikoura – Geraldine

We started early this morning, it was going to be a big day of driving and we wanted it done and dusted by mid afternoon.  As we were driving we had made the controversial decision NOT to go to Christchurch and visit, which is where we were heading…I know they may need our tourist dollars to help with their rebuild but we thought with it being Christmas week and all we would keep out of the chaos and stick with the tranquillity.  Sorry Cousin Karen, we will call and visit when we can get the next set of cheap flights out your way!  Our route had changed, and Rosie was reprogramming the GPS.  (By the way this one lane bridge was on State Highway One, our nations main road….hahahhahha.)

We were driving towards Amberley, having turned inland we were following Inland Scenic Route 72 negotiating saddle after saddle, the tops of the hills were covered with cloud and it was noticeably cooler.  The bush is different here, no pongas or cabbage trees, NZs finest native bush was kind of  replaced with ‘planted, imported’ stuff….tall poplars and maples interspersed with funny looking pine trees that weren’t…they lined the road like lovely avenues and bordered the fields which had beautiful weeping willows in them.  The trees were huge and had been there for ages, remnants of the early settlers?  We bowled through Cheviot at about 8.15, this tiny town was as neat as a pin with a wide, wide main street and a beautiful church made out of round river stone.  We entered Amberley about an hour later……this dude was taking his dog for a walk……  The local Farmers Market was in full swing so Rosie and The Operator went to see whats what.

Santa was there giving out free sugar biscuits to the patrons, everyone had a smile on their faces and it had a great vibe about it.  Flowers, fruit, cordials, cakes, bread, olives, meats, soap, vegetables…..they had a really good range of things.               Samples were being handed out freely and in depth production and manufacturing of goods details were being told, no one was in a hurry and everyone had a greeting.

Dig the bread rolls made to look like……Voodoo Dolls?  Cutely creepy!

 Sooooooo, we bought a freshly baked Focaccia, Venison Pate, Lemon infused Olive Oil, garlic and fennel flavoured olives and rip roaring chilli flavoured olives, herb and garlic flavoured lamb sausages and for when we find some cheese….a jar of rhubarb and fig jam.  Yummmy

We crossed many braided rivers that hardly had any water flowing through them, they were just huge stony channels with a trickle up the side waiting for the snow melt.  The first large, deep flowing river we came across was the Rakaia, it was running fast, flat and strong,the colour of white paint being washed out of your paintbrush.  There were a few people fishing and a few people loading boats into it, access is easy for any 4WD, you back your boat over the shingle directly into the water and you are off.

The roads were dead straight for miles leading up to the Rakaia Gorge, Rosie was mentally preparing herself for ‘The Gorge’ and all the twisting and turning she anticipated…..then a sign popped up and said winding roads 1km…..and that was it, the greatest non event ever, Rosie and the camper are not complaining!  Preceding the gorge the roads carried on dead straight again.

The one lane bridge over the river had a walkway, Rosie is sure it was a walkway, the wooden bit up the side, was for people like herself who want to get among the action and take great photos at great personal risk.  The tractor was mighty close as Rosie sucked it in at the side, a Fonterra tanker followed straight afterwards and that was even more of a close shave.  The things Rosie does to bring you photos of her travels!

Climbing up out of the gorge was a lovely layby, we parked on the cliff edge (The Operator put a bolder behind the wheel) and had lunch with the most stunning view around.  The Operator assured Rosie there were mountains supposedly in the back ground….we hadnt seen any all day it was so cloudy, Rosie hopes it clears tomorrow….

And so we drove into Geraldine about 3pm and decided to stay the night, it had been a longish day driving and we wanted to relax and make the most of the rest of the afternoon.  The town was full of wooden villas with gardens in full summer bloom. We explored the small town, one street up and one back with a little shopping arcade attached.  We found a wee cheese shop that made their own cheese and bought some lovely blue and brie for $5 300g

 Barkers jams and sauces are made in Geraldine and their shop was fair pumping with people buying beautifully made wooden gift boxes full of yumminess.  There was an icecream shop, gift shop and a homemade liquors and spirits shop, samples were flowing aplenty here too.  Alot of the tour buses stop here for a break when they come from Tekapo and Geraldine was prepared for them.  A girl outside at a table was selling freshly picked cherries, we bought half a kilo for $7 to add to our Happy Hour Hamper.

The Geraldine Top Ten Holiday Park was lovely, nicely mowen lawns clearly marked sites, plenty of trees for shade and privacy.  The owners were efficient and could have been abit more friendly, but hey, they are busy people at this time of the year.  The facilities were spotless and sparkling, kitchens, bathrooms and laundry.  A metre gave you a shower for 6 mins of hot water and there was plenty of room in the cubicle to get dressed without getting wet.  We sat outside and munched into our goodies, planning tomorrow.

We are off to Tekapo, it is only an hour away so it is going to be a nice relaxing day!

PS. a dude in Geraldine makes The Pole People…cool eh….G might have to make me a family for my garden 😉