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| Taranaki Garden Festival 2016; North Island garden tour New Zealand | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 21 2016, 10:35 PM (694 Views) | |
| agate | Oct 28 2016, 05:06 PM Post #16 |
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Your wine tour sounds fantastic sooty. |
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| sooty | Oct 29 2016, 05:58 PM Post #17 |
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Blue Star Member
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Day five Garden Tour We headed south from Auckland to our first treat, Ayrlies Garden. This magnificent garden had been created from a former dairy farm. It had taken the efforts of a tireless couple over many years to create water features, lakes, rooms of colour. Words can't do it justice. Google it. Through the Lych gate , following the cascade of water falls, through to the first pond . This was lined with vivid purple Louisiana iris. Came to a lookout which stretched through meadows, wetlands, and beaches. Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto island ( an extinct volcano) in the distance . Walking up to the house you passed through garden rooms where the theme of each garden was the colour, red, yellow, blue. Avenues of Liquid Amber stretching to the wetlands as five fingers to the sea. More delicate gardens of roses, rhododendron , azaleas. A rockery of black stone with wisteria flowing down the slope. Words can't describe it all. It was two hours of delight and could easily have been two days or two weeks. Postcards $6 Driving on we had lunch at Riverbend Cafe, on the Waikato River. Bakery style lunch $15. The tomato sauce serve was a bit stingy but the meat pie was delicious. Souvenirs $25. The afternoon was spent at Hamilton Gardens at Hamilton. These gardens were created on a former sand quarry. It was transformed to an immense garden with a unique theme that told the story of gardens. We only saw the enclosed gardens as the whole site is ten times this in size. The enclosed gardens were divided as collections of garden design with headings, Paradise, Fantasy, Productive, Cultivar and Landscape. Each collection had four or five gardens radiating off the central point. I loved the Italian as the climate is similar to Adelaide, the Indian one reminiscent of the Taj Mahal with a Persian carpet of coloured annuals and the Maori sustainability garden. This last had sweet potatoes growing in cone mounds covered with pebbles for heat. I had never seen these growing before. Our garden guide, Merle, talked about the Maori lifestyle and explained the various buildings and their uses. There was a huge piece of volcanic glass in the garden, again something new to my eyes. After two hours I tried a Devonshire tea on the lake. Not enough cream and jam for the freshly baked scone. To D,M,S,A Cliveden and the Herb Farm are stil overall worldwide cream tea winners. Map $2 coffee and scone $8.50 Finally we arrived at the hotel, the Novotel on the river. Quite luxurious and best of all happy hour was about to start on the river deck. $5.00 half price drink. Dinner excellent with all the calories you could imagine. However, after all the walking today, I deserved it. So tired that I didn't even finish the days exploits on the diary. Only bugbear is that free internet was only in the lobby. |
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| FuzzyO | Oct 30 2016, 12:57 AM Post #18 |
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The gardens sound wonderful! |
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| Kahu | Oct 30 2016, 01:56 AM Post #19 |
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Just got back tonight (11:55pm) ... internet coverage in Tasmania is very iffy, and I have to say the weather was too. We got thumped with hail in Launceston, and there was some snow on Mt Wellington behind Hobart too. Still we enjoyed it. I reckon the weather couldn't have been too great here either Sooty? |
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| sooty | Oct 30 2016, 01:30 PM Post #20 |
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Blue Star Member
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Honestly not too bad, Kahu. The wettest was Auckland and Devonport. Other days just showers occasionally. What will Wellington bring? It's interesting but the Victorians and Tassies and me from SA are OK temperature wise. Those from Queensland and NSW complaining about the cold. It's what you are used too. Please post your travels in Tasmania now that you have Internet . |
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| Kahu | Oct 30 2016, 02:59 PM Post #21 |
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Probably wind. From what I've seen on the news there's a strong souwesterly in the offing. I'm just sorting and loading the the photographs, and I' ll post soon. |
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| sooty | Oct 30 2016, 08:19 PM Post #22 |
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Blue Star Member
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Day six Garden Tour Hamilton to Matamata then Rotorua We were greeted with a sunny day and cool winds. The first stop for the day was a visit to the Zealong tea plantation. Beautifully appointed grounds , stunning white buildings and fields of tea bushes. Real feng shui ( not sure of spelling). We heard that only the top three leaves are picked for the tea. The pickers are from Taiwan and some locals, learning the picking technic to ensure the leaves are the highest quality and unbruised. We had a tasting of three teas, a green tea - comment OK, an oolong - comment mown mouldy hay and finally a black tea- mild. The comments are mine but responses varied across the group. I only drink herbal infusions and coffee so probably was not the best judge. The gardens here had some tea based statues including a large dragon teapot! We then headed on to Longlands farm and restaurant for lunch. A sumptuous feed of NZ lamb, peach pie and then a walk around the gardens. There were roses and hydrangeas about to bloom, lots of buds; cherry blossom making a snow storm of petals, the bright colours of iris, azaleas, rhododendron and orchids. Cameras were snapping lots of shots as we walked off some of the farm lunch. Continuing on , we saw hills of sheep and cattle. There were many small holdings and some larger ones. Dairy and beef cattle, sheep for both wool and meat. The countryside green with some plantations of timber. Climbing into the hills we came to the movie set of Hobbiton. Our guide Sarah B climbed onto the bus and led us to the land of the Hobbits. When the original film was made, the countryside was returned to its original state but on the second film, the land holder required the buildings be permanent , guaranteed for fifty years, as he could see an attraction that movie goers and aficionados of the Tolkein books would visit. It was unique and we followed a trail through the village with Sarah telling us what scenes were filmed and where. I really enjoyed this and the attention to detail in the living set. Each hobbit house had its own little garden. They employ eight full time gardeners on the set. Our walking track led us to the Green Dragon tavern and a welcome ginger beer . Alternately you could have had cider or hobbit brewed beer ( low alcohol). Leaving this idyllic spot we returned to the highway and onto Rotorua. This is a geothermal area and the steam / heat/ pressure of nature is now harnessed. The sulphurous smell is still present but not as extreme as years ago. Our hotel was on the lakes edge. Huge four blocks but a little tired in appearance. It obviously caters for coach tours. Helpful staff and best, free wifi in the rooms. Still managed 10,000 steps today but the food is a problem. Too much, too delicious and hard to say " no thanks" to dessert. Drinks $11. |
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| blizzard | Nov 1 2016, 05:21 AM Post #23 |
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Gold Star Member
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Ah, more travels. NZ sounds lovely. |
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| sooty | Nov 1 2016, 05:31 PM Post #24 |
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Blue Star Member
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Day eight Garden Tour Rotorua to Waitomo to New Plymouth Green hills, sheep, cattle and horses wearing red coats for the cold. Fitzgerald Glade was a roadside strip of original dense native bush and despite full sun the road was in shadows. Mostly the country was hilly farm land, green pastures and small holdings, some tree plantations Kiwi pronunciation : cattle sounds as kettle; timber sounds as tumbur; and Les as Liz. This last caused some confusion as it was Les's birthday. We passed timber towns of Putaruru and Otorohanga. The last being the home of the Bumble Bee pull along toy, loved by thousands of Aussie, Kiwi and at least a few UK kids. Waitomo Caves has had a huge makeover since my 1978 visit but the underground caves and the glow worms haven't changed. One of our group sang in the Cathedral Cavern with perfect acoustics and no echo. The flat boat travelled the dark river tunnel with a roof of twinkling natural lights. Alighting took a guide and another male passenger to lift me up from very low seating! I commit to practice " sit to stand" exercises when home again. Lunch at Waitomo Cafe and a tasty selection of local produce, cheeses, smoked turkey, beef cold cuts, olives and crusty breads with chocolate brownies and apples for dessert. Secret squirrel : Finally found a requested product for my favourite 94 year old. It's a surprise so please don't pass this message on when you read my email to her, Anne. Headed through mountain passes and tunnels, passing Te Kuiti, Piopio to Awakino on the coast. This area , Te Kuiti, is the labour exchange for shearers hiring to the farming community. It is also well known for working dogs, both sheep and cattle dogs. Apparently there is a Heading breed of sheep dog, bark less, they stare the sheep down. Sometimes you have to trust that the guide is not telling you a TALL tale. The coast was blue seas and only some cloud. Several rivers or streams run into the bay. The sand was dark grey. Some small communities of holiday homes and a few permanent residents. Mt Taranaki was visible ahead and inland. It is a Mt Fuji shape with snow clearly visible on the higher slopes. Our destination was New Plymouth for the next two nights. The first garden visited here for the Taranaki Garden Festival was Te Kukumara. This was a large property with gardens, lawns, palms and tall avenues of trees. A calming pond with water lilies cf Monet. Highlights for me - red Clivias, raised vegetable beds, plantings in colour, huge rhododendron, many different palms lining the driveways, white doves and dovecotes, arum lilies, a statue of two life size children at play. There was also a collection of classic cars on display and I took dibs on the Silver English Morgan over a Red Corvette. The home housed a tennis court, pool and beach volleyball court, each with its own planting. The orchids and palms around the pool rockery were lovely. The beach court was dark grey sand with red plantings at the back. Finally the Hotel Copthorne. Older hotel again but very helpful staff. Scotch, smorgasbord , lots of chatter about the day and finally bed. Souvenirs $69 card $11.50 card nibbles $6 coffee $5.50 |
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| Kahu | Nov 1 2016, 10:29 PM Post #25 |
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NOT a tall tale about heading dogs, sometimes they're called strong-eye dogs though. The headers are usually collies, or collie crosses, and are trained to whistled commands from the handler who can be quite some distance away. Huntaways are deep chested dogs with a loud deep bark which are used to collect sheep as they climb hillsides and drive them away from the shepherd and then bring them down to the lower collecting areas. Heading Dogs Huntaways |
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| Durgan | Nov 2 2016, 06:07 AM Post #26 |
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Veteran Member
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I have had the pleasure of watching these sheepdogs working in Scotland and New Zealand. To me anyway it is a most fascinating sight seeing in NZ a field of possibly five to ten thousand sheep being moved. Sheep, sheep, everywhere. Those dogs are total joy to observe. |
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| blizzard | Nov 3 2016, 03:43 AM Post #27 |
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Gold Star Member
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"Apparently there is a Heading breed of sheep dog, bark less, they stare the sheep down. Sometimes you have to trust that the guide is not telling you a TALL tale." If a dog stared me down I would pay attention! |
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| sooty | Nov 3 2016, 07:31 AM Post #28 |
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Blue Star Member
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Day nine Garden tour: Taranaki Garden Festival There were 45 gardens in this festival but we were only visiting six in total. I am sure this was to whet your appetite for a private tour next year. Glorious sunny day with the majestic Mt. Taranaki visible clearly, only a small cloud line below the snow line. Cameras were snapping and Ben, our driver, pulled over for us all to pile out and take photos. We then continued to our treats for the day. Stanleigh Gardens, Inglewood: Arbor of white wisteria mixed with yellow banksia rose; small leaved red miniature maples ( don't know the name); superb rhododendron yellow, white, pink, deep pink, red, orange etc etc.; pond with white ducks; rustic timber articles including " daisies" formed layering a dinner, bread, preserves dish on a wooden post; poppies; and the final highlight of a wrought iron black picture frame that framed Mt Taranaki in the distance. This area gets 3 metres of rain per annum. Purchases, a copper kiwi $70 , cupcake $4 Ann and Vince's Garden, New Plymouth: Beech hedges just starting to shoot; lots of hosta in several shades of green and also variegated ; a viburnum with pinky large head flower; early old style roses in flower; masses of purple, pink and white iris; outdoor seating on the river deck with views downstream ; Turbo, the grey and white family cat rolling on the warm gravel. Lunch at Big Jim's Garden Centre: A world standard seafood chowder; large garden centre with everything you could want and couldn't take back across the Ditch with bio security. Lunch $11.50 Tupare: Established in 1932 ; huge estate on hillside; steep paths including a zigzag one that needed extreme care while I was meandering through gardens full of hydrangeas, just starting to flower and huge rhododendron in many colours; tall trees firs, cypress, kauri and my favourite, the handkerchief tree; bird song everywhere; clematis; views of the Waiwhakaiho River. Pukekura Park: 52 hectare park with large areas for concerts, waterways, mature trees and lawns; a rhododendron glade of varied colours; superb fernery and displays of the silver fern. New Plymouth: Beach was mainly large black rocks and a little grey sand.; two large rock islands close to the shore; Art Deco buildings; street planters of daisies in four colours , pink, yellow, white, deep pink; Dalgeish Jewellers who fixed my watch on the spot, 10/10. Nibbles $10 Battery $20 Drinks $12 Back in time to watch the Melbourne Cup on television, happy hour, dinner. A hot shower for all those aches and pains, not to mention the bedtime whisky. |
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| Delphi51 | Nov 4 2016, 04:21 AM Post #29 |
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Most interesting, Sooty! Thanks very much for all that time in the lobbies typing the details that make the story come alive. |
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| sooty | Nov 4 2016, 07:02 AM Post #30 |
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Blue Star Member
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Realised you missed day seven. Day seven Garden tour- Rotorua This was a full on day and you may have to make do with dot points. STOP CHEERING. First : sky lift to breakfast overlooking Rotorua and Lake. Free ticket for luge rides, wimped out. Second: Rainbow Springs bird and wildlife sanctuary and gardens. Huge rainbow trout. Enormous Californian redwoods forming canopy over the gardens and free flight aviaries. Kea ( bird) Kaka (bird). The only lizard I could see was a water dragon. Silver fern. A nocturnal house for the Kiwi and I saw Jenny, the kiwi. She was just running up and down the glass edge which was sad but then I read that 95% of kiwi chicks don't survive the first year with predators. The centre has hatched 47 chicks this season and to date released 1571 kiwi into the wild. Third: dropped off at the pier on Lake Rotorua and walked along the edge to Government Gardens. Black swans. Rose garden about to bloom. Wisteria arches. Poppies red and Iceland . Azalea trees!! Museum, Tudor style building but not enough time to visit. ( I chose the gardens over the museum). Fourth: Te Puia geothermal village. The valley where this village is located is called " Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiai" , being translated as "the war dance of the war parties of Wahiao". Geysers , steam and yellow sulphur and fountains of erupting hot water. Koko mud pools with bubbling boiling mud. Maori village with history and meanings of symbols explained by our Maori guide. National school for Maori carving and a separate one for weaving. Students working on the timber reliefs and on weaving the flax. Welcome ceremony. Haka. Concert with poi dancers and warrior dancers. Hangi dinner. Back at hotel , exhausted , happy, sunburnt. Best of day, seeing a real Kiwi bird followed by the Haka welcome. The lake walk and gardens came up third. Lunch $9. Group photo $20. Sky lift photo $35- I know but I don't get that many photos of me. Souvenirs $10 Delphi I type in the room as a note and then copy and paste in the lobby |
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