Russell.

It is now 17th October, and one night at Puriri Bay was enough for us. We agreed to move on. It was my driving day and I wasn’t looking forward to the big hill out of the camp with the additional difficulty of the gate across the road, requiring a steep hill start. Fortunately Camp Mother raced out to get the gate for us so I was able to put my foot down and managed the hill without a problem.

The journey around the coast was hilly, with views out over the sea, but we did not really stop until we reached Russell.

Russell is significant in NZ history. Europeans came here in the 1830’s for whales, and it is the scene of many Maori and Europeans conflicts. It is the site of one of the oldest churches in NZ, and also the site of the hill top flagpole that was cut down no less than 4 times by Maori protesting against the government. We could not get up to the flagpole as it was not suitable for motorhomes, and none of us felt like the climb!

We did, however, spend quite a bit of time at the church —-

This church was built in 1873 and survived the various skirmishes, although it is still scarred by bullet holes.

The care that has gone into the church is evident in all the tapestry seat cushions. Each row of pews seems to have a different theme.

We then had a stroll around the graveyard, and looked at the many very old head stones. One poor man died while fumigating the ship Lancaster (no health and safety then I guess), and there were the graves of several children who either drowned or died of scarlet fever. There was also the grave of the first white woman born in NZ – a lady called Hannah Lethbridge.

We then walked through the town to Pompellier House which was an early Marist Printing House – a cafe now occupies part of the building. There was a charming young French lady also enjoying a coffee and drawing in her sketch book. From what I saw she was a talented artist, and she told me she hoped to make it her full time occupation – however, she was off to Australia in a weeks time.

The houses and gardens in Russell were picturesque in parts.

One of the nicest parts of the day though, occurred when we headed to camp. Renting a cabin near our site was a couple, and their teenaged daughter, along with two adorable border collie puppies. Tina and I were lucky enough to spend a bit of time cuddling these bundles of fur.

The camp itself was “unique” and pretty basic, but it was a pleasure to be woken by all the bird call in the morning before we headed off down the road again.