Driving the Whanganui River Road

(Links checked and post updated May 2020)
The Whanganui River was first settled by Maori, this map shows the numerous marae and former pa sites (fortified villages). One of the most striking features of the *79km Whanganui River Road is the number of meeting houses you see along the river. There is protocol surrounding a marae visit so it’s respectful not to enter without an invitation.

We travelled from Whanganui to Pipiriki in the rain which added a moody feel to the landscape, and rain mixed with mud made a good reason to clean the car when we got home.The … Read the rest

Unusual fences

Some of the unusual fence decor we’ve seen around New Zealand ……

Coffee cup fence at Krafty Cups in Rahotu (Taranaki)

Children’s Toy Wall in Eltham (Taranaki)  ….. the toy wall on Bridger Lane is said to have started when Fay Young found a toy car outside her property. She put the car on her garden wall so it might be found by its owner, it was never claimed.

Fay embedded the car into the wall and it started a toy story in cement that grew as children donated toys for the collection. Fay passed away in 2000, she generously … Read the rest

Cheese rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

*Eltham Cheese Day is now a biennial event – cheese will be rolling again in 2017*

Limp Bizkit sing it slightly differently but cheese will again be rollin’ at the Eltham Downhill Cheese Race on Saturday, April 6 2013.

Watch surefooted souls chase a cheese wheel down Cheese Hill. Those who make it can buy an “I Survived” t-shirt, and those with fast feet will take home a cheese wedge trophy.

In 2012 boys in blue raced against a Santa who forgot the spirit of Christmas and ran off with the cheese – toward a getaway car full of crackers? … Read the rest