On the road......from green fields to the mountains

the road to Mount Cook

I have finished my 3 months in Gore. I loved it there.

Every morning was a delight. I saw sunrises and sunsets like nothing that I have seen in London.

clouds over the Hokonui hills

I have said goodbye to the roses

Gore cemetery

and begun my journey homeward.

It started with a coach ride.

I learned how to take moving panoramas with my phone. I had five hours to practice. And I didn't master it.

They won't be winning any prizes.

But they do show the green colours of Southland

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I picked up a car  in Queenstown and headed north over the Lindis Pass.

The tussock grasses were not so green.

The car was not so good up hill.

tussock grasses, Lindis Pass

Lindis pass 

In Wanaka I strolled on the lakeshore, through sunlit trees and wished I had come prepared for a swim.

I was in the mood for soft focus. it seemed the only way to cope with the harsh sunlight.

I also tried some multiple exposure of the reeds on the lakeshore.

Wanaka 

Next up some tramping ( hiking).

The Hooker valley track.

I dutifully notified my 'adventure buddy' where I was going and when I would be back. I ticked the box on the adventure smart website that said I have a first aid kit, and then felt a little guilty, as all I have are some elastoplast and one dressing. Not much use if I break my leg or sprain my ankle. Still, it is an improvement on two years ago when I hiked in Paradise with not so much as a sticking plaster.

Turns out I needn't have worried, as most of New Zealand were on the track. Sunday is a popular day for tramping. I would not have been alone if I dropped dead or fell off the track. Someone else would be sure to have a bandage. A lady hiker got blown off the track 4 months ago; it is a very windy valley. You never know what might happen.....


The views on the track got better and better. I ate my apple in the shelter.

my apple

And the traditional New Zealand beef sandwich that comes laden with hard boiled egg.

I know not why.

5 years ago I ate my apple in the shelter, and it was cold and rainy outside. This was so much better.

Mount Cook is the star of the show.

Mount Cook

The river is wild and cloudy. Full of glacial sediment.

Hooker river

The boulders are big and shiny.

The return journey was suitably spectacular.

It is hard to beat the colours of a glacial lake in full sunshine.

Lake Pukaki and Mout Cook

Lake Pukaki

I had walked my 10,000 steps, and so much more.

Saying 'au revoir' to this beautiful country and its lovely people.

Down on the farm in Southland - a bit of sheep herding and some pink hay bales

farmland, Garston.

I have been researching hay bales.

An important topic if you are a farmer. Which I am not.

Bale wrap comes in a variety of colours.

Green is the most popular, as it blends in with the countryside ( unless if is arranged on a fence)

green bale wrap

White is a close second.

And I have once seen blue.

But it was the pink ones that caught my eye.

marshmallow bales

pink bales

I have learned that they were developed to raise awareness for breast cancer. You can read more here 

And the blue ones are for prostate cancer. Farmers Weekly has the low down

It could get complicated....


There are many colours and many diseases....

pink for breast cancer support

I have also been rounding up sheep on the beautiful Glenfellen farm.

You will not find kinder, more welcoming folk than the McMillan family and their friendly woofers. Woofers work on the farm for board and lodging, as a means to travel overseas.

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Not to mention the dogs.

The house dogs are not allowed to work with sheep ( wrong brain cells)

House dog

And the working dogs are not allowed near the house, but are allowed to ride on the quad bike.

working dogs

The farm is steep and the tracks are rough gravel, but the walk to the top of the hill is well worth the climb.

the top of the farm

A flock of sheep needed to be moved, soon after my arrival, to a different part of the farm.

sheep moving

Moving sheep involved about six dogs, a quad bike, two farmers and a truck.

driving the sheep

I rode in the truck. It was suitably scruffy, and made mincemeat of large swathes of thistles.

truck interior

house dog watching the action

the truck

You will, of course,  notice that the passenger door opens onto a very large clump of thistles.

I now know why farmers wear jeans and boots rather than shorts and sandals.

Scotch thistle is a problem, as is English gorse, and California thistle. All imported. None useful.

And here are the sheep, in case you are wondering.

Once the excitement was over I climbed to the top of the hill where I found more sheep.

It is not possible to get closer than this to a sheep. They run off when you reach a critical distance.

sheep

The view was stunning.

farmland

I would have loved to stay much longer.

Maybe I'll take up woofing....

Everything is coming up roses...... Christmas in Gore

this is Gore

Here I am, in paradise.

Well not really Paradise; I went there last weekend, and it was. Paradise is near Queenstown, in LOTR country.

I am in Gore , Southland , New Zealand South island. A small town surrounded by spectacular options for landscape photography.

Dairy farming country.

Where cows are plentiful, along with green grass and plenty of rain.

cows in a meadow

Where the roads are quiet and wide, and I can walk to work.

my daily commute

Tractors are a popular mode of transport.

on the road

And bulldozers are handy for tidying the garden.

The local hills are gentle and rolling

sundown

And the gardens are full of roses

Christmas roses

Roses filled compost heap

As you can see I could wax lyrical for some time.

But it is Christmas ......

and I have work to do.

My other half (OH) and youngest child are arriving on Christmas Day for a holiday.

And obviously Christmas dinner is first and foremost on OH's mind.


Hams and salads, strawberries and pavlova are the local favourites for the Christmas feast.

But we are ENGLISH

and must do things properly.

I mentioned to OH that I couldn't find a turkey, and that maybe a chicken would do.

SILLY ME

Of course it wouldn't do.

I mentioned that I couldn't find Christmas pudding either, and immediately OH volunteered to bring one, having only the day before muttered about  the extra weight of carrying a lens filter that I needed and asked him to add to his luggage......

PRIORITIES PLEASE

Food first.

I was getting worried.

But then I struck lucky.

I found the ENGLISH section in the local supermarket

English foods in New World Supermarket

Well never has a photo that I posted in Facebook engendered so much discussion and amusement.

I shall stop posting landscapes and post pictures of food instead....

Sandwich spread; 'sick in a jar'

tinned haggis; ' yum yum' ( ironic of course)

Branston pickle; sold out.........

Creamy Reeses? what on earth is that. certainly not ENGLISH

It was suggested that most of these foods were last normal fare in England when ration books were still available.

So we could feast on a tinned steak pie and some Birds custard......

Or I could cook a real meal, which I will endeavour to do ...........and not a chicken in sight.

Plus a flaming pudding along with brandy butter AND brandy sauce. Just like we always do.......

Epic beer

All washed down with some Epic Armageddon beer, and some local wine.


Followed by a walk in the park to see the local reindeer and the Christmas sheep.

Gore's very own stag

Gore's Christmas sheep

Happy Christmas everyone!

I'm off to Paradise.

Paradise, New Zealand

sheep in Paradise