NEW ZEALAND CAMPING 2013: DAY #6

Wednesday  April 24, 2013

We woke to a lovely morning. There was some high mist/low cloud swirling in the tops of the trees, leading to Dani asking me to explain the difference between mist and cloud, a subject that had arisen in the family van. I did my best and got it about right when I checked on Google. It is a bit disconcerting at times when the family refer any questions that Dad cannot answer to Grampa who is expected to know everything – I guess merely because anyone that old must have learned a good deal.

Caroline at work

Despite the unusual décor, the facilities worked well – nice shower with plenty of hot water. Matt read me his excellent e-mail to his van supplier (we were using different firms because the one he had chosen could not supply an automatic for us). Although they were happy with the total experience of vanning, the condition of the van was less than prime, despite the reputation of the company. He was awaiting a response with interest. Rab and I laughed to see the girls earnestly at work tidying up their van – down to sweeping the floors with the hand brooms provided. She booked them in for a final clean up of our van before we handed it back.

After our breakfast, with the last of the fruit gone we were ready for the off and offered to take one of the girls with us – we had room for one passenger only as our van was configured for two adults and a child. This had been Caroline’s idea originally, but now she stepped back and let her younger sister, more bold in many aspects, take the lead. I suggested to Matt that we meet up at Jones The Fruiterer in Cromwell to top up with fruit and ice cream and swap girls if they wanted to.

Stephi and Arlene

So with Stephi aboard – she said she had a better view in our van we set off. I thought to myself that if there was a parking space near the art gallery, I would take it as a sign that I should buy the Lonely Hound book, but there was none, so we went on, getting a bit lost – that was twice in such a small town! – until Rab put me on the right track.

Stephi was quite chatty initially and was happy to look out for the animals grazing in the fields as we cleared the Queenstown suburbs. But that soon palled and we discovered that she had spent most of her time watching re-plays of The Brady Bunch on the DVD player above her father’s head.We did have a DVD player, although it was mounted in a position that she couldn’t see the screen, but without a DVD to play, she had to put up with the scenery alone.

There was a coach load of tourists at the fruit stall and they were swarming around the sample table like vultures around a carcass. The poor little girl in charge of the table was trying to slow them down – “Just take one piece, please”, she begged, to no avail. There was fresh fruit and dried fruit and preserved fruit – all very attractive and tasty and they dived in. We managed to outflank the mob who were lined up two or three abreast and sneak a taste of the stone fruit as well as a couple of the apples.

Dani & the girls among in the fruit

One – Jon O’Coy was the best I had ever tasted. Up until now that place had been held by an apple called Paula Red which we had picked up from a fruit stall in New York State some years ago. That was still a happy memory, but  goodbye Paula, we’re breaking up.

Caroline & Matt taste the fruit

There were only a few Jon O’Coys left – and they were the last of the season, so we grabbed them, giving four to Stephi together with a bag of her favourites the Golden Nuggets. Matt arrived while we were sorting out these purchases (plus a bit more of that excellent NZ chocolate and some nougat) and was as impressed as we had been. They also bought a bit of fruit – they are not quite the fruit bats we are – and Rab persuaded him to have an ice cream. We had already shared a berry one between us.

 

The Jones Fruiterers Orchards

Stephi had already boarded her family’s van and was watching her DVD as we chatted about the day’s plans and admired the orchards in their autumnal colours. Caroline jumped at the opportunity to join us and with her strapped in place we were soon leading the small convoy on the road back to Omarama. 

Lake Hawea at its best

Caroline and Matt

Of course this led us back past Lake Hawea and the weather conditions were perfect for the mirror effect in the lake. I stopped at one of the picnic lay-byes and couldn’t believe how crystal clear the opposite bank and its reflections were. Caroline spotted a vehicle driving in the reflection and we could even make out people over there. Oh for a long lens and my old camera equipment!! It’s at times like this that I miss my old Pentax, but my pocket sized digital Pentax did the job well and I was satisfied with the shots I got.

Omarama with a bit of snow on the mountain tops

We made Omarama for lunch. Caroline had been chatting away like an FM Radio (the nickname given to Matt by one of his nannies back in the old days because he talked so much), laughing and teasing her Granny. A good deal of this teasing was about the rather rude verses she had committed to memory. Whenever Gran pretended to be shocked, Caroline’s response was “Well, it is from the book you gave me, Granny.” This was in reference to a Christmas or birthday present of a book that Rab had only glanced at and had not realised just how much fart and poo material there was in it. Nothing too bad – just enough to amuse a schoolchild of a certain age.

Not all the vans were as modern as ours

While I got the lunch at Omarama – just cheese and salami and cheese and jam sandwiches plus the ever present fruit, the girls and ladies went shopping, visiting all of the shops in the town – all two of them. Surprisingly enough they even found something to buy – a very reasonably priced vest for Dani. There was some dispute about the colour, with some saying it was blue and others that it was purple. Of course Caroline referred the question to me, knowing full well that with my colour blindness I wouldn’t have a clue and fell about laughing when I got it wrong.

We headed down the coastal road on our way to Oamaru or Timaru, depending on how the time went with a planned stop at the little village of Duntroon where Matt had seen that there was a small museum – Vanished World – exhibiting dinosaur material. We had not travelled this road and there were some lovely sights as we got nearer to the coast and left the McKenzie country behind. Green hills started to appear and autumn trees of gold and orange.

Caroline continued in her high spirits but now suggested that between the three of us we should invent a new song. As a first line she suggested “Hey, diddle diddle, the cat did a piddle….”

Up hill and down dale we went, alongside lakes and rivers and flocks of sheep as the argument about appropriate scansion and rhyme went on with a deal of laughter. Shortly before we arrived at Duntroon the work was finished and the final version was:

Hey diddle, diddle, the cat did a piddle,

The dog did a great big poo

The bird gave a laugh as it sat on the calf,

And the cow gave a great big MOO.

Not quite Wordsworth, but enough to give Caroline fits of laughter. She couldn’t wait to hop out of our van when we got to Duntroon to tell her parent and to teach Stephanie.

There was a small incident just before we got to Duntroon when a vehicle coming towards us threw up a stone which cracked the windscreen – well, chipped the windscreen with a lout crack. Nothing serious but it gave us a bit of a fright. The Vanished World was a very small museum but it had many interesting exhibits and a deal of information about the geological history of New Zealand showing how it is believed the two islands were formed. The girls paid more attention than I thought they would, each on different parts of the exhibits.

We were early enough to be able to bye-pass Oamaru and head for Timaru. Caroline stayed with us and begged for more songs. My mind gradually filled with old rugby songs, some learned on my mother’s knee. She had three brothers and a husband who all played the game – and there was always a deal of singing in rugby clubs as time went by and the brain was loosened by beer. And of course I had played the game in England where the standard of singing was very high indeed. But, very few of the songs were suitable for an eight year old girl; some, expurgated were OK and she liked those.

We found the camp site without too much problem, but it was not to our passenger’s liking. “Gruesome” was her description as I checked in and found adjacent sites. She changed her mind pretty swiftly however when she saw the Bouncing Dome – a large area of inflated rubberised canvas that the kids could bounce on – and the Flying Fox in the playground area. It was too late for the pedal cars, but the girls were promised a ride in the morning.

Caroline and Jackie Schnauzer

They were almost as pleased as Rab to see a very small miniature schnauzer in the adjacent campsite. The cam allowed dogs – we had seen a pair of spaniels straining at their leashes as they set off for their evening walk. It seemed that our neighbours were there for some time as they had an annex up on their caravan and a large television set inside. The  dog was old and timid but relaxed a bit when the girls fussed over it.

We got together for a couple of drinks and a chat before dinner, but did not have our big family gathering as the girls were a little tired and had to do their homework. We were happy to have an early night.