Waiouru to Richmond...end of this trip!

Leaving Raetihi and on through Ohakune, which is much bigger and very touristy.

We call into Waiouru and the National Army Museum.  It's school holidays and heaps of kids are going through. A very well done museum. This display case on old flintlock firearms appealed to my sense of beauty and craftsmanship.

 

War is largely a gruesome event for all concerned.

Looking back now at the waste of life, its costs and effect on society.

It really doesn't make much sense, and I do appreciate these men and women who gave their lives, so we can live today in relatively peaceful times and perhaps their lives have not been all in vain

I hope so!

  

 We parked at the Mangamutu Domain, inland from Pahiatua.

I was doing some whistle practise and 11 lovely black Angus steers came over to listen in!

   

Onward we travelled to cycle around the vineyards in Martinborough

.

Featherston has a nice little park up in town. I went on a walk around the town spotting this 1938 fashion statement recently painted...must be a story here!

Featherston School is showing its creative colourful fence...great to see!

For such a small place Featherston punches well above its weight. 

There are three secondhand bookshops and one free book exchange.

We had some doubts that the Bluebridge Ferry would be sailing because of high winds,

 But I think they are very used to high winds in the Wellington region.

Well that's the end of our New Zealand blogs...for a while.

Roll on Australia and a whole new adventure!

Cheers

Be creative and safe where ever you are!

Jimu & Christine.

Whanganui and its River to Raetihi.

Continuing our trip up the Whanganui river. This was delayed when I came back from a 8klms Unicycle ride past some cyclists amassing to start a ride from the isite in Whanganui. I was invited to join them, and did! However this turned out to be quite a race with a really fit group, they weren’t going to slow down for any late joiners, so in spite of pedaling like a maniac I was left in their dust never to be seen again.

I’d been to see Peter Snells birthplace in Opunaki, in Taranaki, and now I visited the seen of one of his greatest triumphs. Cooks Gardens Whanganui.

Whanganui has its share of unsual buildings

The Glass studio and showroom had work in progress, with a viewing gallery above.

I visited two of the smaller Sarjent Gallerys in town, but the main one, on the hill has this sign outside.

And is therefore under repairs and alterations. 

I am so impresssed by people with this sort of skill, to paint with oils, 

and it comes out looking like a photograph. 

Impressive work by Andre Bronnimann called “Wikitoria”

Another by Gaynor Mulholland this is a watercolour called

 “The Tree of Life”

Now on the way north on the Eastern side of the River, on the edge of town we find the water tower.

Kilometres away from the sea the roadside cutouts revels masses of shells buried from millions of years ago! 

I chip out some of these sea shells in very loose rock deposits

Natures patterns continue to attract me...endless shapes to enjoy!

A lot of rain had fallen the day before so the river was very muddy.

Road works are still continuing from major washouts last year

I highly recommend stopping and checking out these little attractions, revealing some history of the area.

This was restored in the 1970's

Below is St Joseph’s (Hiruharama) church at Jerusalem

     

The Cosmopolitan Club in Raetiki has a sweet little park up behind club, complete with very friendly locals to catch up on local events and chew the fat about all sorts of things

This is the Main Street of Raetihi, outside of a cafe someone has used wooden cobbles in the footpath...fantastic!

We are now back in Richmond getting ready for our next Aussie adventure, however I have another blog to complete from Waiouru to Richmond.

Till then take care and have fun!

Cheers Jimu & Christine

April 2018 Lower North Island Trip.

I went up to Manakau, just north of Otaki to help my brother finish the inside of his shed, for a final weeks work, but we still didn't quite finish the job.

On Friday I headed down to Wellington to go to some Hot Yoga classes
......this log truck certainly stood out!

Evans Bay is where I usually stay, but the parking has been a little more restricted.

Making for very tight/near parking

In Kilbirnie this little church stood out......style from the past!

While I awaited Christine's text message to come pick her up .... I watched my phone for 30 minutes and unknown to me I was viewing the wrong app on my phone!

Once we sorted that out, we went for lunch out to the Spruce Goose restaurant out behind the Airport at Lyall Bay. 

This is the beach at Waikanae, with Kapiti Island in the distance. An amazing amount of newly washed up shells in the next morning.

This large fish probably washed up quite a few days ago!

We struck the Sunday Market at Sanson

The market book stall caught my eye with these books

Sanson seems to me to be stuck in a bit of a time warp IMHO.

Onward towards Whanganui where we have lunch at the cafe near the eye site centre.

The toilets here deserve special mention as they have native bird calls playing and even a little historical display right inside the toilets.

Whanganui lives up to it's Motorhome friendly tag, with special free motorhome spaces right in town on the bank of the River.

This tram came from Wellington and was donated/rescued from being someones shed, was totally stripped down and restored back to original.

The short ride, is a nice step back in time.

Each end of the tram has driver controls.
Which means they do know whether they are coming or going

Birthday boy with his new shorts and leggings

Just whistling along taking each day as it comes.

On the way out to Castlecliff and the river mouth and sea.

I see and pass the Whiskas factory and like the graphics on the building.

The Breakwater is a perfect place to view and photograph the local lads as they surf

  

Biking back though Castlecliff I spot this piece of Wabi Sabi.....
(the Japanese appreciation and concept of beauty in the simplicity of the mundane
 and simple patterns in nature)

That's all for this blog...catch you on the next blog when we travel North through the Whanganui River Road to Jerusalem and Raetihi.