Tag: history

Oamaru and Mother’s Day at Riverstone Castle

by awayfromhomenz

After leaving Moeraki, we continued up the coast towards Oamaru. Needless to say we have been here a couple of times, but the last time we were here we both had covid, and I was very unwell, so not able to enjoy it. This time was different.

When we arrived we went for a bit of a stroll along the wharf which we had not done before. The views across the harbour were lovely with some of the boats there being pretty old, but well looked after.

Some of the boats tied up to the wharf were a different story – they clearly hadn’t been used for a long time.

You could see all the seaweed growing on the ropes tying them to the wharf, and one boat had grass growing on it.

Oamaru is known for its old buildings made of local sandstone. The buildings downtown are restored and well looked after.

However, some along the wharf area are less cared for and could really do with some love.

The next day was Mother’s day and we drove a bit north of Oamaru to visit Riverstone Castle. The last time we were here the castle was shut, and I really wanted to go through it. This time it was going to be open.

The castle was a recent build, taking 8 years to complete, and was the dream of Dot Smith and her husband. Dot has dreamed of castles since she worked in one as a teenager. The castle is built of local Oamaru stone, and macrocarpa from their farm. However, doors were imported from India and the marble floor tiles from Italy. The castle is surrounded by a moat, complete with a drawbridge, and the castle walls are adorned with gargoyles also carved from sandstone.

We were taken inside through heavily carved doors to a hallway that was not like anything I had ever seen before. The floor was highly polished marble tiles grouted in gold. There were suits of armor, antique carved hall tables and a huge antique tapestry hanging on the far wall

We were not allowed to take photos, so these photos are from a news article about the place. Every room seemed to have chandeliers and opulence was everywhere.

The kitchen was huge, but every surface was covered with china and artifacts she had collected from her world travels. There was not way you could have cooked in there.

The master bedroom had every surface covered by tiaras and crowns, and every bedroom had ensuites with exquisitely tiled showers.

All in all it was a look at how someone with too much money lives.

We exited the castle through the dungeons – yes, they built a dungeon as well!. The dungeon is actually a games room, with a long tunnel leading away from it. The entrance to the tunnel is hidden behind a bookcase with a secret latch that hinges to reveal the door.

The couple have two sons. One is a farmer and runs the family farm now. The other is a chef and he runs the restaurant on the grounds. We were wanting to have lunch there but it was fully booked out so we wandered the grounds instead, and Bruce made me a coffee in the van. There are many raised vege gardens, all producing, and what they grow is used in the restaurant.

There is also a gift shop on site and we had a browse through there. Prices were pretty steep, so the handbag remained closed.

It was a lovely way to spend half a day, and while we both enjoyed it, neither of us has any ambition to live in a castle!

Castle Hill

by awayfromhomenz

Castle Hill is about 98 kilometres from Christchurch, off Arthur’s Pass. The drive is scenic, first with the rolling farmland outside Christchurch, and the further away from Christchurch we got the more dramatic the scenery became with mountain peaks in the distance.

What I did not expect from Castle Hill Rocks, was how well it was set up for tourists. It was a weekend day, in the school holidays, and a beautiful day as well, so there were visitors a plenty.

Castle Hill Rocks is managed by the Department of Conservation and it is a precious site to local Maori. Both parties are actively working to restore native plants to the area, such as the Castle Hill buttercup, which has become quite rare.

Even though this site is in the middle of the mountains, it was reportedly once the sea bed over 300 million years ago which, through the shifting of tectonic plates and faultlines, has been thrust skywards. The rocks are towering blocks of limestone in all shapes and sizes, fashioned into these shapes by rain, wind and, long ago, by the sea.

Bruce and I had a wonderful time wandering around these monoliths. I also enjoyed the seeing the number of young people who came here to practice their climbing skills. They lugged their padded falling mats up here with them. We came across a couple of girls who found the climbing a bit tough, so were using their mat as a picnic blanket!

We wandered around for quite some time, and didn’t really notice how high we had come. Our motorhome is down there somewhere.

When it came time to go down, the area we were in only had the narrowest of tracks and it looked a bit precarious. I am fearful of falling and breaking a hip so elected to slide down on my bum. That was a lot of fun – the grass was slippery so I was able to get up a bit of speed. I only hope no-one was watching this crazy 70 year old sliding down the hill on her butt. When I got to my stopping point, near a more substantial track, I looked back to see Bruce still working his way down on all fours, and going backwards, looking a bit like a crab.

You can see the way the land was thrust up at an angle in the photo above.

Once back at the motorhome we headed back on the Arthur’s Pass road, and headed into the alpine Castle Hill Village. This was a well set up little village of mountain style cottages. Presumably people come to stay here for the hiking and skiing. A charming little place.

Our stop for the night was at a Park Over Property at Cass. This was really a collection of a couple of old railway cottages no longer required by the railway. We found that “happy hour” here was compulsory, and it was quite pleasant. It was a surprise to see that a couple who arrived after us where from our NZMCA area, and Coromandel town in particular – we knew each other!.

We had a peaceful night, and an early start the next morning trying to get sunrise photos on the mountains.