Judy had the bright idea of staying somewhere different once we left Hamner, so we made arrangements to stay at Karetu Downs Farmstay, a high country sheep station. We had no idea what we were in for.
The journey there started off quite pleasantly. We visited a historic Cobb Cottage first of all, just outside of Waiau. It was built in the 1860’s of mud bricks, and was the home of Mr and Mrs Watters and their 7 children. Basically it is a 2 room cottage with a small lean-to for a laundry. How lucky we are these days.
Our next brief stop was to the small settlement of Hurunui and their historic pub. There were lots of motorcyclists just leaving as we pulled up to take a few photos, and as it was so busy we did not go in. Pretty charming place though.
Another reason for stopping in Hurunui was that I had heard of a wool shop there where all their wool was made from their own little mill and from their own sheep. However, we could not find it so drove on.
The landscape by now was becoming more and more steep, but nevertheless, quite breathtaking.
We were continually amazed at seeing rivers drying out but pastures around the rivers being fully irrigated. The higher we went the less it was happening though. Then came the road that we were not expecting – the road to the Homestead. It was 11km of steep, winding gravel road. Luckily Bruce was driving today so we finally pulled up to the homestead. I was concerned though because it would have been a long way to walk if we broke down or got stuck, and there was no internet or phone coverage.
Karetu has been in the same family for 3 generations, and all the buildings are over 100 years old. We were allowed to park any where we liked, but they suggested down by the river, so that is where we went., and close also to the old wool shed. Very hard to find a level spot though, and when we finally did and looked outside the ground was literally coated in a mixture of sheep dung and rabbit droppings. Bruce did his best to clear an area around the motorhome.
The river was barely a trickle. The owners had suggested we follow the river up to the fork and there we would find their own version of Moeraki boulders, so off we set. We never got there though as there were two hazards in our path 1/ a big, bulky black Angus bull, and 2/ an electric fence. We had to be content with the example they had in their garden!
We also had free range of the property – having been invited to go anywhere we wanted, so we went to explore the old woolshed. It was great to see all the certificates, rosettes and banners around the walls of all the prizes that had been won for their wool over the years. they covered two walls of the “staff cup of tea” area.
I don’t think Bruce was quite prepared for the smell of the shed. For me it brought back memories of holidays we had as children and my aunty and uncle’s sheep farm at Atiamuri, and their shearing times. The shed still had bales of wool in it, and some fleeces still spread out ready for trimming.
The staff bathroom was a bit primitive though.
There was no phone or internet here, so it was early to bed and an easy decision to make that one night here was sufficient. Bruce was shaking his head in wonder at the places I take him!. Tomorrow we would be exploring the vineyards of Waipara, but first we would have to navigate more of those steep, windy, metal roads. A motorhoming friend of ours likens metal roads to subjecting your motorhome to one very long earthquake! How I was looking forward to that!
Away From Home NZ 