The weather forecasts were predicting a few days of bad weather so we had some choices to make. I can never go past Ashburton without stopping, so we decided to spend two days there instead of one. As it turned out, the weather wasn’t as bad as predicted but never mind. Ashburton has several attractions: one is the lovely dog park; another is the Ashburton Mill House – home to local yarns, and spinning wheels and weaving looms manufactured in the adjacent factory. This complex is right next door to where the flour mill used to be, that I visited regularly as a part of my role working for River Milll Bakeries. It burned down not long after the company sold it. The tall flour loading building remains. The Mill House was once lived in by the Head Miller, but was handed over to be used as a cafe and retail outlet for wool and spinning wheels etc. many years ago.
Once the weather system started settling, we headed on towards Tekapo, an area I just love. The motorhome park there is wonderful and we got a parking spot looking at the Lake. It is a shame to see the Lake even lower than it was the last time we were here.
There are lots of walks around here, and an extensive dog park right next door.
It was great for the dogs to be able to run free and meet other dogs. Beau is a very social little dog who loves to play with other dogs, as long as they don’t touch his bum! There are huge pine trees here, that drop huge pinecones, but don’t pick them up because they have needle like spikes all over them!
The dogs had at least 2 walks per day through the dog park.
The next day we met Ben (my son) and Karina (his wife) in the township of Tekapo. They had hired a motorhome from Christchurch and were enjoying a short time away on their own, for their wedding anniversary. Together we wandered around the Church of the Good Shepherd, and the area around it, and then had morning tea together. I would have to say that the tourism industry is booming – very hard to get a photo without tourists in it. I was again struck by how “self entitled” the Asians are in general. They will push in front of you, never consider moving aside for you, and won’t even move over to let you pass on the footpaths.
All too soon they were off, heading towards Omarama, while we decided to stay one more night before heading off southwards. It was a shame the weather didn’t completely clear. We had the odd shower, but even when it was fine, the cloud clung to the hills, preventing us from seeing the spectacular mountains behind the Lake.
Away From Home NZ 