Weka Pass, Balmoral, and the Waiau Tavern

 It was a wet and miserable morning when we packed up and said goodbye to Kaiapoi.  I got rid of the rubbish while Robin filled up with water in the camp, we filled up with fuel at McKeown's and we started on our way north.  But.......we forgot to go to the dump station - that was a first for us.  Luckily the GPS told us one was coming up shortly at BP station in the little town of Pegasus.  As Robin did his blue job I went into the cafe for coffees, just what we needed on a cold and chilly morning.  Mmm, real coffees, what a nice start to our trip.

Nothing beats a morning coffee

Turning onto SH7 took us through Weka Pass.  That brought back memories of our 2012 South Island Safari with the Coles, Turnbulls and Canvins, and on the "must do" list was a trip on the vintage Weka Pass Railway.  AS I remember, that was another cols, miserable day too.  Wonder if I can find any old photos?

Weka Pass  Rail trip

Our lunch stop was at the very royal sounding Balmoral Recreation Area.  No royals popped out to meet us, and then I remembered that they are having a family summer holiday in Edinburgh.  Such a lovely site, surrounded with pine trees, and  very peaceful indeed with just one other van in the grounds.  It would be great to stay here for a night or two on a future trip.  Gemma enjoyed some time outside on her lead.

Lunch at Balmoral

Fed and watered, we got on our way again to our stop for the night at Waiau Tavern.  No charge to stay for the night, but there is an expectation that travelers would spend a little money in the bar, or have a meal.  Which is quite fair and reasonable, we think, when the parking is free.

Waiau Hotel

We were directed to a paddock beside the tavern and told the bar opens at 4.00pm.  With the weather being wet and cloudy over the last few days, our batteries were getting a little low, so Robin got our trusty red generator out and fired it up.  That soon took care of it.

He belongs to the Red Generator Club

Opening time rolled around so we went over for 4zees, just the owner and us in the tiny bar.  Plus a rather feisty ginger kitten who calls the tavern home.

The owner Lindsay told us about the 7.8 Hurinui-Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016.  The epicentre was located close to Waiau township and the fault ruptures ran for more than 180km along known and previously unrecognized faults.  The hotel was badly damaged, then while waiting for council permission to rebuild, was burnt to the ground by squatters.  This new tavern is much smaller but serves the community well.  While the landlord was chatting to us he noticed a regular pull up in his ute, went to the fridge, selected a bottle, pulled the top off, and had it ready and waiting when the customer walked in the door.  How is that for service!  With Lindsay's partner who does the cooking down in Christchurch buying supplies for the week, the kitchen was not open.  So our pub meal never happened, never mind, we had plenty of food it the caravan.

Across the road were some info boards about history of the town and the 2016 earthquake.  Waiau  is a Maori name meaning flowing water.  For 60 years Waiau was the terminus of the Waiau Branch, a branch line that ran to the town from a junction with the Main North Line in Waipara.

All about the earthquake

The Waiau Lock-Up (Jail), built in 1866 was moved to this site with community help.  In the early days there was a succesful escape with a well prepared plan.  A strong fast horse was kept saddled at Daniels Hotel awaiting the moment when the (unnamed) prisoner was brought out for transfer to Christchurch.  While the constable's attention was averted he made a dash over the fence to the stable, galloped off, forded the flooded Waiau River and got clear away.

It was interesting to stay in this little town, instead of driving straight though.  We found out all sorts of things, soaking up some history while enjoying a night in the tavern grounds.