Day 296 - Waipukurau - Morere, New Zealand
Day 296 – 31st March 2006 +11:00 GMT Total Miles 60009
Packed up and then sat on the decking having breakfast with spectacular views of the farm.
Me having Breakfast
Jill by our Cottage
Chatted to Greg for a while and took some fliers to help advertise his farm stay. Then we hit the road and headed North on the Highway 2. We drove until we reached Napier and here we stopped as we drove up the hill to the look out point. The lookout is situated above the docks so you can sit and watch all the large boats having the containers loaded ad unloaded, it is quite fascinating watching so much work going on below.
Napier Docks
Me at Napier View Point
We took some photo’s of the docks and the coastline and then drove to Pak N Save for a bit of wine and some food then carried on along Highway 2. After another hour or so we stopped at a picnic bench by a large river and had some lunch. The afternoon drive was slow as it was up and down through hill and mountains. We reached our destination of Morere around 3:30pm. We had a bit of trouble finding our lodgings a place called Moonlight Lodge. We followed the signs along a dirt track and came across a raging river. The track went into the river and up the other side. Jill was certain the car would not make it through the water. We pondered for 10 minutes and then decided to phone the lodge but of course there is no phone signal in most of New Zealand. So I decided to stick to 1st gear and slowly go through the water. The water came up to the top of the tyres but kept going and we were very soon on the other side. We came around the corner and were at Moonlight Lodge. We were welcomed by a very cute small dog called Socks who immediately rolls on his back and insists you rub is belly. We then met Yuki who owns the place and she showed us around, we are the only ones staying here at the moment so we had a whole 1917 farm house to ourselves. She explained that it had rained for 6 days and the river had been uncrossable until today. We choose our room and unpacked our bags. I then sat out on the balcony and read my book overlooking fields of wandering sheep. Geoff who is Yuki wife came over in the evening to say hello and have a chat. We then cooked our food and spend a good hour trying to light the open log fire, eventually I got it going and we sat around and spent the night playing trivial pursuits and drinking wine.
Packed up and then sat on the decking having breakfast with spectacular views of the farm.
Me having Breakfast
Jill by our Cottage
Chatted to Greg for a while and took some fliers to help advertise his farm stay. Then we hit the road and headed North on the Highway 2. We drove until we reached Napier and here we stopped as we drove up the hill to the look out point. The lookout is situated above the docks so you can sit and watch all the large boats having the containers loaded ad unloaded, it is quite fascinating watching so much work going on below.
Napier Docks
Me at Napier View Point
We took some photo’s of the docks and the coastline and then drove to Pak N Save for a bit of wine and some food then carried on along Highway 2. After another hour or so we stopped at a picnic bench by a large river and had some lunch. The afternoon drive was slow as it was up and down through hill and mountains. We reached our destination of Morere around 3:30pm. We had a bit of trouble finding our lodgings a place called Moonlight Lodge. We followed the signs along a dirt track and came across a raging river. The track went into the river and up the other side. Jill was certain the car would not make it through the water. We pondered for 10 minutes and then decided to phone the lodge but of course there is no phone signal in most of New Zealand. So I decided to stick to 1st gear and slowly go through the water. The water came up to the top of the tyres but kept going and we were very soon on the other side. We came around the corner and were at Moonlight Lodge. We were welcomed by a very cute small dog called Socks who immediately rolls on his back and insists you rub is belly. We then met Yuki who owns the place and she showed us around, we are the only ones staying here at the moment so we had a whole 1917 farm house to ourselves. She explained that it had rained for 6 days and the river had been uncrossable until today. We choose our room and unpacked our bags. I then sat out on the balcony and read my book overlooking fields of wandering sheep. Geoff who is Yuki wife came over in the evening to say hello and have a chat. We then cooked our food and spend a good hour trying to light the open log fire, eventually I got it going and we sat around and spent the night playing trivial pursuits and drinking wine.
posted by Simon at 8:21 PM
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