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.

Howdy Partners

It was a Country and Western themed  Easter Weekend for us, at the 27th CCNZ National Rally at Masterton.  With no animals allowed at Solway College, we first dropped Gemma off at the local cattery for her second only visit to such a place.  Then it was up and over the Pahiatua Track, on our way to Masterton.

As entry to the college was not till 4.00pm, a group of four vans from our caravan club met at Henley Lake for lunch and to fill in an hour or two of waiting time.  If you love water birds, this is the place for you.  Ducks, geese and swans call Henley Lake home, paddling in the lake, grazing on the grass, and snoozing on the lake side.  Then we drove on to Solway College for our Easter Weekend Rally.

Henley Lake for lunch

With helpers guiding the vans into rows we were soon settled in.  Our row was Boothill, named for the place where gunslingers and outlaws were buried in Tombstone, Arizona who "died with their boots on."  The hall was decorated in a country and western theme, and the committee had done a great job. 

The Official Opening took place on Friday afternoon, and in came the banners holders marching to the swirl of pipes.  Although not staying on site, Bill and Val had paid their fees and  joined us for most of the weekend functions.

What a great bunch

On Friday evening a local historian came and regaled us about the history and settlement of the Wairarapa, and told some stories about the more colourful characters and their wheeling and dealings.  One such story was about a life insurance claim, and a spare  hand to add credence to the claim, with the supposed wedding ring – only the hand was female and the missing person was a male!  Whose body had the missing hand been removed from?

We had use of a new ablution block for the weekend, nice and close by, and a few power points were available to vans for medical reasons.  I carefully clambered up onto a balcony to get a good view of all the vans spread out on the school grounds.  It was nice to catch up with members of other clubs who we only tend to see every couple of years at these functions.

Bird’s eye view

Saturday was a busy day and 55 happy campers lined up tp board the big blue double decker bus for a mystery trip at 9.00am.  We had to take a packed lunch with us, and our folded camp chairs were whisked away to our lunch spot, wherever that would be, it was a mystery, after all.  First stop was to the local Farmers Market, where the only purchase I made was a nice hot coffee.  Back on the bus again, our next stop was a sculpture garden, developed by James Tyne.  This features a lot of Corten steel, which contains alloys which forms a protective rust coating which reduces the corrosion rate with time.  A rather expensive material, I was told.

Corten steel garden features and statues dotted about

The massive gate was interesting.  The owner was told that the designer had his own idea of what he wanted to  to make, and if the owner wasn't happy with the finished product he didn't have to buy it.  It opens by turning the very heavy wheel, so a couple of us took turns trying the mechanism for a photo op. 

Locked inside the garden

Lunch was at the farm belonging to Maureen and Mike Ashbee, who kindly offered their property. Our chairs were ready and waiting and we made use of their outdoor area,  not a sound was heard as we munched away at our picnic lunches. “Walk around and explore the gardens”, we were told.  This is a three generation family farm, now managed by Maureen and Mike’s daughter, and they are hoping to get away for trips in their motor home, now they are stepping back a bit from farm duties.

Lunch at the farm

Then for something completely different, we stopped at Ponataki Greek Church. This private church was the dream of George Pantelous who achieved his heart’s desire with the construction of this beautiful church.

The interior was beautifully painted by an 18 year old artist, Stephen Allwood, who took a year to finish his work, including the dome ceiling.  Such beautiful details, and many thanks to our guide who related the history of this building.  No church pews are inside, the faithful must remain standing for the 2 1/2 hour service.  

Greek Church

Our last stop was The Wee Red Barn, famous for their berries.  I was amused to see some goats clambering up high in their enclosure, looking down on our busload of happy campers.   We purchased fruit ice-cream, a large punnet of strawberries, and a jar of raspberry jam, all nice and tasty.  It was a long day out and about on the bus, especially climbing up and down those stairs to the top level.

Wee Red Barn

Our day wasn't over – after dinner we all met back in the hall for a Line Dancing demonstration.  The dancers all looked very smart indeed in their country style outfits as they “strutted their stuff” to the music.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was not all country music used, they danced to a little rock and roll, and other types of music  too.  After the demo, many of our group joined the dancers for some easy tuition and danced away too.

Line dancing demonstration

Sunday morning started bright and early with a cooked breakfast of French Toast, Bacon and Banana, with the BBQs going flat out.

Cooking our breakfasts

The food was served from the Baine Marie, there was Maple Syrup to add, and we settled down to enjoy our Sunday breakfast.  Oh my, it was delicious indeed.

Sunday breakfast

Included in our Goody Bag were two complimentary tickets for the Miniature Railway in nearby Queen Elizabeth Park.  It was a beautiful day, and the park was buzzing with family groups.  Toot, toot, here comes the train!  The passengers disgorged, and then we clambered in.  The track took us several times around the lake, through the tunnel, tooting as it went, such fun.

Trip on the miniature railway

The evening concluded with a catered dinner.  The caterers, Kiwi Kai Catering,  arrived towing their kitchen caravan all painted up advertising the Pink Floyd Experience.  The owner told me that they will be also going on the tour in June and will be feeding the band and crew.  Our meals were very tasty, chicken, pork, with a selection of salads and veggies, followed by individual  berry cheese cake.  We had taken along some bubbly for me and red wine for Robin to complete our meal, and were obviously having such a great evening that I forgot to take any photos!

The catering caravan

The official closing of the rally took place on  Monday morning, the final raffles prizes were drawn, and  thanks were made to the Wairarapa Caravan Club for putting on such a great National Rally.  Goodbyes were said and it was time to hook up the caravans, and we all went on our respective ways.  Such a fun weekend, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely, meeting up with old friends and chatting with new folks from other caravan clubs too. 

Lindis Pass, Kawerau Pass to Lumsden

After several easy days traveling, it was a much longer day (150km) from Twizel to Lowburn,  and driving up and over Lindis Pass.  On the first part of the journey we passed the results of farmers cutting hay, first we saw rectangular bales piled high, and then paddock after paddock of round hay bales.  All getting ready for winter feed.

Time to make hay

Driving over the Lindis Pass we noticed that the hills had changed from the very bare hills that we saw around Twizel, and now were lightly covered in scrub.  The  Lindis Pass links the Mackenzie Basin with Central Otago, crossing  a saddle between the valleys of the Lindis and Ahuriri Rivers at an altitude of 971m..

There was no room for us to pull into the lookout, but a little further on we stopped at this sign.  We had now arrived at Central Otago, or as the locals call it, “Central”.  It was all downhill from here, and this side of the pass seemed much steeper than the ascent.

We are now in Central Otago

The road took us alongside Lake Dunstan, and we soon arrived al Lowburn NZMCA Park, another new to us camp right on the lake side.  Set in  a large graveled area, rubbish facilities but no water or dump station.

Lowburn NZMCA Park

The town of Cromwell was not too far away, and look, there is the famous fruit sign, the huge  1.7 tonne apple, pear, nectarine and apricot landmark.   Designed by  Otto Muller  the landmark cost $64,000 to build and a further $24,000 in voluntary labour, and was completed in November 1989.    Cromwell  has a well-earned reputation as the fruit bowl of New Zealand. The ideal climate makes  Cromwell’s cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums  sought-after by high-end export markets, supermarkets, and visitors who call in to buy from the local growers. 

Cromwell Fruit Sign

As we did, buying a box of delicious peaches, and a bag of new seasons apples, then queuing up with other eager customers to buy  a “real fruit” ice-cream.    Absolutely delicious – there is nothing better than an ice-cream on a hot sunny day!

In the 1970s Cromwell became the site of a hydro-electric power scheme which created the huge Clyde Dam to harness the Clutha River.  Lake Dunstan, which formed behind the dam, submerged much of the area in 1992, but a number of historic buildings were saved and relocated.

Lake Dunstan, and a view of the camp from the lake edge

Then it was another big day, 161km from Lowburn to Lumsden along SH6.  This took us through the steep and winding Kawerau Gorge.  In 1880 engineer Harry Higginson was called on to built a bridge over the Kawarau Gorge, a difficult task in a sheer rocky gorge that was known as a tunnel for strong winds. To  meet this challenge, he came up with an innovative bridge design with a suspension bridge that was 42 m high with a 120m long span. The work won a world’s top engineering award, a Telford Premium, in 1882.  In 1963 a new bridge opened and the 1880 bridge was retained for its historic value.  Over 100 years after the bridge was originally constructed,  the bridge became the site of the world's first commercial bungy jump. A.J. Hackett set up operation on the bridge in 1988, with people testing their limits by leaping from the equivalent of a 10-storey building held safe by just a giant elastic band around their ankles. Since 1988, the bridge has primarily been used for bungy jumping and biking.

Gold mining also took part in this inhospitable place, and the remains or maybe replicas of Chinese goldminers huts can still be seen.    The Goldfields Mining Centre is an historic reserve which has been set aside by New Zealand's Department of Conservation to preserve an authentic mining site where gold has been mined for over 100 years and can still be found in the rocks & gravels. 

Goldminers huts in Kawerau Gorge

Driving through Frankton, we were astounded to see just how much this place has grown since we were last here, and the road followed lower Lake Wakatipu – the name means “place where the demon lies”.  According to Maori legend the curiously shaped lake was created when a giant demon captured the daughter of a Maori chief and took her to his home in the mountains.  After struggling against a strong north-easterly wind, the demon lay down with his head near Glenorchy, his knees at Queenstown, and his feet at Kingston.  The girl’s lover crept up to sleeping demon and set it on fire, and its body burnt deep into the earth.  All that remained was the beating heart within a gigantic trench which gradually filled with water to form an enormous lake in the shape of the demon.  We pulled off the road at a photo stop to capture some snaps of this beautiful lake.

Lake Wakatipu

Our stop for the night was at the Lumsden Reserve NZMCA Park, not actually overflowing with campers as there were only a big bus and a motorhome parked up.  We all enjoyed happy Hour together later in the afternoon.

Overnighting at Lumsden

After settling in, and having a late lunch, we drove up town to check out Lumsden – and discovered that the pie shop we remembered from our last visit has now closed down.  The  railway station is now preserved as a tourist information centre. The Lumsden Heritage Trust has displayed the chassis of New Zealand Railways steam train.  Lumsden welcomes freedom campers and the  railway station offers free parking for caravans and motor homes, sinks available for dish washing, toilets, fresh water and a dump station. 

Trains on display at Lumsden Station

Lumsden used to be a major railway junction with lines departing to all four points of the compass. The Kingston Branch from Invercargill ran north–south through the town, while to the west was the Mossburn Branch and to the east was the Waimea Plains Railway that connected with the Main South Line in Gore.  Sadly, those days are long gone now.

The weather has been fabulous lately, real ”blue dome days” as we have been traveling about – lets hope it stays that way.  Next stop, Te Anau.