Ballance

The fog rolled in, then the rain kept falling, from drizzle, to unrelenting rain fall, and back to a light drizzle again, which made for puddles everywhere and piles of wet squelchy fallen leaves underfoot.  Even the sheep down the driveway to the camp were sodden as they tried to shelter under the large trees.

Sheep trying to keep out of the rain

Perhaps we should take a little sight seeing trip?  Robin was keen to check out a freedom camping site at Ballance that he had read about.  Even small, out of the way places like Ballance have their share of interesting history.  As we drove through the rural Ballance Valley we  came across a plaque commemorating the site of the first Butter Factory.  It didn’t actually say if the factory was the first in the area, or the first in New Zealand.  The factory was built for the cost of 400 pound in the late 1800s and used water from the adjacent creek to turn the water wheel, turning the separators and butter churn.

Site of water powered butter factory

The freedom camping site didn’t appeal to us al all as it was just a pull-off area on the side of a  busy road.  There were toilets and water available, but no protection from traffic.  The adjacent Ballance Bridge spanning the Manawatu River was well worth checking out and much more interesting.

The Ballance Bridge

Sadly this bridge was the place of a tragic accident not too long ago.  An adventure tourism operation was taking place, where young people swung under the bridge.  One young girl leapt off the bridge for her swing ride but her harness was not properly attached to the bridge and she died when she hit the river bed.  The operation was quite rightly shut down, and it is a much more peaceful place these days.

Manawatu River