Romany Rambler: Travelled 20661Km; 353 Nights Away
It was time to hit the road again, hitch up the caravans and leave Waikari. We travelled through the Weka Pass, today experiencing the road version, after yesterday doing the trip through the pass by rail. First stop was at Amberley for fuel. Standing outside the Councils offices is a statue honouring Captain Upham, considered as the most outstanding soldier of the Second World War. While in Crete in 1941 and the Western Desert in 1942, he distinguished himself with displays of “nerveless competence”, and was awarded the Victoria Cross and Bar. At the end of the war he returned to the life of sheep farming on a property north of Amberley. It was reputed that he never allowed a German made machine onto his farm.
Charles Upham – Victoria Cross and Bar
Leaving Amberley behind we continued down State Highway One to Belfast, on the outskirts of Christchurch. We were looking for the quaintly named “Mousehole”, our stopover for the next couple of nights. This orchard property was planted in 130 chestnut trees and we parked up between the rows of trees. What a very pretty place this is, lots of birdlife in the surrounding trees, and we were serenaded by the wonderful trilling song of a bellbird.
Parked up in a chestnut orchard
Our friendly host Russell strolled over to welcome us to his property. “What do you do with the chestnuts?”, we wanted to know, as they are not something we ever see in the shops. This orchard was planted about 13 years ago, we were told, and the chestnuts are exported. Asian cooks like to slice them up and add to stir fries, the Americans use them in turkey stuffing, and British like to roast them over braziers in winter. Chestnut trees are easy to grow, are very disease resistant, and crop heavily. We could see lots of the prickly covered nuts and they will be ready to harvest in a couple of months time.
Prickly chestnuts
There is no doubt that we will enjoy our stay here at the Mousehole for the next couple of days in such beautiful sheltered surroundings, and a very friendly host.
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