The Tour of Upokongaro

When we were in Wanganui, on the west coast, we went to a super art gallery (Sarjeant), where there was an excellent exhibition of glass sculpture; we walked the main street and one or two side streets; and then we realized we had 'done' Wanganui. There is, incidentally, controversy over whether the spelling should be the Maori Whanganui--pronounced Fan gan oo ee--rather than Wanganui. Judging by newspaper correspondence, this is a heated dispute. The art school there is famous, and it has an excellent glass college.

So what next? Let's take the paddle steamer up the river...not an inspired choice. The steamer burns coal, and as we set off we were showered with black specks of ash that have still not been fully laundered out of my trousers.

And the scenery up the river was not exactly exciting. Lots of owners of riverside houses waved to us--though I would have thought that in GREEN New Zealand they would have been cursing the black smoke.

After about three quarters of an hour, we were deposited at a jetty in Upokongaro. We were told we had half an hour to visit the town. But there was no town there. Just a stretch of road, a church, a few houses, a cafe/bar--and that was that. The church was of some interest. Built in 1876, it has an odd spire, as you can see. (The leaning spire of Upokongaro) Apart from the spire, which was odd, there are, I guess, hundreds of little wooden churches like this all over New Zealand. We got a guide to church, which provided a wealth of historical facts--such as, "originally there was no vestry, and the belfry was used for clergy to change.." The stained glass windows "are of historic interest and particular beauty." They were.

Well, after the church there was really nothing to do but wander along the road, digital cameras in hand.

There were some houses with very striking gardens, full of photogenic flowers...

Agapanthus--known as "Aggie's Panties"-- are everywhere in New Zealand: blue and white. Indeed, they are often regarded as a weed. They grow wild along the roads in great banks.

Then we came to the cafe/bar, where there was a group of middle-aged and elderly bikers enjoying their beers--very similar to a group of Harley riders in the USA. A few tattoos in evidence, the odd pony-tail. But no doubt solid citizens in their weekday life. The bikes were very impressive and photogenic.

And then it was back to the paddle steamer for the trip down the river to Wanganui or Whanganui. A bit more wandering around the town: we looked at the velodrome, and we bought our supper from Subway and our beer and strawberries from New World Market, before setting out for our B and B, which was some miles north of the town. A rather elegant place--the carriage house of what was a country mansion. We had all the usual cooking facilities, stove, microwave, fridge etc. that seem to be standard in most motels and more modern hotels.

We ate our Subway sandwiches and our strawberries, drank our beers, and drove off a few kilometers to watch the sunset on Iwi beach.

(Posted by David on Feb. 6th)