Saturday, December 8, 2012

Akaroa New Zealand

On this trip around New Zealand we stopped at the port of Akaroa which is the port that has been replaced for Christchurch.
Since Christchurch had all their troubles with earthquakes the cruise ships now stop in the bay outside Akaroa and passengers are transported to shore by tender (small boats).
While this has been detrimental to Christchurch the small township of Akaroa is thriving on the tourist dollar.
We took a tour to a farm up in the hills which had amazing views and a history that was truly enthralling.
We were shuttled up in a couple of mini vans by people who were from surrounding properties and they told us about the land make-up and history of the area on the way.
The gentleman who owned the property and his wife (Murray and Sue) were the consummate hosts and Murray told us of the family history right back to his great great grandfather who was the first to settle on the land in his family.
We learned of the good times and the bad times and how they have survived to the point that not only Murray and Sue live on the property but their son and his family are there as well.
That makes seven generations in total.

                                              Murray and Sue in front of their house and garden


We saw a sheep shearing demonstration and it just so happened that one of our group had been a sheep shearer before when he had a property of his own(he was 77) so he gave us a demonstration.
It sure looked like hard work.



Then we went outside and were shown how the sheep dogs did their work and boy do they do their stuff well.
Murray gave his dog  a short quiet message and off he went like a rocket-down in the gully-up a very steep hill and rounded up the sheep and brought them back to where we were.
Truly amazing (well to me it was anyway)



We were then invited down to the house for morning tea.

                                          Isn't this a beautiful photo (I can see it as an embroidery


Scones with jam and cream--yummo.
That's Stephen's boof head in the top left hand corner.



I think this little shed was part of one of the earlier buildings--it now houses doves (I think that is what they were).


Thank you Murray and Sue for a most memorable morning that we will always remember with much fondness.




5 comments:

Dot said...

What a fascinating post Doreen. I really enjoyed it. Sounds like Akoroa is thriving since Christchurch's earthquakes. It looks like a beautiful place and Murray and Sue the perfect hosts too.
Love the photo of Murray and his Dog. And their home would make a gorgeous embroidery(and you are just the gal to do it).
Enjoyed seeing this season's photo of Princess Anexoria in all her finery. Great color combination. And your collection of angels are beautiful.
Much love to you my friend.
Dot xx

Heather said...

What a beautiful place that is Doreen. It looks and sounds quite English with sheep dogs, lovely gardens and cream teas!

Maggi said...

A beautiful place. I agree with Heather that it does appear very English, except for the sun of course!

Janet said...

Your day with Murray and Sue sounds like a lot of fun. I like hearing about people who have stayed on a piece of property for generations. And the house is so pretty. You could do a beautiful embroidery piece using it as your inspiration.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Sounds lovely - it would have been such fun to see the dog working the sheep.