Wairarapa, 2010
Eketahuna to Rakaunui and
Herbertville
23 & 24 February, 2010
Morning tea at Brooklands Station.
This was an easy, short day and we reached Glenross before lunchtime. So we had lunch
in these lovely ex-shearers' quarters.Glenross had been built for shearers some 15 years ago, but the dynamics changed and it
was no longer needed. So it was converted to a very, very comfortable backpackers lodge.
Pauline, our host, was surprised we had arrived so early : she was not expecting us until about 3.
After greeting us she went away, only to come back a short time later with a plate full of pikelets
and delicious home made plum jam. Then, later on - about 3 - when she had been expecting to
see us, she came back with an absolutely delicious orange cake and a jar full of cookies.Once again, we were totally carried away by country hospitality.
And, there was more to come!!!
Peeping Tom at the bedroom window.
24th
We were ready for an early departure from Glenross - the sun had only just cleared the hills.
The previous evening we had had a great meal at the Pongaroa Pub.
They collected us from 10km away (country hospitality) in their courtesy van and delivered us
back safely to Glenross.
Photo: Graham, Mack and Photoshop
Very pleasant riding between Pongaroa and Weber.
See for yourself.
We rode on some rough roads.........
...... but this was not one of them.
At Weber we were once again disappointed that there was no coffee shop. And, once again, country
hospitality kicked in. Graeme and Glynnis invited us in to their home and you can see the table full that
they put before us. The delicious food included toast squares covered in tomato. Delicious.As we have commented before, much better than a coffee shop and far, far better than we could do ourselves.
Thank you Glynnis and Graeme for making our visit to Weber a memorable one.
JB is in his usual position. :-))
Photo: Annette, Mack and Photoshop
The pub at Wimbledon, where we had our lunch with only about 10km to go to Herbertville.
About 10km before Wimbledon, and 40km away from Glenross, there is a wicked hill. Probably
the steepest we had seen so far on the ride. And there, waiting at the foot, was Pauline - our host
from Glenross. She had come out to see if she could help us over the hill by carrying our
panniers. Only the tough riders said no. Here she is with us at the Wimbledon Pub. Country Hospitality!!!! Thank You Pauline!!
Then we moved on to Crispin Grove. What a delightful place. Jan and Russell run a
farmstay here and their only advertising is by word of mouth. Jan looks after the garden and Russell goes fishing. :-)) They are both very good at what they do.They have a vinyard, chooks, pet eels, bees, cattle..............
In Herbertville, about 2km from Crispin Grove, someone shares my thoughts on gardening.
ACTA Lifeguards on Herbertville Beach.
Judy was the sole swimmer they were guarding. You can get an idea of what the wind was like by looking at the sand.
Back at Crispin Grove Jan was preparing our meal. The fish she was filleting had
been swimming around only two hours earlier. Her friend Mary was giving her a helping hand.
Jan suggested I go and check what the boys were doing down at the filleting table.
Mike, Topp and Russell had reached the stage of admiring their catch over a beer, or three.
Before dinner Russell took us down to the stream out the back to see his pet eels.
Here's a green one, about a metre long.
Then it was time for yet another great country feed. I don't think anyone left the table with room for more.
Over dinner Russell told us a bit of local folklore (perhaps that should be "folk-law"). Seems a new
constable was assigned to this village where fishing is very important. There is little traffic and so
the locals did not bother much about such things as registering their tractors or their trailers. After all,
they were only being used on the road for a couple of km, then they were on the beach. The new cop
said that all these vehicles would need to be registered and warranted.
The local fisherman said, "You've got to be kidding!"
The cop replied, "No - get it done!"
The fisherman said, "I hope you've got a good lifejacket!"
The cop asked, "Are you threatening me??"
The fisherman replied, "No! I'm promising you!!" The cop became a good country cop.
Photos: John McK (unless they were not)
Wairarapa Tour Photo Index Page
