We go to Mesopotamia and sort of have an accident

Bayeux tapestry made from bits of metal!

big totara in the Peel Forest (near Geraldine)

having fun driving through fords

heading inland

...snow on the mountain tops

sheep penned up...

ready to be drenched

sheep that were sitting in the road

roadside view

old agricultural stuff at Mesopotamia station entrance

getting ready to flip the lad's 4WD back onto its wheels

 

 

Today has been sunny and we spent the morning in Geraldine which is a nice little town with boutique-y type shops.  We visited the giant jumper shop which we had read about.  This is an amazing place.  Apart from the giant jumper on the wall (and in the Guinness book of records) the guy has made a copy of the Bayeux Tapestry out of tiny metal pieces from the knitting pattern machines.  The pieces are placed together on a sticky surface making a background he paints on.  It has taken him 25 years and is also in the Guinness book of records.  There is much more to tell about this guy - he has put his tapestry onto a CD and it is interactive.  Click on a knight and it tells you about him, the castle associated etc etc.  Anyway guess what Malcolm's getting for Xmas?

Then we went into the Peel Forest and did a short walk to the biggest totara.  Then on along a very long dirt road into the snowy mountains to the entrance of Mesopotamia station.  Named by Samuel Butler in 1860 because it was between 2 rivers.  One of New Zealand's most famous historical stations (for UK/Canadian readers - this is not a railway it is a ranch, I don't know why they are called stations in NZ and Australia).

Then on the way back -drama!  Two guys in a big 4WD came round a corner too fast, saw us, braked and swerved - missed us but rolled, their vehicle landed on its roof.  We feared the worst but they both emerged without a scratch and before too long another guy came up in a ute and with Malcolm helping they flipped the vehicle back upright and he drove it to the side of the road.  We left then and continued on our way - that could have been much worse but no harm done except a badly munted car for someone!