An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
We partook of another leisurely morning around the breakfast table of Lesley and Alister before heading back to the cottage to pack up and depart.
We drove an hour or so to the little town of Geraldine, where we saw a sign for their museum of antique vehicles. Sounded like it was worth a look, so we found it, paid our $4 and walked around. A small but enjoyably eclectic collection of old vehicles - Fords, electric cars, roadsters, old motorcycles - and a whole large barn filled with a fascinating, colorful collection of tractors of all sizes, from over 100 years old to the ’60s. We then stopped for lunch at the Berry Barn Bakery where we sampled a variety of their little pies - chicken, veggie, beef and mushroom, bacon and egg - none of which tasted as good as they looked. Ditto for the variety of desserts we also tried. Alas, still nothing to compete with Simple Simon! We finished by perusing and tasting their many offerings of condiments of all flavors and combinations.
It was then back on the road for the remaining drive to the Christchurch airport. We drove mostly through fog and drizzle, though with some clear, and even sunny, patches now and then. The last 90 minutes or so were through the Canterbury Valley, and we were reminded of the gentle rolling countryside of England and Scotland, especially with all the sheep and the gray cloudy drizzle! We got to the airport (hard to believe it’s been over three weeks since we’ve been at one!) and regretfully handed over the keys to our Explorer. The Christchurch-Brisbane flight was uneventful, but since we were making an extremely tight connection, they moved us up to first class seats as we began the descent. There, we saw the most fiery, vibrant sunset with the deepest shades of reds and oranges; perhaps the view really is better from first class.
When we disembarked, we went on a mad dash to reclaim our luggage, pass through immigration and customs, check in for the next flight (where, for the first time anywhere in the world, they made us check one of our carry-on bags claiming it was too heavy; and this was a 1/3-full 737!), catch the bus to the domestic terminal and board the Brisbane-Cairns flight, all accompanied by a Qantas attendant.
We landed, and were met by Bob and his huge stretch limo for the 90 minute drive to our eco resort. We arrived somewhat delirious, as it was almost 1:00am NZ time, and met the nice and efficient manager, Steve. We were shown to our lodge, which, like all 15 others here, is set up on stilts nestled in the rainforest, with a screened-in porch right over a stream and near an ambient waterfall. It was astonishingly humid, but for the first time for us it was also somewhat cool, so that was a very welcome change. We had a little cheese and fruit platter and fell into our damp bed.