Riding the Ridge

Having driven almost the length of NZ in one go last time, we decided to take it a bit easier this time and break our drive to the north end of the South Island into two days. Along the way we stopped for lunch at the pretty public gardens in Oamaru, where I snapped this charming Chinese bridge. I have told Frank that I can see one just like it spanning our lake from the penninsula to the south shore. What else does he have to do, now that he's retired? ;)

We were very lucky in our choice of overnight accommodation, chancing upon a B & B just north of Christchurch. We had a huge bedroom with an ensuite, plus a large living and dining room all to ourselves, with a view over the adjoining golf course. Dinner in the small seaside town was the BEST Indian food I have ever eaten, in a tiny restaurant called The Spice of Life--yummy!! A bonus was this beautiful sunset. Great first day.

The next day's weather was quite different, having changed to cloudy and recurring showers, but this just made the drive through the Nelson Pass more dramatic. Our morning coffee stop was at a hot springs resort run by a Japanese family. Although we didn't indulge this time, we plan to come back here when we are again nearby in May. It's only $10 for an hour in these thermal pools, surrounded by gorgeous views of forested mountains in this nature reserve. The photo below shows the view.


We ate lunch beside this roaring waterfall before continuing north to the Nelson region.

Our cottage is on Manuka Ridge Farm, which sits high above the tiny village of Upper Moutere, just north of the city of Nelson. Matt (a pilot) and Dee Needham and their two daughters share space here with two Jack Russell terriers, four 'chooks' (hens), and eight horses. Our cottage, screened from their house by apple trees and roses, has a commanding view of not one, but two, mountain ranges, and a glimpse of the sea. It has a huge bed which faces out the front door to the view, a kitchen, small living room, and an all-blue bathroom complete with washing machine (not blue). Again, perfect! The best bit is the wide wraparound verandah from which to enjoy all those beautiful views.

Today was a very quiet day, recovering from the driving. I did a painting of the view from the house, and Frank connected with a couple of local woodworkers, and has ordered some panels of NZ woods to practice carving on later this week. Other than that, our toughest choice was which four wines to try out at the local winery (the late harvest reisling was wonderful!) and which natural fruit ice cream to try at the local dairy (banana is surprisingly good!). Life is good (even if you are a chicken on your side).