Palmerston North

Another week down, only two more to go!!! After a busy week of work, and getting some stuff done at home, I thought I deserved a Friday off and a weekend away. My lovely hosts and I took off for the weekend to visit some rellies in Palmerston North. North Palmie is about a 5 hour drive South along the coast, and then inland a bit, and is one of New Zealand's only two inland cities!

Now that I've driven the road south a few times, and almost know my way around, I'll describe the highlights (yes, I do think that driving along a road in the fog/rain and once in a while sunshine has highlights). Almost the entire length of the road is windey and hilly and I'm impressed with Kiwi driving skills as many of the corners are quite sharp and sudden. Along the side of the road, there are often cliff faces which, in the recent rain, have many rock falls - small ones along the side of the road, and big one which send chunks quite dangerously every which way. The main scenery is either cliffs dotted with waterfalls, steep pasture hills dotted with sheep, cows and more sheep, or more steep hills dotted with trees. There is a bit of natural bush in preserves, but most of the non-pasture hills are in some stage of forestry pine production. The sheep are ever-present in the pastures, and even though I see them still often, there's still a place in my heart which thinks they're quite cute!! :) While the sheep are in the pastures, there are an incredible amount of wild goats along the roadside. Wild goats are considered a nuisance animal, and population control is a quite profitable side-business for some shepherds and their skilled dogs. No matter what the hills are covered in, I still find them and their steepness beautiful in the sun, and mysterious in the rain. Once we go inland a bit, there is a good section of flattish land with - more pastureland - some of which was underwater this time! Just before Palmerston N., the road gets hilly again and I saw windmills all over the hills in the distance - cool! The windmill hills marked the start of the gorge which is similar to the one to the Northwest of Gisborne and has a very wide, muddy and fast-flowing river flowing on the bottom of two steep sides. The road clung to one of the sides, and a railway line to the other - not too much room for more! The scenery in the gorge was beautiful, but I'm glad we made it out and avoided the rocks!!

View through the gorgeous gorge.

When we arrived into Palmerston, I was reminded a bit of a New Zealand version of Waterloo. Other than the many, beautiful vineyards on the way in, they had lots of shopping along the streets, a major University campus (Massey University), and a downtown core not focused around the ocean. Instead, it was focused around a grassy square, had an actual mall nearby and lots of shopping around the square. Oh, andddd, would you believe it, there was an ice rink in the middle! The weather was alright so we went for a wander, and I was quite enchanted by the bright orange plastic skates the people on the rink all seemed to be wearing as they lurched around in circles. But I can't really blame them, because there are only a handful of ice rinks in the country - not one in every small town, and definitely no seasonal ones in back yards. We checked out a few of the shops and the mall - first time I'd been in an actual mall since December! While just about all the NZ brands are different than Canada's, the wares are pretty much the same, save some extra emphasis on wool in everyday wear. We had two specific shopping hunts as well - one for some more wool to finish my sweater (yes, I've run out), and one for Root Beer for a recipe I've been wanting to make. You have no idea how hard it is to find Root Beer in New Zealand!!

 

Palmerston North town square - see ice skating back right

We then arrived at our hosts' lovely home for the evening. It was a beautiful house with lots of greenery on the outside, and books and great reading locations on the inside. And a cat. What more could I ask for? We had a good night of visiting, watching the rugby (of course), and yummy food. The next day we went for a driving tour of the town. We crossed several very swollen and muddy rivers, and, would you believe it, went up the local hill! The clouds didn't allow for great sights and pictures, but it was nice to see the lay of the land and marvel at just how 'KW' the place felt. We then went on a tour around the university campus - it was a beautiful place with lots of greenery and gardens. It was pretty much like any university one would find around home, with the addition of a pro rugby training facility, and, due to the large veterinary college, some paddocks and specialized facilities right near the heart of the campus. Quite a cool place! The afternoon was more shopping in many neat little shops, and the evening was some more great food and visiting. The morning dawned rainy, and we soon left for the long journey back home. It rained almost the whole way, and save for a lunch break and short visit in Hastings, our only stop was in Norsewood (I think). Norsewood was a small, historical town on the side of the highway which had long been a place where NZ wool had been processed into hats/mitts/scarves/sweaters(aka jerseys). While the manufacturing had since gone overseas, the town still exists through, probably through it's woolenwear outlet. Anddd, at long last and after many raindrops, we were home!

Massey Uni. Campus