Success is getting what you want; happiness is liking what you get

Saturday 18 February 2012

Goodbye Hanmer and onto Waikari

Romany Rambler: Travelled 20601Km; 351 Nights Away

Joining the crowds awaiting the 10;00am opening of the Hanmer Springs pool complex, and our two day passes entitled us to enter through the Express lane, bypassing the day trippers queuing to buy their tickets.  It was another very pleasant hour or so trying out several of the different pools on offer.  The photographer working at the pool tried his very best to talk our group into having our photos taken while up to our necks in water, but to no avail.  He will probably have better luck with some of the younger patrons.  Then it was back to camp, hitch up the caravans and hit the road for the next stage of our journey.

A view of the pool complex

Travelling south down SH7 it was a short 59km journey to Waikari, our stop for the next two nights.  The Waikari Domain had both power and non power sites available, and most of us opted to be on power for our stay.  And wonder of wonders, a free washing machine, which really got a work out from our group.  By mid afternoon we all had lines of of laundry flapping in the breeze.  With that chore out of the way, we relaxed the afternoon away under a shady tree, and fired up the BBQ for our evening meal.

Waikare has a nicely landscaped reserve on the edge of the village featuring a large statue of a sheep.  And not just any sheep either, but an example of a Corriedale sheep,  the worlds largest dual purpose sheep breed.  A plaque reads, “in memory of James Little and those Corriedale breeders whose vision and skill ensured the spread of the Corriedale from this area to all the major sheep rearing regions of the world”.

DSCF8957 Corriedale sheep

Another piece of art in the reserve  was a sculpture of a moa, a huge flightless bird.  These roamed New Zealand and are believed to have been hunted to extinction 400 years ago.

DSCF8959 A Moa in the reserve

The reason for our stay in Waikari is to take a trip on the vintage Weka Pass Railway tomorrow.  So to those interested in trains, watch this space.

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