Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March
Over this last couple of days we have moved inland and then a little further south, stopping very briefly at Rakaia, where I took a couple of images, then overnight at Ashburton, which is a medium-sized town, (where I took no photographs). On Saturday, we went for a walk up the Rakaia Gorge trail, staying overnight on the nicely situated campground which overlooks the braided river below the gorge.
Rakaia:
Rakaia’s emblem is the salmon, which is celebrated with a huge sculpture by the side of the road.
They also celebrate the town’s history with a couple of wooden buildings, one is the Bridgekeepers hut (the Bridgekeeper regulated rail traffic across the single track bridge), and the other was the town jail. According to an information board, one chap, when arrested for drunk and disorderly at a party, was later released by his friends and he returned to the celebration.
Rakaia Gorge:
Our park-up for the night provided this view through the window:
We took a stroll up the Rakaia Gorge Walkway, which is quite strenuous in places, after first crossing the river via its two bridges.
The path quickly gained height.
We went down the trail to reach a “lookout point” (NZ terminology for a viewpoint), before returning.
Geraldine:
The small town of Geraldine was a brief stop where we enjoyed a very nice meal at Barkers, who have an excellent cafe and also sell their own condiments.
There are some interesting buildings in the town, some of historical interest:
The town is proud of its position on the globe:
Fairlie:
We moved on further south to stay overnight at Fairlie where we had a short stroll along the riverside path. Here, we saw examples of the birdlife and fungi. We have seen a lot of fungi here, unsurprising really as it is now autumn.
The town is on the edge of the South Island Alpine region:
That is it for the time being. TTFN and see-u-later.
"See-u-Later" 