Today was a travel day. We headed out from Christchurch early, enjoying some lovely scenery along the way. I didn’t get any photos of the “venison on the hoof” that is farmed in New Zealand – maybe tomorrow.
One scourge has been (like back home!) the Scotch Broom. Unfortunately, as the sheep/venison/cattle are basically just allowed to graze away up and down the hills and dales alone, the Scotch Broom can get a foothold before the farmer even has a realization that something is going wrong. As you can see from the pictures, it’s taken over prime pastureland – and it’s likely to just keep going unless there’s a concerted effort to pull it out. One of the other gals, Pam (from California), and I were opining that it didn’t look like they could possibly get a handle on it. :-(
We stopped in a small town for a “bio-break,” and I not only found more crochet hooks at a thrift store that sends the money to Sherpas in Nepal, but also a couple of unbreakable wine glasses to “celebrate” Lynn’s new house in Chicago. (She’d told me a story about breaking a few of her daughter’s glasses through “unfortunate circumstances” – I thought this would be a bit of a giggle and – hey – they were only $1 apiece.)
I finished the hat for “gluten-free Marilyn” (v. “Jim and Marilyn” Marilyn) before we hit Oamuru for lunch. Not only did it turn out to be her favorite color, but she even appreciated my feeble attempt to put a “silver fern” on it to commemorate New Zealand. She took a few photos of me making the hat, and I took a few of her in it!
Lunch in Oamaru was delicious. We generally pre-order, so as not to overwhelm pubs/restaurants. I had a vegetarian pasta that was made with a pumpkin/curry type sauce. It was just delicious. (Point of fact, we haven’t had a bad meal yet!).
As we were coming into Oamaru, I was excited and surprised to hear our guide Rod announce the big Steampunk Museum!
Oamaru’s Victorian precinct is the perfect setting for steampunk, as the architecture is a great backdrop for this “alternative version” of 19th century England, with all steam-powered technology. HERE is an article on Oamaru Steampunk.
“Steampunk HQ” is located in an old grain elevator, built of the “white stone” (limestone) for which the region is known.
For $2NZ, you can get a full scale train engine outside to spit fire and billow smoke. This is only 1/4 of the “action” you get – I couldn’t get my gloves off fast enough to record it all. Sound on!
Inside, you’ll find a museum of contraptions & bizarre machinery featuring heavy use of copper, gears, pipes & gas cylinders, as well as an ensemble of skeletal sculptures lit by flickering lights & accompanied by film, projection & sound. It’s something referred to as “retro-futuristic sci-fi.”
A back door leads to a large yard with projects in various stages of being steampunked.
This is the inside (sound on):
One of the areas was really remarkable. It was called The Portal. With mirrors, lights, and sound, they had created an “immersive” experience (sound on):
I knew of course that this was the perfect place for my 2nd H cremarble. H absolutely loved steampunk. I held onto the marble for a while, trying to figure out the right place for it.
Finally I decided – as H also loved trains – that the train in the back yard was perfect. I tried to get onto the top, but without doing a James-Bond-run-down-the-top-avoiding-the-curved-sides-of-the-locomotive maneuver, I thought I’d be out of luck. However, I realized if I climbed on the “cowcatcher,” I could lob the cremarble up and behind the skull topping the engine. Perfection! Herbert is now part of a winery, and part of a steampunk exhibit. Nothing better!!!
Now – here’s the crazy part – after placing the cremarble, Lynn and I realized we were running short of time, but I wanted to get a sticker for the back of my computer.
We headed into the small guest shop – and there was a light shining from a window onto a dragonfly necklace, made of “parts” (very steampunk).
It reminded me of the necklace H had made for me out of car parts, which I had brought on the trip. I was afraid to see the cost – but it was super reasonable, and so different! So, of course, I got it :-)
Right after buying the necklace, I signed the guest book – and look at the town of the person right above me:
Come to find out that “Herbert” is a town just outside of Oamuru – because we passed a sign (a bit blurred here), as well as signs for the “Herbert forest” and “Herbert grange.” Think he liked the placement? I sure do!!
On our way to our final stop of the day, Dunedin (pron: Dun-Eden – as in “a color like tan” and “the place Adam and Eve came from), we hit the Moeraki boulders. HERE is a story about them.
Dunedin is where we are staying for the night. It touts itself as having the steepest street in the world – Baldwin Street. The top of Baldwin Street is concrete, because when it was all asphalt, it would heat up and slide down the hill in the summer! There was apparently a “fight” between San Francisco and Dunedin about the steepest street “award,” but it turned out that Baldwin Street won by a 1% grade over the San Francisco competitor. I think that my 20% grade driveway could have been a contender if a public throughway! 😊
The story of Baldwin Street is that when City Planners in England drew up the street plan for Dunedin, they just basically “laid it down” without considering the topography. The result was Baldwin Street.
Our hotel, another Distinction (like in Rotorua) is built inside what used to be the old Post Office. This town definitely has some grand buildings! We had a really delicious dinner tonight at the hotel. And…Lynn and I found, and split, a bottle of my precious Waireke Island Man-O-War wine!
We will get to explore the only castle in New Zealand tomorrow, and then some more of the town. After that, we are to Milford Sound. We understand that the snow that’s blocking the road should be gone by then, so we can get to our liveaboard! 😊
If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!