Taking the Slow Road

Total Nights and Distance Travelled on Tour to Date = 84 Nights & 3757 Kms

It was time to say goodbye this morning to our very pleasant camp at Motueka.  As we were hooking our 4WD up to the caravan, we noticed quite a sight across the camp.  Our neighbour had attached a thick tow rope to his large Isuzu bus and it looked like he intended to manually pull it off the site.  “You’ll never make it”, Robin told him, “not unless you eat more spinach like Popeye”. 

He’ll never move that bus

Rather than travel down the main road to Richmond, in Nelson, we took the slow scenic route through the Moutere Hills.  We came across a paddock of distinctive Belted Galloway cattle, known to their followers as ‘Belties’, which are characterized by a wide belt of white hair encircling the body.  The first Belted Galloway cattle arrived in New Zealand in 1947, and the breed is a native of Scotland.

  Belted Galloway cattle

And what’s this rather run down building we found, perhaps it’s a haunted house?  Known as “Wyperserfontein”, it certainly has seen better days.  This old building has had many phases to it’s life, serving as a hotel, family residence, and latterly as a storage shed.  The original building has been enlarged over the years, with the two dormer windows added in 1868.  In it’s prime, it must have been a very stylish building indeed.  The origin of the rather strange name was an error on the address on a parcel of goods sent out from England.  Mr Arthur Perry owned the house at the time, and he was so taken by the name that he wrote the name on a board and nailed it to the front of the house, dating it 26th November 1930.

Wyperserfontein in Upper Moutere

Stopping along the way to buy a punnet of strawberries from a local grower, we marvelled that they were indeed available in May.  Aren’t these usually summer fruit?  Our Sat Nav directed us safely to our stop for the next few nights, Richmond Park, home of the Nelson Harness Racing Club.  We parked on the grass, plugged into the power box, and ate our lunch outside in the sunshine. 

Camped at Richmond Park

Caravans and motor-homes were dotted around the grounds, many with dogs and one  bus is travelling with two Birman cats.  Perhaps we will take Muffy over to say hello to them tomorrow.  The large oak trees opposite us had a carpet of orange leaves underneath.  Autumn is definitely here and although it was a lovely sunny day, the temperatures drop sharply once the sun goes down.

Beautiful shades of autumn

This is a very pleasant relaxed spot, and we will look forward to exploring the Nelson district during our time here.  

Romany Rambler: Travelled 23,949Km; 429 Total Nights