From Gore to Tuatapere - the long and scenic way

Tuesday, 31st December 

Happy 26th Anniversary Davey and Janie. To celebrate, I dressed in a new shirt that Janie bought for me.

We arose much earlier than the boys and then headed into town for coffee and checked out the location of various attractions. When we got back to our motel, the boys presented us with gifts and then Jane made us French toast to use up our crumbly bread. It was very nice.

After packing up the car and checking that everything had been cleared out, we drove back to the Eastern Southland Art Gallery. 

This was an absolute gem, with some very high quality art. There was a phenomenal exhibition by artist Jo Ogier, celebrating the Mataura River valley. It was composed of 50 different painted art pieces and sculpted wall hangings. Additionally, there was a special gallery wing devoted to the works of Ralph Hotere and his contemporaries. The philanthropist John Money had also donated his collection of art and cultural pieces to the Gallery. It was fascinating. 

Crossing the road, we checked out the Hokonui Moonshine museum - a dark journey into Gore’s dark past. I had the fortune of knocking back various tasters of the moonshine - now legally produced by the museum. 

We had a quick grocery stop and then got moving on the beautiful Southern Scenic Highway to Tuatapere. This was a recommendation from Jane's aunt. 

We were unsure of the fuel situation, so stopped to fuel up in Lumsden. Continuing on our way to Mossburn for lunch, we were yet again surprised by our ability to find good gluten-free food in the middle of nowhere. We are continually shocked at how difficult some tourists are with wait staff in these places - the cafe worker was starting to look a bit frustrated with the group in front of us. 

Back in the car, we started playing our alphabet game, where I was able to pick the theme on this occasion. My selection was “Girl’s names with a nature theme”.  This started with some confusion, but everyone picked it up relatively quickly. We took the turn-off down Scenic Highway, which had no traffic, and as the name suggested, it was very pretty. The pastoral landscapes were beautiful, as was the sea of white manuka flowers blossoming in the trees. 

We stopped at the Cliffden suspension bridge to take photos, with some lovely anniversary shots taken, until the camera battery actually went flat.

The final stretch in Tuatapere was completed and we arrived at the backpacker camp before dinner and unpacked. 

As it was our anniversary, we treated ourselves to dinner at the local bar and restaurant. It was nice to have something to drink and to talk about our goals for 2025. There was a good selection of gluten-free meals: bangers and mash, pork ribs and mash, a chicken roll; and a great seafood chowder for me. Delicious!

Even though it was still light outside, it was quite late when we went to bed. Though we didn’t see the New Year in.

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