Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Exploring the redoubt
On our way south to the glow-worms' cave, we stopped for a little rest in the small art village of Pirongia, once named Alexandra but later re-named to avoid confusion with the larger and more well-known Alexandra on the South Island.
The boys were distinctly un-impressed with the galleries and shops that Pirongia had to offer, so after a snack we got back in the car. We were almost out of town when I noticed one of the characteristic blue 'this way to a scenic or historic landmark' signs pointing down a side street. REDOUBT, it said. What's a redoubt?, I wondered. I couldn't resist investigating.
I looked carefully for the whatever-it-was as I drove, but we just ended up dead-ended in a nondescript cul-de-sac with fenced pasture all around us. I noticed a sign on the fence and went to take a look.
Oh, so a redoubt is a fort or something? Is that it, up the hill there?
The fence had a hand-lettered sign saying, 'Please close all gates behind you'. I took that as an invitation to proceed, and hey, it's not like there's anyone around to stop us anyway. So we navigated a very cool sheep-proof (and very nearly boy-proof) stile and went to see what we've got here.
To save me writing a thousand words, here is what the redoubt looks like from the air. Imagine inside it a church, and the last hope of hundreds of pioneers who surely all knew the shortest route for their anticipated desperate dash for safety ahead of the predicted savage invaders.
Happily, this grim attack never materialised, and so the redoubt was abandoned and is slowly returning to the earth.
It's surrounded by a moat.
It was a great place to enjoy the beautiful day and to take in some nice farmland views.
We walked all the way around the perimeter of the redoubt, on top of its walls. I reminded the boys over and over to be careful about where they were walking, so that they wouldn't take a tumble. I wish I had listened to my own advice, because in a moment of inattention I went bum over teakettle into a thornbush! Got a couple of little scratches on my arm, but the grass was so thick and soft that I was spared any real harm. Arram shrieked with alarm when he saw me fall, but when he almost immediately saw that I was OK, he laughed until he had to sit down and rest.
The boys were distinctly un-impressed with the galleries and shops that Pirongia had to offer, so after a snack we got back in the car. We were almost out of town when I noticed one of the characteristic blue 'this way to a scenic or historic landmark' signs pointing down a side street. REDOUBT, it said. What's a redoubt?, I wondered. I couldn't resist investigating.
I looked carefully for the whatever-it-was as I drove, but we just ended up dead-ended in a nondescript cul-de-sac with fenced pasture all around us. I noticed a sign on the fence and went to take a look.
Oh, so a redoubt is a fort or something? Is that it, up the hill there?
The fence had a hand-lettered sign saying, 'Please close all gates behind you'. I took that as an invitation to proceed, and hey, it's not like there's anyone around to stop us anyway. So we navigated a very cool sheep-proof (and very nearly boy-proof) stile and went to see what we've got here.
To save me writing a thousand words, here is what the redoubt looks like from the air. Imagine inside it a church, and the last hope of hundreds of pioneers who surely all knew the shortest route for their anticipated desperate dash for safety ahead of the predicted savage invaders.
Happily, this grim attack never materialised, and so the redoubt was abandoned and is slowly returning to the earth.
It's surrounded by a moat.
It was a great place to enjoy the beautiful day and to take in some nice farmland views.
We walked all the way around the perimeter of the redoubt, on top of its walls. I reminded the boys over and over to be careful about where they were walking, so that they wouldn't take a tumble. I wish I had listened to my own advice, because in a moment of inattention I went bum over teakettle into a thornbush! Got a couple of little scratches on my arm, but the grass was so thick and soft that I was spared any real harm. Arram shrieked with alarm when he saw me fall, but when he almost immediately saw that I was OK, he laughed until he had to sit down and rest.
Friday, March 09, 2012
The glow-worms' cave
We took a trip down to Waitomo, a tiny town built on top of some pretty impressive limestone caves. We visited one of the main caves, which is full of glow worms.
They warned us it would be cold inside the cave, so here are the little glow worms about to put on their sweatshirts.
It turned out to be only a little chilly, and mostly really humid, inside the cave. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the boys were awed into silence and just trotted along with their little hands in mine. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside-- but the photos in the website I linked above are probably better than what I would have taken anyway.
The last portion of the cave tour was a boat ride through a silent underground lake with the ghostly blue glow worm constellations above us. The boat was pulled hand-over-hand along a nearly-invisible wire by a woman standing on the prow. Her name was Sharon and I really enjoyed that.
Here is the cavern we exited through, and some happy little boys.
They warned us it would be cold inside the cave, so here are the little glow worms about to put on their sweatshirts.
It turned out to be only a little chilly, and mostly really humid, inside the cave. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the boys were awed into silence and just trotted along with their little hands in mine. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside-- but the photos in the website I linked above are probably better than what I would have taken anyway.
The last portion of the cave tour was a boat ride through a silent underground lake with the ghostly blue glow worm constellations above us. The boat was pulled hand-over-hand along a nearly-invisible wire by a woman standing on the prow. Her name was Sharon and I really enjoyed that.
Here is the cavern we exited through, and some happy little boys.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
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