Our destination is Lake Tekapo......As an aside: we had been pronouncing this name as teKApo. We have since learned that it is pronounced: TE-kuh-po. In the Maori language, the accents is always on the first syllable, and all following syllables have the same stress value. Our journey there turned out to be a very pleasant one....Kathy is driving; thus far, it seems that when I am driving, there are more stops, photo ops and exploring. Tom might say that there are more delays, more "throw away" pics. Soooo....out of the corner of my eye, I spot lots of flowers, a pretty spot.....BRAKES!!
The town is Ashburton, hardly a household name...just looked intriguing and pretty. Pull over, park, grab the camera and drag Tom....(From Tom: The real reason she stopped is that she noticed the borrow line of the sign just above.)
This was not a "flower show" nor billed as a "botanic garden"....simply the town gardens....and a WONDERFUL park, recreation area, as you will see.
Translation: speed bumps
This is for my fellow Tai Chi group in Del Webb....especially you, Marian....I had a wonderful session with these delightful ladies who meet every Wednesday, weather permitting, in this park. They also gather at the local community center to practice the art.....What a wonderful start to this day's journey!
As many of you know, British "bowling" is also bocce, and VERY popular in the UK and throughout Europe.
An AVIARY!!?? in a small town park??
I wished I had audio to accompany these pictures. The tweeting and twittering was truly a morning serenade...
Thanks to our Brit beginning bridge bloke, David, we know what the Round Table is....he is a member of one where he lives....a group of men who meet regularly, raise money by various methods and then give it to charity....he compared it to a Rotary club. David has been with his Round Table 30 years! Thanks to this local Round Table, all the following equipment was donated to the park:
All 3 of these children belonged to the same Mom, whose picture we do not have. She commented on what a wonderful town Ashburton is...a great place to raise children.
This mobil coffee business was parked on the perimeter of the park. This gentleman owns two of the franchises. What a clever idea! Heads up all you entrepreneurs....People were standing in line and a long queue of cars. He is in the same spot every day, all day and has more business than he can handle. He commented that there are 7 franchises in all of New Zealand...and his is the most profitable, even though it is in the smallest town....because the police leave him alone and let him stay there all day. The larger cities will not allow it.....
This one is for you, David!
The mail lady delivering city mail...optional bicycle or on foot.
As we entered Geraldine, I noticed 3 or 4 "retirement" villages....don't know why one would retire to Geraldine....maybe they did not "retire" there, but just grew old there! Our lunch stop in Geraldine revealed one possibility
The food was delicious....the cafe was FILLED with "mature" people having lots of laughs...a fun spot!
Each time we travel out of the U.S., I am gratified at the selection of gluten free foods....now that it has become trendy to eat gluten free, there is more available. However, it seems that in the U.S., that is limited to the West/Northwest....throughout Canada, Europe and now New Zealand (which is all I have travelled), gluten free is on most menus.....
These photos are for you, Chris, our favorite baker!
This bakery is part of the fresh garden produce store.....he keeps two separate mixers going, one for wheat flours and the other for any gluten free flour.
Grazing land...
snow-capped mountain/glaciers...
and desert.....all within a two hour drive!
As we round a bend in the road, our first glimpse of Lake Tekapo, our destination stop.
