Changeable Climes in Carterton

Winter came calling at Carterton on Friday morning – so much that we searched through our cupboards for cozy warm clothes.  With a bit of mumbling and grumbling Robin discarded his much loved summer wear of shorts, tee shirt and sandals for jeans, jersey and shoes and socks.  Bill and Val joined us at the camp the previous afternoon, and we think they must have brought the bad weather with them.

Two Leisurelines at Carterton Holiday Park

We were continuing on to Carterton School to join the Combined rally hosted by the Wairarapa caravan Club.  But being a school day the arrival time was 4.00pm – and we had to depart the motor camp at 10.00am.  Problem solved – we would park up for a lazy day at local Rugby Club Grounds.  So we did, and spent the day chatting, reading, with a little shopping thrown in the mix too. 

Rugby Club Grounds

Val and I walked up to Wild Oats Café to get some nice fresh bread rolls for lunch.  With a rain parka and a brolly between us, we did a great job of keeping the rain showers at bay.  A new sculpture has appeared in Millennium Park outside the café  – of Charles Rooking Carter, the founder of Carterton.  The Lions Club of Carterton fundraised and applied for grants to cover the $90,000 cost of getting the sculpture commissioned by Renowned Auckland Sculpture's "Progressive Castings".  This company also produced the Michael Jones statue, which is highly praised around the world.

Charles Rooking Carter

In 1890 Charles Carter presented a collection of 395 works on New Zealand to the New Zealand Institute and Colonial Museum and by the time of his death the collection exceeded 1,000 books. His gifts to the Carterton borough library made it one of the best in the country by the time of his death. In his will Carter left the residue of his estate to the New Zealand Institute for an astronomical observatory and this bequest led eventually to the establishment of the Carter Observatory in Wellington.

We joined the Wairarapa Caravan Club later in the afternoon for our weekend rally.  By this stage the weather had improved dramatically.  Gone was the cold wind, the sun had come out and the early arrivals were sitting outside having 4zees in the sunshine.  It promises to be a great weekend.

At Carterton School