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Saved: September 15th 2021
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I've spent a fantastic weekend with my friend Annabel and her fiancé here in Palmerston North. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by how much there was to do here!
Saturday morning Annabel had to leave early to get to the stadium for work. Her fiancé and I headed over just after 11am for the 12:00pm Air New Zealand Cup match between Taranaki and Manawatu. Annabel had managed to get us a few extra VIP passes, so we watched the game from the shelter of the VIP lounge over the stadium. It was the first live rugby game I've been to, and it was awesome (Manawatu should have won). In the evening, we went to a pub to watch the All Blacks test match against the Wallabies on the tele. It was a really good game, and the All Blacks won (as expected). This match secured them the Bledisloe Cup (between Aussie and NZ) and the Tri-Nations Cup (between NZ, Aussie and South Africa). Yay All Blacks!!! The 2011 World Cup in New Zealand can't come soon enough, but in the meantime there is the World Cup next year in France!
Sunday morning Annabel's fiancé cooked
Line out
Manawatu (in green) vs Taranaki (the other team) us a fantastic breakfast--corn fritters with bacon, eggs on toast... It was a great way to start a day of exploring the Manawatu area!
Our first stop was the start of the Manawatu Gorge Track, put in by DOC. (I should add that Annabel's fiancé, Arend, has been involved in developing this track from the start, and I did hear him call it 'his' track). We only went in a little bit, just far enough to get away from the road and into the bush. It was beautiful, and lush, and wet, and everything I remember and love about the New Zealand bush. Then we drove through the Manawatu Gorge (and back). It's a very cool spot--where a river separates two mountain ranges. Apparently it's one of only a few spots in the world where a river flows along a divide.
The next stop was up to the viewing area at one of the wind farms. It was a very windy day, which just made it that much more dramatic to be up on the hills, looking down at the Manawatu valley.
After our visit there, we went to the Herb Farm for delicious soup, and a
look around there. The Peace Woods were especially charming, with the resident gnomes peeking out from amidst the greenery.
Just as we were pulling out of the Herb Farm to head back to Palmerston North, we saw a paddock with the cutest wee little black lambs. So cute, in fact, that we pulled off the road to watch them frolicking for a bit!
The final stop of the day, before another fantastic meal prepared by Annabel's fiancé, was the museum and art gallery in Palmerston North. There were some interesting things there. And I learned that Manawatu roughly translates to "heart-stood-still," referring to the width of the Manawatu River.
When we got back to the house it smelled of lamb shanks and roast vegetables--a great way to end a day sightseeing in Manawatu!
(I've finally added photos to my first two New Zealand blogs for this trip,
The Ripple Effect of Security Delays and
Final day in the Captial Region)
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