Going Exploring

The plan for Saturday at our rally weekend at Dannevirke was to pack a picnic lunch and have a bit of a mystery tour around the area.  First up was a drive into nearby Norsewood to visit Johanna’s World (gold coin donation) and local man Gundy brought the story to life.  Settled in 1872-75 by Scandinavians and others from Northern Europe, who on their 40 acre blocks, made a living by clearing the dense bush. Norsewood has retained its Scandinavian heritage, and streets carry the original names.    Johanna Christiansen arrived with her family from Norway in 1872 and there a replica of the log cabin where Johanna was born in the Norwegian woods all that time ago. 

Replica of Joanna’s cabin

We also saw a replica “Stave Church” on the grounds, the only  Stave Church (Stavkirke) in the Southern Hemisphere.  Sadly it was locked up tight so we couldn't go inside.

Stave Church

We couldn't visit Norsewood and not say hello (again) to the trolls.   There is Father, Mother and Baby troll, all doing a bit of photo bombing.   These strange Scandinavian creatures are dotted all over the small town, and are considered good luck by the locals.

Watch out, troll alert!

Although we had visited this small town several times, we had never been to the local museum – entry was a  gold coin donation, and Gundy was on hand here too telling us of the exhibits.  Stepping into the old house was like stepping back in time, rooms were furnished just the way they would have been years ago.  At the rear of the house there was an extensive area showing all sort of tools.  Sadly this had to be fenced off as some of the tools had been stolen.

Norsewood Museum

After some retail therapy at NZ Natural Clothing, formerly Norsewear, Robin took the group to visit Mathews Park, not too far away at Namoko Road.  This is a small camping spot, for self contained vans.  Not everyone was aware of this camp, a good one to keep in mind for an overnight stay in the area.

Next stop was at Ormondville Station  was built in 1880 and is one of a handful of early wooden rail buildings that have been preserved thanks to community efforts. Since the closure, in 2001, of the region’s last passenger service, the Bay Express, the station has offered ‘unique boutique accommodation’ for tourists.  There are several examples of old rolling stock in need of attention across from the station. Once again, this was a first time visit for some of our friends.

Historic Ormondville Station

Our last stop of the morning, another new experience for some of our members, was the Makotuku Domain.  Camping is available here for a small charge, and there are a couple of power sites available, as well as toilets and showers.  There is plenty of room in the domain to hold an off power summer rally for our caravan club, we will have to keep this in mind for next year.  The main claim to fame here is a cute little grandstand.  We had originally planned to eat our lunches in the grandstand, but then decided to make the most of the warm sunny weather instead.

Picnic lunch at Makotuku Domain

That was the end of our tiki tour around the area.  Many thanks to Pat for arranging the Norsewood part of our morning, and to Robin for taking us to several “new to some of us” places.