Pink is in town. The artist, not the colour. Although it seemed yesterday as though the entire city of Dunedin was turning pink. Even the stuffed Moa at the entry to the Otaga Museum was wearing a pink tutu. So cute. But it's turning the entire city into a frenzy. It's truly a wonderful experience for the fans of this artist to see her live, when there are so few opportunities anywhere in the country outside of Auckland to see big artists. But it meant that there were no accomodations to be had anywhere within an hour's drive, even when we were booking them a few months ago.
The closest we could find was in the area of Maniototo, which is almost 2 hours north and west of Dunedin, and up in the "whop-whops" (what we call "the boonies"), a B&B called Peter's Farm Lodge. The house looks quite old on the Expedia listing, and very rural, more about that later....
The air is quite chilly and the wind is strong. We've heard there was to be snow overnight, and when we left this morning, it was easy to believe. Especially up in the mountains. But when we checked, the elevation of where we were to be was a few hundred meters below the snow line. And there wasn't much we could do about it anyway. Hey, we're tough Canadians. We can handle the cold. Right? Right.
We start off, hoping to find a cafe, but first was a Post Office to mail all the post cards and greeting cards we had - about 15 in all. The cost of postage here is quite a bit higher than at home, though, by almost three times! So we may be rethinking that strategy. To mail 9 post cards and 5 greeting cards was almost $50 NZD.
Our route was going to take us north along Hwy 1 to Palmerston, then west on 85. The roads were good, and we didn't really have any specific plans except to find the Farm and maybe a place for lunch/dinner and explore the area. It was still raining on and off, and the wind was strong and cold. It buffeted the car about and made the drive.... interesting. Feeling hungry, we first found Evansdale Cheese Factory near Karitane. Although cheese by itself is rarely a first choice for breakfast, it sounded like an interesting place to visit, so we followed the signs off the highway, and discovered this very cute place with a very friendly owner and some cheese, crackers and Cherry Butter that promises to be a great snack when we need it. Maybe not for breakfast.... But there were some really cute gifts there too. And they are still there...
Still feeling hungry, since we did not have any knives or a way to slice said cheese or spread the cherry butter on the crackers, we pushed on toward Palmerston, and in Waikouaiti we found the Outpost Cafe, and popped in for a Flat White (what else?) and a cinnamon roll. Soooo delicious! We wound up sharing a table with a family - two of whom were wearing pink hoodies labeled "I Don't Care" - how profund. We're guessing that they are on their way to the concert, and have guessed correctly based on our brief conversation with them. So cute. (Who is Pink, anyway? I have no idea what her music sounds like.... I must be old.)
Off we went again, turning left in Palmerston to go up Highway 85, following the Google map directions for Peter's Farm Lodge, and finding ourselves on a very narrow, gravel road that seems destined to topple us off the side and into an abyss - no guardrails, hundreds of meters below into great beauty (which really, I guess, wouldn't be such a bad way to go) - until finally we find the laneway. We're an hour before regular checkin time, but Peter spots us and comes to the gate to show us around anyway, show us our rooms, the main house (we're in a separate building away from the other guests) which is shared equally by all, including a breakfast room, and introduces us to his pet sheep, who runs towards us in greeting expecting ear scratches.
I am so excited to be on a real farm! My background is from a farming family, as my mom grew up on a farm, and most of her siblings were farmers or farmers' wives. But this one has sheep running around all over, and bulls in a fenced in area, and we're in NEW ZEALAND!!!! The quiet surrounds us, and the peace, and it feels like just the perfect place to not be in Dunedin tonight. And there are lots of others in the same boat, as the whole B&B is booked solid.
But now we have a ton of time to explore the area, and Peter provides us with a lot of suggestions that our friend Ian also had given us - Naseby, Ranfurly, Saint Bathans, and others. We won't have time to see everything, but we decide to start in Naseby. Unfortunately, it's a wicked cold wind out, and gray, and rainy, and not very nice for photography (sprinkly rainy, not moody rainy). And Naseby has some beautiful historic buildings that we want to photograph - tomorrow. We do find the Black Forest Cafe, and pop in for a sammie and a flat white. Very yummy! And warm. There's a woodstove in the corner with a brisk fire going, beautiful art on the walls, and typical New Zealand hospitality all around.
With the weather continuing to be nasty, we opt to drive to the next place on the list, Ranfurly, to get a sense of what is there so we can stop tomorrow, when at least the sun is supposed to be out. We find the place mostly under road construction, and most stores closed (it's Tuesday), but not much to see, really, of interest to us anyway. So we decide to drive around and then go back to Waipiata to the Hotel, where we are promised the food is the best in the area.
As we drive toward Waipiata, trying to discern which road to take (since we are now off the beaten track, and there are no signs, and there is no internet which means our map is somewhat, um, useless....), we turn left, because that direction is still paved, and the road ahead, isn't. A few curves and hills later, and the road has turned into a gravel, one lane road, but the scenery is lovely, so we keep going - there are no other cars on the road. Yet. However, on a flat, straight stretch (which isn't very long), we see a car up ahead, and a man with a camera pulled off sort of to the side. So the road ahead can't be too bad. Right? Ummmm......
Next thing we know, the road narrows, and goes down and around a bend, and drops off to nothingness. As we're going around the curve, we see a wall of earth to the left and nothing at all ahead of us and to the right. Trusting that eventually the road will rise to meet the tires of the car, we keep going - mostly because we really have no choice, and then it straightens out again, but descends quite steeply. Then another curve - and a large tractor coming the other direction. Oops. I reverse the car, as close to the center of what has now become not much more than a dirt track as possible, back towards a lane of sorts. The tractor - thankfully - drives up onto the side of the road and goes around us. We continue on. Why? I have no idea.
Not much further we see one of those yellow signs in a diamond shape, with a gigantic exclamation marks on it, and beneath that reads "Ford". I'm guessing it doesn't refer to a brand of vehicle, and there is only one other place we've seen the sign - on the road to Peter's farm, where it simply seems to indicate that there's a passing lane of sorts - or rather the single lane splits in two and then comes back together again. The only other meaning I've heard of for "ford" is to cross a stream, without the aid of a bridge. Ya, this is the second one. And the stream looks pretty deep. If it was my own car, I would have kept going - maybe - but this is a rental, so fortunately there's laneway with a gate at the bottom of the hill, right before said stream, and we have enough room to turn around, and go back up that stretch of road with a wall on one side and nothingness on the other.
Up we go, around and around, up past the nothingness with Linda saying "I'm not looking! I'm not looking!" and then we are past the worst of it and Linda confirms that we didn't die, and if we had, it would have been a pretty nice place to go. The red car with the photographer is still there, so we go around him again, and finally find the road to Waipiata. At this point, we're ready for a drink, and the Waipiata Country Hotel, where they not only have some lovely choices for red wine, but I also spy a Bailey's I've never seen, and am considering shipping a case back home - Summer Berry Pavlova Bailey's Irish Cream. Ok, that should be illegal. But boy, a shot of that for each of us has been well-earned.
The Hotel menu is extensive, and we decide on two different pies so we can each have half of each, one with chips and salad on the side that we can also share. New Zealand pies - IYKYK - are the most incredible things ever, a meal in themselves, and so many varieties! We are stuffed, and happy to be on paved road back to Peter's Farm Lodge and our cozy little rooms. Not much photography today, but hopefully tomorrow.
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