Note.....we have now put on some pictures of Moeraki Boulders and Mount Cook which you might like to go back and see in an earlier post
Intended to have a leisurely day today & it started well with Sean giving us an excellent breakfast, shared with two Kiwis, two French and an American. He had baked some gorgeous savoury scones, pear & ginger bread and apple & banana bread...he even gave us some to take with us for later in the day!
It has been hot & sunny today, although windy in exposed places. Despite the blue skies today, Mount Cook was shrouded in cloud pretty much all over, so we really were lucky yesterday with our views of it.
Sean advised to go up Mount John, near Lake Tekapo (where Canterbury University has its observatories) for the views. Glad we did.
We then drove on through nice countryside, until we reached the town of Geraldine, another of Sean's recommendations. It is a small town, nice to see but we may not have stopped there but for Sean who had told us of a shop that contained the largest knitted jumper in the world AND an unusual version of the Bayeaux Tapestry.
The guy running the shop seemed a little eccentric, but was interesting to talk to (says Mike) (geek, says Jan)... his version of the Tapestry is made of millions of teeth from knitting machine wheels and it's fascinating to see (says Mike) (surprisingly, Jan agrees, but asks why?!)...the guy also had numerous number/letter puzzles & other interesting items relating to mathematics ...and Mike bought his Cd-Rom version (yawn, says Jan)....maybe some challenges for Dan and Owen when we get home!
Geraldine is also home to Barker's Berry Barn, where local produce can be sampled including juices, jams, jellies, marmalades, chutneys and sauces.
After passing through more pleasant countryside (some very reminiscent of back home), we arrived at our Methven B&B around 3pm to a warm welcome from Irene, plus tea and cakes!
The B&B is actually on a deer farm and Irene has told us that the deer are not farmed for their meat, in fact they are farmed for their antlers which are cut off whilst "live" for use in arthritis medicine...neither of us have heard of that before.
In late afternoon, we decided to do another Bush Walk whilst the weather was so good and Irene recommended the one to Sharplin Falls, so off we went. Well, either we're less fit that a fortnight ago or it was very strenuous, probably a bit of both! The track seemed to climb for ever, but we made it and enjoyed the downhill return!
Planning to go into Methven for a meal this evening.
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