We left Akaroa on Tuesday the 11th (Judy's second birthday!), and headed north about two hours to stay with Jan & Judith, the grandparents of Judy's student Olivia. They were a very warm and friendly couple who live in Amberley, about 40 min. north of Christchurch. They had a beautiful home and we spent two wonderful days with them and their dog Whiskey. They are pictured with the girls above. While there, they arranged for us to visit friends of theirs who operate a sheep farm in Darfield. Ian, a fourth generation farmer, and his lovely wife Christine (pictured above with one of the dogs, Vittoria) welcomed us with a traditional country meal of roast lamb and root vegetables - delicious! Judy and the girls were also very impressed with the desserts Christine had whipped up.
Ian took us on a tour of the farm and explained aspects of the operation, such as the shearing process and where the sheep are taken for the summer months. This part of the tour was fascinating as Ian explained the "droving" - a 20km+ trek that Ian and his family take the sheep along (on foot!) to the high country. The hill country was gorgeous, and Judy took several photos (check the girls'pages) of the sheep and cattle in this beautiful terrain.
What a great way to wrap up the first leg of our stay on the South Island! Thanks again to Jan, Judith, Ian & Christine - you are always welcome to stay with us if you get up to Montreal. Big shout out to Olivia for making this part of our journey possible!
On Thursday the 13th, we headed down to Mount Cook - about a 41/2 hour drive SW from Amberley. Along the way, we stopped in Geraldine, a quaint little town that is famous for having the world's largest knitted sweater (looks like the girls and I need to grow a bit more!). We stayed at Glentanner Resort & Campground just outside Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park on the shores of Lake Pukaki. The view of Mount Cook from the campground (about 25 km distant) was gorgeous. The last night we were there, I caught the sunset reflecting off its peak, a beautiful pink hue that I'm not sure is captured accurately in the photo.
On Friday, we hiked the Hooker Valley Track in the park and crossed two swinging bridges that the girls loved. They also had a blast climbing every single boulder along the way, so we didn't actually make it to the end of the trail! Oh well, it's the journey, not the end, that matters, right? The views of the Southern Alps along the trail were stunning, and the awesome beauty of Mount Cook towering 3, 754m above us was breathtaking. Just to show how hip we are, we even took a "Mount Cook selfie!"
Ian took us on a tour of the farm and explained aspects of the operation, such as the shearing process and where the sheep are taken for the summer months. This part of the tour was fascinating as Ian explained the "droving" - a 20km+ trek that Ian and his family take the sheep along (on foot!) to the high country. The hill country was gorgeous, and Judy took several photos (check the girls'pages) of the sheep and cattle in this beautiful terrain.
What a great way to wrap up the first leg of our stay on the South Island! Thanks again to Jan, Judith, Ian & Christine - you are always welcome to stay with us if you get up to Montreal. Big shout out to Olivia for making this part of our journey possible!
On Thursday the 13th, we headed down to Mount Cook - about a 41/2 hour drive SW from Amberley. Along the way, we stopped in Geraldine, a quaint little town that is famous for having the world's largest knitted sweater (looks like the girls and I need to grow a bit more!). We stayed at Glentanner Resort & Campground just outside Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park on the shores of Lake Pukaki. The view of Mount Cook from the campground (about 25 km distant) was gorgeous. The last night we were there, I caught the sunset reflecting off its peak, a beautiful pink hue that I'm not sure is captured accurately in the photo.
On Friday, we hiked the Hooker Valley Track in the park and crossed two swinging bridges that the girls loved. They also had a blast climbing every single boulder along the way, so we didn't actually make it to the end of the trail! Oh well, it's the journey, not the end, that matters, right? The views of the Southern Alps along the trail were stunning, and the awesome beauty of Mount Cook towering 3, 754m above us was breathtaking. Just to show how hip we are, we even took a "Mount Cook selfie!"