Past Haast to Frigid Franz Part 2

So from there, we really didn't have a lot of options but to head north, so we did. It was a slow trip as there was, all the way along regardless of weather, lots of very pretty places to stop & enjoy the view. This was one of them. It was on top of a hill somewhere or other & the whole layby was a dedicated memorial to the surveyors that opened up the coast..
















A sure sign of an enlightened local body was these composting toilets at this spot. Our local council wont have a bar of them, which is sad because they really are very environmentally friendly...
After all this excitement, it was nearly an anticlimax to stop for lunch at the salmon farm . I will say that the farm, along with most attractions on the Coast is very wheelchair friendly. It is an absolute pleasure to go to these places & have easy access for a chair & friendly staff that dont talk across or down to folk in wheelchairs. Anyway, we had a lovely lunch there, (Salmon of course..) & were fortunate enough to see our first ever Kotuku, or white heron.
So onward we pressed.This is a beach where , apparently, everyone stops & writes their name on a rock at the side of the road.
So, we did too....
We pressed on...... and on...... and on......... through lots of Beech forest like this...........

Across lots of bridges like this
Until we finally got to here.........
Here being a nice snug motel unit in Franz Josef. We didn't get to see this view until the next morning, as by the time that we got to Franz, it was persisting down rather heavily. Sadly, we didn't get to see either of the glaciers, as The Fox was coyly draped in a heavy layer of mist when we went through, & Franz Josef isn't visible from the road & neither of them are wheelchair friendly at all. It was a very interesting day weather wise though. In the one day we had sunshine, frost, snow, rain , hail, sleet, wind, thunder & lightning. As you can guess, this made for a very interesting day on the road. We were quite glad to snuggle up in a nice warm motel unit for the night & listen to the tumultuous sound of good heavy West Coast rain on the roof.

Past Haast to Frigid Franz

This was the view I opened the ranchslider on our motel up to in the morning. The lighter bit at the top was golden when I first saw it, but by the time I got the camera, that had gone, but it was still very pretty
So , we loaded Shermy up again & actually headed south. I did actually hope to have a photo of a beautiful wild stag that comes out & wanders around the township of an evening, but he didn't cooperate while we were there. I thought I was the victim of a West Coast legpull till I was shown a photo of him at the back of our motel unit.

Our host at the motel recommended that we go to a place called Neils Beach to watch the local whitebaiters in action so we did...















The pic with Sherman in it is actually looking back along the beach toward dry land. At high tide, all this is under water. It was really great driving out there with the river on one side & breakers coming in & washing round your wheels on the other. Yet another occasion where I was thankful for 4WD. On the way out, Sherman insisted on passing the time of day with one of his Southern Cousins..









After quite a lot more very pretty, very narrow road, we effectively reached the end of the road, a very pretty, very tranquil little place that is steeped in history & derives its living from the crayfish industry.






























My little Sweety contemplating the peace & tranquillity at the end of the line

Wanaka et al

We liked Wanaka. It has somehow avoided the plasticity of Queenstown & retained its individuality, while still projecting a welcoming face, even though we didn't stay there.






We did, however, make the pilgrimage out to the airfield, to the Fighter Pilots Museum where we were shown round by a most unassuming elderly gentleman who casually informed us that he used to fly Corsairs when he was in his prime. Thank you Mr Berryman for being the consumate host & talking TO Jude & not over the top of her head even though she was in her wheelchair.




From Wanaka, we drove over the hills to Lake Hawea, all the way up one side of Hawea, back over the hills to Wanaka, then all the way along the top end of Wanaka & eventually into Haast Pass. What can I say about a drive like that ? You definitely get to a point where superlatives fail you & you resolve not to take another picture of lakes & scenery, but always in the south you are seduced by the view & the large number of laybys present everywhere for that purpose, so you do anyway.















It was two very weary little wanderers that eventually found a motel in the Haast township to stay the night.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

So the bard said. That is the sad part of travelling. The inevitability of having to say goodbye to dear friends, no matter how much you are enjoying each others company. I guess also that you have to strike that happy balance of leaving at a time when your hosts have a genuine regret to see you go & timing it well in advance of them waving you goodbye with the thoughts, "Thank God they've gone." I think we achieved that happy balance with Michelle & Paul. They are both very busy people & were extremely generous with their time. Thanks Guys, we had a blast. Come up & see us sometime so that we can attempt in some small way to repay your generosity.


So onward & ever Southward we went, through a countryside slowly thawing after what was an incredibly heavy weekend's worth of snow. In fact, we went as far as

we could go, stopping only for the obligatory pictures by what is probably one of the most photographed sign posts in the world. I know that I have photo's of my parents there that were taken in either the late '60s or early '70s when they did their big trip south. They did better than us & actually got to Stewart Island. We had planned to, but, sadly, time & weather conspired against us.

Invercargill didn't impress us very much. It looks old & tired. I guess the half melted snow lingering round wouldn't help, but I still wouldn't care to live there. So it was out across more flat farm land with magnificent views of the Southern Alps looming ever closer & closer. Quite a strange feeling to have seen it all in film & photo & to know that we were actually going to see it all first hand very soon. A very moving moment for us was our first view of Lake Whakatipu, because it coincided with the song Smoke on the Water playing on the radio.
Very moving. The lake itself was absolutely beautiful.

We stayed at Queenstown a night, but were happy to leave. Its very touristy, very commercial, very plastic. We decided to take the alpine road up through Cardona. Not only was it a lot shorter, it was also just absolutely stunning

A Winter Wonderland..

After an incredibly warm welcome from Michelle, Paul , their 4 wonderful kids, an indifferent at best greeting from Molly the Miniature Schnauzer & a good nights sleep, I tiptoed out to the lounge at about 6.30 am hoping to use the quiet time to jot down a few notes over my first coffee of the day. While the jug was boiling, I pulled back the curtains & spent the next 5 minutes absolutely entranced. Virgin snow as far as the eye can see. How absolutely beautiful. bear in mind that we were miles away from any other form of civilisation, so no tyre tracks, no vehicle noise, no nothing. As I Stood there watching a rather plump little Black Bird hopping along the narrow strip of concrete left that was still sheltered by the eaves of the house, I heard the hall door open. There stood Struan, number 3 in the kids pecking order & I think about 4. You may correct me if I'm wrong. he looked at me with this huge big grin on his face & said, " i maded you a winter wonderland. "

And he had. He couldn't help himself. He had to wake the other two in the end room & tell them. We had a lovely day. I helped make my first ever snowman. I trudged through a foot of snow over to the shed to help Paul feed the calves, being accosted by two pet lambs with short memories on the way. We went up to the top shed & fed the other calves. then we carried on up the hill as far as Harry, the Suzuki Carry, (Harry the Carry, get it ?) Then we loaded up with firewood to fuel the heating system at home. I had had enough by that stage & spent the rest of the day resting.

Monday saw us bid a sad farewell to this absolutely wonderful family. Thankyou to Paul, Michelle, Lachlan, Charlotte, Struan & Neive. You are some of the most wonderful people we know. We will both carry the memories of our stay with you for a very long time.

On The Road Again

I understand now the old Simon& Garfunkel lyrics, “on a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.” You see, as you know, our big trip has been interrupted because of my misplaced chivalry & the resulting injury. However, itchiness of foot was starting to reach intolerable levels, so in the face of the biggest low pressure complex anyone has seen for years, we set off, & southwards at that. We were absolutely determined to spend some time with Michelle & her husband Paul. We had met Michelle albeit briefly, last time we were in Dunedin, when she made the trip in to town & visited us at my son’s place.

The summit of somewhere or other in The Catlins

So blithely off we set. The weather in Dunedin up til yesterday afternoon had been quite pleasant, with just some strong winds. Yesterday, however was a different matter. By the time we left from the Meridian mall in Dunedin after what was, for us at least & I’m sure for both my sons as well, very painful & reluctant farewells, it wasn’t particularly nice. Lowering grey overcast with the first dustings of snow on the hills up the back. But only if you looked real close. Anyway, round about Milton, we ran into a little front & had our first little flurries of snow. Quite exciting it was, having never driven in snow before. Little did we know. We topped the tank off in Balclutha, just to be sure & set off happily along the Catlins road.



Mother nature was very kind to us. Our first sign that things were going to turn pear shaped was the odd little mound of snow here & there in the middle of the road. Easy stuff. I can handle this, so on we merrily went. As you can see, by the time we got to the summit of somewhere or other with , I am sure what would be a beautiful view under better circumstances, the snow was starting to be a serious factor in our trip. But we carried on. And on & on & on, with the snow getting heavier & heavier & heavier. Sherman coped with it all very well. I engaged the free wheeling hubs fairly early on & just used 4WD as needed, which basically became a permanent thing. I must say that at this point, I was starting to feel like a real Southern man, driving through snow with set of chains & a carton of Speights in the back. I must admit to being somewhat reluctant to use the chains, as I didn’t want Sherman bursting into song when I put them on him. (Sorry, that was a bad one I know.)

I must admit to being rather surprised to see a few camper vans being driven by what I considered to be very foolhardy souls & , indeed, in one spot came across one in trouble, where two of them had tried to pass in a spot where there was only one set of wheel ruts in the snow & lost traction & needed help from your ever present country policeman. Don’t ever say a word against the police to me again. This poor guy had been patrolling this particular stretch of snow bound road helping numpties that don’t have enough sense to stay off roads with 6 inches or so of snow on them while driving high sided front wheel drive vans.

Snow, snow & more snow.. All over the road at that

Sherman, of course, handled it beautifully. Assisted of course in no small measure by myself. I was lucky, I guess, in that the weather got progressively worse, so by the time it got absolutely dreadful, we were that close to Michelle’s place that it made sense to carry on. By the time we got to the Quarry Hills area, the snow was quite heavy. We finished up driving on virgin snow fall. the road was that little used that the only marks on it were the foot prints of resident hares looking in vain for a meal.. Damn we were glad to get to Michelle & Pauls, even though we didn’t know at the time that it was their place. I just decided it looked like a likely spot to call in & ask DIRECTIONS….. Sorry Michy, I couldn’t resist that one. So, you can imagine our relief when we spied this diminutive figure in a red apron waving frantically from the front lawn. Our destination at last & yes, it is true, snow doesn't make any sound at all when it's falling. Quite eery.

The view from Michy's front window

Well done, trusty old wagon.
Sherman about 2 hours after we arrived.

Cast Off !!!

Thats the good news. That damnable lump of plaster that I have been dragging round for the last fortnight or so is finally gone. The bad news is that it has been replaced with a fearsome appliance constructed of padded black nylon & velcro that looks like it belongs in Madame Monique's House of Pain. Not that such an establishment either exists, or if it does, has ever been graced by my august presence you understand. The worse news is that this fearsome bit of bondage gear is designed to strap my right arm firmly to my tum & is supposed to stay there at all times unless showering or doing exercises. Fat chance of that happening. The even worse news is that if I don't wear it, I leave myself open to the possibility of corrective surgery later on. The absolutely calamatous news is that I haven't told Jude the last bit nor do I intend to.

You see I have a cunning plan. It isn't taking very long to figure out the range of motions that cause pain. Pain = damage. So if I don't do it, I'm not interrupting the healing process. Thats my theory & I'm sticking to it. I have to see the orthopedics department when we get home, so I guess time will tell. At least I will be home then & in the framework of the excellent support system that is already in place around Jude & myself.

So, we are going to carry on. We have come way too far to pull the plug on things at this point & it's important to me that Jude gets what I have promised her, so its onwards & upwards as of Saturday, although from the looks of the weather coming up, the Stewart Island trip might be problematical.

Paddington on Protest

Paddington pays Homage to the Great Bard before starting the Great March.....


This morning Jude, Paddington, Myself, my youngest son Ian, Leasa his wife, & Conaire The cute protested. We protested to the point of chanting slogans & marching in the street. We protested at the lack of progress in pay & condition award talks for secondary school teachers. Why did we do it ? Well my son is a secondary teacher & my wife used to be a special needs instructor within the school system, so I really didnt have agreat deal of option. Anyway, Paddington said we should.

Sadly, the press seem to focus on them wanting.....gasp, wait for it, a 4% wage rise. There are a lolt of other issues as well, such as class sizes, preparation time & all the extracurricular stuff that teac hers do that they don't get paid for. Dont forget also that the system relies heavily on volunteers to help with students outside the acceptible square. I see teachers a lot like the firefighters were when I first joined the service. Underpaid, over worked, reliant on the help of unskilled amateurs, & dedicated to their profession. Good on ya guys, hang in there. You're all worth every last thing you can extract from a system that doesn't seem capable of appreciating your worth..

Thoughts & reflections on reaching the venerable age of sixty

It's been a lovely spring day here in Dunedin. The sort of day that encourages sitting in the sun thinking, so that is what I have been doing. That is of course in between hanging out washing, cuddling grandchildren & going to the supermarket & finally giving in to temptation & going in to the Danish Bakery Shop to buy lunch. You know how it goes don't you ?

I've decided that there is something very special about reaching the grand old age of 60. OK, so it's not really anything special any more, i mean you can't even retire when you hit 60 now, you have to keep on slogging away for another 5 years, well most of us anyway. But I have decided that special it is & special it has been for me. Although events are dictating that life is probably going to be difficult for us both in the next year or so, our enforced inactivity here in Dunedin has provided us with some absolutely wonderful times, giving us the chance to really get to know both my son's wonderful families. One of the most special things in my life, short of finding Jude, has been sitting down with my family around me, the older ones talking, the little ones playing. Unless you have experienced it for yourself, it's difficult to explain how fulfilling it is.

I've learn't some lessons too. I've learn't how much my sons love me. I've learnt that I am not 9 foot high & bullet proof. I've learnt that because you have you have grey in your whiskers, people tend to think you are somehow wiser than you possibly are. Sometimes, I don't feel any wiser than what i was when i was 21. A lot less impulsive, maybe, but not a lot wiser either. I've also learnt that getting a tattoo doesnt hurt as much as you would think. My biggest lesson iis that it is vitally important, especially when away from home, that I take really good care of myself. The time that I have spent with my arm in plaster has possibly been one of the most frustrating times in my life. If it wasn't for my boys, it would be very punishing financially as well. Its been frustrating because I have had to let Jude fend for herself in areas where I would normally help, so I don't know. Maybe I am a little wiser than I was. Life, I suppose, teaches us its own lessons. it's up to us largely wether we choose to accept them & learn from them I guess

And the Earth did Move

Its a lot of years since I have been woken by an earthquake. I dont particularly like them. This stems from a tine as a young man when I was sleeping rough in the bush. Just a gtoundsheet thrown down on the ground & a sleeping bag to crawl into. It scared me then & it still scares me. Yes, we felt it in Dunedin. Quite vigorously & for what seemed an eternity. We were lucky though, we could roll over & go back to sleep. I made sure that Jude was awake too. Not for any altruistic safety reasons, just so that I wouldn't have to be scared on my own. It wsn't until the next morning that the magnitude of the disaster started to penetrate. And disaster it was, & still is with heartrending stories by the dozen. I could fill a whole blog with stories about houses family pets, vehicles, farms , lucky escapes, sad stories by the truckload, but other more compeetent reporters have done it all better & more vividly than I can. Suffice it to say that my personal involvement was two dear friends there who have both come out unscathed. Also that my heartfelt sympathies go to those concerned

We are basically filling time here till the 16th, when hopefully the cast will come off my arm. Its not wasted time though. We are now staying with my eldest son, Sean, his lovely wife Susan& our two grandchildren, Anna & Alex. Its been good so far, getting to know the little ones for the first time really & doing what we can to help ease the load a little. Every day we try to do something different. Today we went & sat on the waterfront at St., Clairs beach & watched the waves crashing in against the seawall, the gulls soaring in an onshore breeze & the couple of optimistic surfers willing to try their hand against Mother nature. It was good time out.

Expendables

If what you are after is a bit of mindless violence, lots of shooting, flames & blowing stuff up, then this is the movie for you. It could be called rightly the pensioner action hero tax benefit movie, because they are all there to a greater or lesser degree. Not a huge lot of plot, but good music lots of action, not a huge amount of meaningful dialogue, pretty girls, loud powerful guns & a team of old pros who take on a whole island full of baddies without anyone getting killed. OK, so there is the odd flesh wound & some very nasty paper cuts from trying to read scripts & possibly a bit of wind burn, but everybody survives except the baddies of course.

Herself & I went to see it in Dunedin today. A good way to fill in s couple of hours on s dreary drizzly Dunedin day & also a good way not to get too far under foot for my ever tolerant daughter in law. Oh yeah, got a good deal or two on some sale items at the Warehouse as well. Just another cruisy day in Dunners, but roll on the 16th when we should be able to plug on with our trip. That is, if the bloody radiographers arent still on strike.....

Pretty much the best birthday & Fathers Day ever

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I celebrated my birthday in royal & Dubious fashion last Saturday night. Those of you who know me will also know that my birthday wasn't actually till Thursday. its still a wonderment to me that I have reached the age that used to be considered retirement age. Still, only another 5 years to go I guess.

Not wanting the actual occasion to go unnoticed, we decided on a somewhat quieter & more family oriented evening at a local hostelry. The food was a mixed bag. I must say that I was disappointed with my main, a T bone steak as was my eldest son who had the same. Leasa was also sadly let down with a venison pie that was sadly lacking in seasoning. The high point for me was the effort that the front of house staff went to looking after Jude. They were really great, being attentive & actually listening to what we asked for. sadly, Jude didn't eat that much. I am rapidly reaching the conclusion that she needs peace & quiet with no distractions whatsoever so that she can concentrate fully on the actual eating process, not that she actually eats very much anyway, but she diid manage a little scrambled egg & some pavlova. so anyway, here we are, my family..
The only one missing is Anna. She is such an energetic wee thing that it was deemed much easier to leave her at home with a baby sitter. Fathers Day was spent in a laid back fashion at Seans house, where we are now staying. Both of my sons have made huge efforts to ensure that their old Dad & Jude have a truly memorable holiday with them. My heart is filled with joy & gratitude & my eyes are filled with tears. Both Jude & I will have some very happy memories to cover the tough times ahead

Boozers, Beneficiaries & Bankrupts

A cautionary tale concerning the fortunes, travails & mishaps involved in the celebration via libations of the 60th birthday of your humble scribe. last Saturday night, I set out in fine style accompanied by my two stalwart sons & the father in law of one of said sons. Our mission statement was to imbibe copious quantities of alcohol, sample the many & varied fleshpots of the fine city of Dunedin, (And they are many & divers) & generally celebrate my official old age in appropriate fashion.

This we did well & truly, ending the evening with the traditional sustenance ingested at the place of traditional sustanance, a guard against feeling the slightest pangs of hunger while homeward bound. Thus seriously fortified & well nourished, we set a course for transport & home, line abreast down the main thoroughfare all feeling 10 feet tall & immune to the slings & arrows of outrageous fortune. Thus did chivalrous feelings rise to the breast when a damsel in distress was spied. The young serf accompanying her was ill treating her sorely in both a physical & verbal fashion that caused us all much distress. Espying chance, we acted as one to separate said lout from young maiden & allow her respite.

Yea the young lout was most distressed at this & circumvented our line landing a mighty blow to the side of the head of one of our company, who is of similar age to myself & likewise ocularly impaired. He then took to his scrapers in fine style. My youngest son, being suitably enraged followed in hot pursuit. throwing verbal accusations & challenges in his wake, sadly to no avail. This is where the tragic part comes in. Not to be outdone, I added my efforts to the pursuit. Sadly, the top half of my body was able to move faster that the bottom half, resulting in a thunderous collision between myself & the footpath.

On rising the following morning, it became plainly evident that something was sorely amiss with the elbow of my sword arm. A visit to the local order of Hospitallers confirmed this. Fractures of the radial head & ulna & the wrapping of said joint in white fibrous stuff have rendered yours truly Hors De Combat for at least till the 16th., of September, when a visit to the fracture clinic should reveal all. A sad cautionary tale that proves that alcohol, good times & good company does not render one 10 foot tall & bullet proof

A night out at the Brook

Well, we have been here in Dunedin nearly a week now. Aside from resting up, which I have found absolutely necessary for both of us, we have been spending some real quality time with my youngest son, Ian, his delightful wife Leasa & their oh so charming daughter, Conaire. We have done bit of looking around & spent a wonderful afternoon with them in the park & Botanical Gardens, feeding ducks & just enjoying sunshine & fresh air. Sadly, anything other than strictly local has had to be curtailed. At least until tomorrow anyway. You see, Sherman has started to haemhorrage body fluids. Nothing major, just a leaking bottom radiator hose I hope, but enough to make me reluctant to go anywhere out of town.

But tonight we went out. Tonight I took Jude to The House Of Pain. To the uninitiated, that’s Carisbrooke Rugby Park, the soon to be demolished home of many bitter battles in New Zealand rugby. Not one of those dubious places where you go for a tie up & a quick whip round. It wasn’t a major game or anything, just a mid week ITM super 12 match between the home team, Otago & the visitors, Taranaki, but it was one of those beautiful nights that are just made for Rugby. You know the type, crisp clean & clear, with a low enough temperature to make you glad that you have your warmest scarf & jacket on, not to mention those rather unfashionable striped long john thermals you bought before you left.

Anyway, we had a great time. The crowd was light so that meant easy parking clo9se to the gate & seating in a special area reserved for wheelchairs. The game wasn’t exactly edge of the seat material, but just the atmosphere was everything. My bum ended up frozen, but Jude really enjoyed it & that’s the main thing

Too much of nothing

That just about sums up our trip from Christchurch to Dunedin. Basically, a long boring road, with small rural communities dotted here & there. The one good thing about it was that there are two coffee shops along the way fhat you can stop, stretch your legs & help yourself to a very welcome free coffee. The best thing that can be said is the getting there & being reunited with my sons & their respective wives & children. A long hard couple of days for the pair of us.

Meeting my new grandson, Alexander Lawrence Leslie for the first time. A very emotional experience......

My three grandchildren. Anna, Alex & Conaire, being coralled into one place at one time by Leasa, one of my two lovely daughters in law.