Picton

We left Lake Brunner on Monday and made our way to Picton via Murchison. Beautiful countryside and rivers. Typical New Zealand scenery. The roads are never straight - curving round hills, and mountains, down into valleys and back up again. Consequently a relatively short trip which would take 3 to 4 hours in Australia takes 5 to 6 in NZ.

We drove on the Kawatiri-Murchison Hwy alongside the Buller River,then took the St.Arnaud-Kawatiri Hwy through the Marlborough (wine) district to Blenheim (Royal NZ Air Force base here. They had a visit from Wills and Kate the day after we drove through). Then on to Picton.

Picton harbour is bustling and busy with  ferries from the North Island, water taxis, tour boats, fishing boats and plenty of pleasure boats. We loved being near the sea again.

Single lane bridge over the Buller River.

 

Buller River.

 

Thousands of hectares of vineyards all through the Marlborough District. Some of the best wines in the world.

Picton Harbour from our hotel balcony. Hans surveying the scene.

Ferries from the North Island on the left.

Typical steep and hilly backdrop to the whole of the Marlborough Sounds.

Lake Brunner Lodge

We arrived at Lake Brunner Lodge in the afternoon. The lodge and surroundings are very secluded and peaceful. We enjoyed our stay here immensely.





The weather was grey and a bit damp but as you can see it did nothing to hide the beauty of the lodge.





Looking towards Lake Brunner, also showing part of the large farm called a Station in NZ which surrounds about half the lake.





Hans in the dining room enjoying breakfast.





Not much left. Very enjoyable.







The lounge room, looking towards the library.





The library looking towards the games room.





The Games Room.





The Office. Note all the framed fishing flies on the wall.Trout fishing is the big attraction here.


             


The long hallways showing the old –fashioned radiators.


              


Doorway to our bedroom “The Iron Maiden”.           Beautiful old hall stand.


Sorry some of the pictures are dark. They were all taken on my ipad. No flash.





Last but not least, a fine deer’s head. We did have some good venison in NZ. Not this one!

FIRST DAY IN NEW ZEALAND ON OUR 2014 TRIP.

On our first day in New Zealand, we drove from Christ Church to Lake Brunner after spending the night in the very good Sudima Hotel at the airport.

We drove through the Canterbury Plains which consists of beautiful farm houses and their lands. We drove up into the hills and on through Arthur’s Pass. Spectacular scenery – hills, mountains, lakes and huge river beds. Single lane bridges all the way. We stopped at Arthur’s Pass Store for lunch then continued on to Lake Brunner. A gravel road leads in and out of the Lodge so the car became a strange chalky colour.

We arrived about mid-afternoon and were met by our charming hostess, Julie. She showed us to our room. All the bedrooms have names. Ours was called, “The Iron Maiden “.Very comfortable. That evening we drove to Kumera an old gold-mining town nearby and had a very good dinner at the Adelphi Theatre Hotel. Back to bed where we slept like logs until 9 next morning. Julie had a delicious breakfast prepared for us, then we were ready to explore!

 

 

 

Castle Hill, Arthur’s Pass.

                                 

Views of Arthur’s Pass

 

 

     

 

 

 

                              

Feeling a bit chilly.

 

 

Single lane bridge over one of the many river beds.

Some of the locals.

Another local – a Kea. The only alpine parrot in the world.

 

           

A half tunnel ahead.                                                        

 

Lake Brunner. A pity it isn’t sunny. A couple of fishermen in the pic below.

 

     Coming up to the lodge from the lake         

Lake Brunner Lodge.

Heading home - SOFALA

We took a turn at Bathurst and headed to the New England Highway through Sofala.

. An old store, sadly in desperate need of repair.

Sofala is an old gold mining town full of history and incredible old buildings. We have been there before and decided to have another look.


Surveying the main street.



 

Still lived in.

The old Post Office. Now a Gift store come Museum.

Another couple of street views.

I love these wintery trees. There were quite a few around the town. I can imagine how magnificent they are in springtime and summer.Don't see them around our area.

There is a lot more to see around Sofala, but we were heading home and the day was getting on. We decided to push on and promised ourselves that next time we will take a day and travel round the river and the goldfields. Fascinating.

An bush church on the way to Sofala..I couldn't resist a photo. Looks so sad and derelict.Maybe it comes alive on Sundays!

GUNDAGAI - quick stop on the way home.

We drove up the Hume Highway on the first day of our homeward journey. I wanted to see the Dog on the Tuckerbox once again.

And there he is; a bit more built up around him than I remember but still sitting faithfully waiting for his master.

What a handsome couple! Where have the years gone?

The remains of the buildings that were once here.

A good piece of farm equipment.