Sunday is just the right day for a “Sunday Drive”, wouldn’t you say? And with a lunch out added into the equation – there was no holding us back. Where to? We settled on Sanson – about 50kms up SH1. It dates from the Crown’s sale of the Sandon block in the late 1860s. In 1868 a group of men got together in the Hutt Valley, near Wellington. They were eager to take advantage of Government policies aimed at getting “the small farmer” onto his own block of land. The township was named Sanson, after Henry Sanson, the secretary of the Hutt Small Farm Association, and this slight name change caused much confusion over the years. Sanson was the terminus of a tramway which ran from a junction with the railway line at Himatangi from 1883 until 1945, and thrives from its location at a junction of state highways 1 and 3, being a popular stop for people travelling on the state highways.
We were keen to have lunch at “Viv’s Kitchen”, world famous in Sanson. This cafe has a huge image of a cream horn on top of the building, which we noticed and generally commented on as we drove through Sanson, usually towing the caravan behind us. “One day,” we promised ourselves. Imagine our dismay when the we noticed that not only the cream horn sign was gone, but the cafe building was empty and deserted. But all was not lost – Viv and her staff had moved premises further along the road.
Viv’s Kitchen was busy with people “doing lunch” like us, so we found ourselves a table and checked out the menu. We decided on something small and savoury from the hot cabinet, just so we could finally indulge in one of those huge cream horns. And they were delicious!
The famous cream horns from Viv’s Kitchen
Nana Ruth’s Corner
We needed a bit of exercise after our lunch so crossed over the road to the local weekly market. Stalls galore, and I was after some fresh veggies. I couldn’t go wrong with buying a couple of smallish pumpkins at only $1 each, could I? Perhaps I’ll be cooking up another big pot of pumpkin soup soon.
At the Sanson Markets
Robin decided to drive the long way home through Palmerston North as he wanted to check out a new venue for caravan club rallies. Yes, we did find it…..more later.
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