TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

12:20 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Rose Road, Takaka

Last day on the farm, started by making pancakes for 20. Picked lemons fresh off the tree in the backyard of Great-Grandad's farmhouse, then walked down to the milking shed to pick up the deep blue billy of fresh milk straight out of the cows. Afternoon expedition to the Upper Takaka River, in Cobb Valley, an old goldmining spot. Robbie spent the entire time smashing rocks, looking for nz greenstone - he's a geologist. Everyone else swam across to the cliff side of the river and hung out on the rocks, the kids had rides on their boogie boards down the smallish rapids, Kath arranged a picnic lunch on a big flat rock. Drove to Picton with mum, over the Takaka hill to Nelson, then across the Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton - gorgeous seaside views. A few days in Christchurch at the Chateau on the Park hotel - more cousins, on mum's mothers side this time, visited their place in Lyttleton - lovely old port town out of Christchurch. Now waiting to board the plane. Fantastic dinner at Barcelona on Oxford Terrace, mushroom risotto and sticky date pudding with chocolate marscapone. Yum.
Sad to be leaving, it was a little strange at first meeting all these family members again, but once we got in the swing of it had lots of fun. The country has changed so much, that nostalgia thing