Kaitoke

 We left Tauherenikau last Thursday and went to Prairie Farms about 15 minutes away. It is a park over place on a farm, where they run beef, sheep and dairy cows. We are at the front and look out over Lake Wairarapa. The farm is tucked up under the Remutaka range, but they still get the wind. It hits here and bounces up and keeps going across the lake. There is a lovely garden here which is why we came.

It was foggy on Friday morning when we woke up, but it didn’t take long to clear. It's the first time we have seen fog for quite a while. I guess it is a sign of autumn.

We had a relaxing day and a wander around the gardens. We spoke to Rachel who is the farmer’s wife. She said her mother in law did the gardens when all the children were at boarding school and she didn’t have a lot to do. They were set out as an English country garden, but it is quite out of control now with lots of weeds and not a lot of flowers. Rachel said they were very busy and only had time to keep the paths clear. I suppose back in the day, the farmer’s wife didn’t do a lot on the farm and had time. They have a cabin they rent out too, so that keeps her busy. They really need to employ a permanent gardener to get it back to its former glory. Eddie nearly offered my services ha ha. He thought he could do the lawns. 

We were going to leave on Saturday morning, but it was really windy when we woke up Luckily Eddie had brought in the awning the night before, just in case and we were glad he had. Our mat at the door and our shoes had all blown around the place. We stayed put as going over the Remutakas would be hazardous in the wind.

We had a quiet day and watched the movie “The Italian Job” that we recorded ages ago, which we enjoyed.

There are old apple trees in the garden which are going to waste. Rachel said we could have some, so I got a bread bag full and made an apple crumble for dinner.

We woke up on Sunday morning to a sunny calm day, so we got up and got going. We had breakfast when we got to Kaitoki.

It was slow going up the Remutaka hill, but there was no temperature change, so that  made us happy. It wasn’t very busy on the hill either. Eddie pulled over 3 times to let cars pass, but there weren’t many. No logging trucks either as they don’t work on Sundays.

We have settled into Kaitoki very well. When we got here it was very busy, but everybody had left by the afternoon. The spot we had chosen was too shady to be staying in when we are relying on solar power, so we chose another spot. We had to wait for the people on it to leave and as soon as they did we moved on.

This is the view from our door.

There a ducks and pukeko to keep us amused.

A Trip to Palmerston North

 

Eddie only did one day at work. He  spent a day bouncing up a river bed on a tractor with a trailer carrying rocks to a farmers property. By the time he got home he was exhausted and had a crick in his neck. So the hole in the bank account must stay for a bit longer.

For Eddie’s birthday we went to the hotel and had lunch. Eddie had fish and chips and I had gnocchi with  a 3 cheese sauce. We both enjoyed our meals. 

We went to Palmerston North on Tuesday and visited with my cousin Gayle and her husband, Kerry. We had a good afternoon with them.

We treated ourselves to a motel and a delivered roast dinner with sticky date pudding. We were very full after we had eaten it all. 

On Wednesday we caught up with Raewyn and Marty. Raewyn was our old neighbour in Matangi. She lives in Australia now, but they are doing a bit of a tiki tour around NZ at the moment. We had a great time with them. We went to the botanical garden’s cafe and had morning tea. We must have sat there for an hour. Later we had a wander around the glass house with the tropical plants in. We were going to go to the aviary, but it didn’t open until 1pm, so we passed. The weather was a bit iffy, but we managed to get around without getting wet. We were able to walk to the park from Raewyn and Marty’s BnB, so that was very convenient. We were saying goodbye when it started to rain, so we timed it really well.

Photos taken in the hot house that we walked through and at the cafe. I don't know what the names of the flowers are.

A giant moa made out of punga fronds 

At the cafe

A paddling pool donated to the children of Palmerston North by the RSA

A visit to the Cobblestones Museum Greytown

 A couple of weeks ago we went to the Cobblestones museum in Greytown. It is a very good musuem with a huge yard out the back with lots of old local buildings that have moved there. There is the old hospital, a wool shed, a school, a house, a printers building and an original house from the district. 

The old houses in Greytown aren't allowed to change the fronts of the houses, so that the town stays looking the same. They aren't even allowed to change the colour of the front door. They can do what they like in the inside or the back. 

Greytown was named after Govenor Grey who negotiated with the local tribes for the sale of the land to build the town.

Greytown was also the first place to have an Arbour Day in New Zealand. The first one was on the 3rd August 1890.

Front entrance of the settlers cottage

The hospital

Inside the doctor's room

The old printing press

The classroom

Eddie talking to the teacher.

The gaol.

There was a story about a prisoner who escaped from the gaol and stole the constable's horse. He rode over the Remataka hills and got on a boat to Sydney where he continued to be a burglar.

The Weslayan church which was the first church in Greytown.

an old fire engine

Haswells Cobb and Co office

The Cobb and co was on the site of the musuem nowadays. The cobblestones in front of the office are original. Back in the day they could graze 70 horses in the grounds. 

this is a wool press which was invented by Donald Donald (It's his name). The Donalds were original settlers in the area.

Andy Gregor's bicycle.
Andy had the bike especially made for him in Scotland as he was 6 feet 5 inches tall and ordinary bikes were too small for him
 

an old washing machine. No thank you!

Tables made of old totara wood.