NOW THIS IS A REALLY QUIRKY PART OF OUR JOURNEY!!


Really good time at Renwick, but off on to next adventure…………&# 8230;drove down the coastal road with native bushland coming right down to the sea, you would be hard pushed to notice that there was a small road between the bush and the sea……which we were driving along……huge rollers on an angry sea, some spray hitting the car,
the road seemed never ending, we stopped every so often to smell the salt spray and listen to the waves as they crashed in, however not too long as it was darn cold!


We had a coffee and muffin stop at Kaikoura the famous Whale spotting coastline, but for us the sea was too wild to go out on a trip. We stopped and watched a seal colony and one bright spark of a seal who was napping on the central island in the car park,

until he got fed up with being snapped by passers by and waddled back into the waves.


Next stop would be our place to stay for the night THE STAGING POST, at Hawkswood…………&# 8230;..now here lies a tale………..are you sitting
comfortably then I will begin (GRIN!)……..

The Staging Post was part of a large working sheep and dairy farm with managed woodland too that were logged…………..so you would think it was at least manned by a few folk………so did we but not the case………


We arrive and I go to the small bungalow to meet Linda a nice amicable lady with three
Westie dogs….i had woken her up from a nap, she tells me the place we were supposed to be in the Mud Brick Hut. had the roof leak and so we were in the Pise Hut…………. Now the mud brick did have its own stove and log burner so now we were in no stove and a small electric
heater ……oh well…………




she shows us our hut…………well look at the photo, as i said this was a quirky place!






Inside it was quaint…..only trouble was you could see daylight thru the cracks in
the wooden door , lots of daylight…………


and daylight between the roof and the
walls………..slightly worrying for me as it was a cold blustery day and I feel the cold…………… hey
ho……it all seemed a bit like red riding hood ………she then shows us the Ash Hut
which had the communal kitchen and a big warm log burner, the warmth pleased me loads! at least there was somehwere i could get warm....






Now most people by this time would have thought lets find a motel but ive chosen diverse places for this trip for us to mix and mingle in, and anyway in a strange way this was quite an adventure.

......Linda then tells us she is off to Christchurch to get her van MOT'd and would be leaving soon,
i expectd her to say such and such will be here but no instead she asks us to make sure the woodburner is kept going in the kitchen.........and then tom goes and stacks it up only to get told off as he had made smoke all billow into the adjacent bunk room where the next unsuspecting guests were sleeping...............so the bunk room doors and windows had to be opened to air the room.............oh well, we were asked to stick to the directions on the wall as to loading the fire, .............so lesson learned !
The bunk room sucked air for warmth from the kitchen hence is sucked smoke in.

Linda told us there were three guests and a baby arriving soon and they had already had their luggage dropped off by the postman as they were doing the Kaikoura Coastal Walk from place to
place and the postman dropped off their bits at each stop,…………… ;..and yes across the yard there were all their bits in the luggage rack all alone…………..


Linda tells us to show the three arrivals their bunk room which was next to the kitchen,
and asked us to shut her chickens away at dusk and to feed them in the
morning…………R 30;…..with that she left…………..so there we were in charge!!!

So we wandered around the Ponderosa, and investigated.


The whole place was quirky and that’s an understatement, it was a cross between a theme park and a cowboy film…..on a small scale………..




Tom said it was like the old Tv High Chapperal with the cowboys bunk houses............


She told us to wander around and have a look everywhere…………& #8230;it Linda said she was alone there………….. the old father in law had died and it was him who started the Staging Post, it used to have festivals and a large camping ground at the back.


The old man ,clearly a legend in his day according to all the write ups in the kitchen, was into stage coaches and had re-built a Cob original Stage Coach and had renovated all sorts of coaches.




He had a forge fully tooled, anvil and burner………..amazing all left like a ghost town…………… there were other sheds which were used at some time as bunk rooms for workers………….it was all seemingly abandoned.


In fairness I think this Linda just had got just overrun by the huge upkeep of it all…………there was a swimming pool too which seemed just left.

It would be a mammoth task to take on to get this back to its hey day.



After wandering around we set about putting the electric fire on full in our hut, and I made three hot water bottles and put them in the bed, she had given us two duvets .The bed had been
made prob by the old man and was very high up, I was worried in the night I would fall out, but we were so laden with duvets I doubt I hardly moved ! And we were actually cosy and warm.


We went to the kitchen to prepare our dinner after feeding her hens, who were the same breeds as ours back home.






The next guests arrived wandering up the path weary, and we told them where their luggage was and that we had been abandoned to get on with things as Linda wouldn’t not be back till the next days lunchtime when we’d all be gone!

They were a young Kiwi couple with a 20 month infant and the girls father, a charming
family who instantly settled in and made the best of things.


We cooked our own dinners and all ate at the big table and chatted till time for an
early night…………… ;Tom went then and locked her hens away.


We stuffed another duvet over the wooden rickety door to try and stop the outside night air getting in and left the heater on all night………the bed was cosy .….we weren’t cold at all…...next morning we went across the grass to the showers and they were hot thankfully!..............said
goodbye to the Kiwis and the baby……they were waiting for their luggage to be collected for their next walk……………


Sunshine, a lovely crisp morning !

We drove down the coast and then started our ascent up into
the mountains.


SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS! SUNSHINE!!

Our aim being to get to Arthurs Pass, and a comfortable night at Arthurs Chalet.

No draughts, and an electric blanket !! Restaurant and bar with log fire.







We have been asked if wed like to join in the Quiz night, so that will be good………….if its all questions about New Zealand we are stumped !!!

WOOOOO HOOOOOO "THE POMS" DID WELL!

We had an amazing pie for dinner best pie yet in these antipodeans “pie “dominated countries! Mine was a deep chicken, brie and cranberry…………&# 8230;.but waistline tells me NO MORE PIES!

Quiz night started at 7.30 and we set ourselves in front of the log fire……..the TV was full on about Obamas win.

A Canadian chap did the quiz and he does one each week, mainly locals turned up. Arthurs Pass village is small about 40 homes if that, and some of those rental ski places.



Tom and me were a team of two “The Poms”, there were 6 other teams most teams were about 6 people in……….well by round three don’t laugh we were winning !!!! Woooooo Hooooooo! We did well with the sports round and leaders of country round………….by the sixth round we went to third as we floundered on the TV round badly!!! “The Adrians” won followed by “The Greens”, we were one point behind them!!! Seeing as we entered feeling we would be scuppered and get nothing we were well happy and also a bit relieved.


Great fun and all good humoured banter………..we trotted upstairs well happy.


Would have liked another night here as the snow capped mountains are alluring, and the hotel is comfy, with a good ski chalet atmosphere.


Tomorrow over the top of the pass and down to the West Coast to stay by the sea at Greymouth.

So will catch up with you soon xxxxxxxx