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Clinton
Bet Bill doesn't know about this place! A bit late in posting this but......onwards from lovely Dunedin heading south towards Invercargill on Route 1. We won't be going down to Invercargill as we are pushing time and need to 'catch up' a few days, besides, we have read up on the southern tip and at this time of the year decided to give it a miss...maybe some other time!
Taking our time driving south from Dunedin we stopped for a cuppa and snack in the van at the top of a scenic hilly road and watched some cattle being herded across the busy Route 1 as the farmer decided to 'close' the highway much to the frustration of drivers in a hurry. We were not. We are to see more of this as we progress throughout the south, particularly with sheep!
On down to the little town of Balclutha where we cross the big Clutha River and huge long bridge. These wide rivers in the South Is never cease to amaze us. They are wide expanses of rock and pebble water courses with sometimes only a narrow 'trickle' of water rushing thru, sometiomes clear and blue at quite a rate and turbulent. Very long bridges are
Clinton
Horse play needed to span these rivers and one can imagine that when the snow from winter thaws in the Alps these water ways will be a torrent. A lot of the bridges are very narrow and a seem quite old but carry a huge amount of heavy traffic. Some are even "one way" requiring the NZ protocol of waiting at the signposted end for your turn! Some locals don't bother!!
We stopped at Balclutha briefly for a coffee and saw an Op Shop where we ducked in a made a huge purchase of a wine glass for $1. We had broken one of our only 2 the day before and considered it an essential item....
By this time we started doing our navigational sums on how much driving lay ahead in order to reach our next destination, Te Anau. It wasn't going to happen, too far and we don't like getting into holiday parks late in the day. So decided on settling for the little town of Gore for the evening.
Having now decided that, we took the foot off the pedal and relaxed, stopping more regularly and after passing thru lots of little agricultural towns such as
Clinton
more horseplay Waiwera, Clinton and Waipahi we arrived at the Brown Trout "capital" of the south, Gore.
Gore is a great little town and of course at the town's entrance is the "Big Trout" (we love Big Things) and fly fishermen come from all over to fish here and tackle shops abound in Gore. Also, Gore is New Zealands "home of country music" and each year hosts the NZ Golden Guitar Awards and sisters with Tamworth in Australia. Every February it has it's Outdoor Country Music Festival"
We liked Gore and as it doesn't feature high on the "tourist" trail we felt all the more happier that we had 'discovered ' it. We checked into a very basic nice little campervan park which had good amenities ( the camp kitchen would have been an Aladins Cave for 50's & 60's collectors) run by a lovely lady called Molly who made us feel very welcome and was super helpful. Real country hospitality.
Molly told us to make sure that we ate dinner over at the Town & Country across the road for a great meal. She wasn't kidding! The Town & Country is a big local 'workers' club similar to
Clinton
sign says it all! a RSL or sporting club and has pokies and a big dining room. The food was outstanding as was the value. The best part was that we just had to walk back across the road to crash in our van.
Another "find" in Gore was the local Moonshine Museum. Earlier in the afternoon while stocking up at the big supermart we saw across the main street the Hokonui Moonshine Museum next to the local "I" info centre. Naturally curious we went in and WOW! what a great little piece of local history. As early as 1836 a Scottish McRae Clan settled here and began illicit whisky distilling in the 'hills' nearby. The stories of their escapades and encounters with the law and the local very strict prohibition laws are vividly portrayed in this fantastic and extremely well done museum. At the end of the "tour" you are of course, invited to sample some moonshine which is still produced to this day and naturally, bottles are on sale with their distinctive "skull & crossbones" label. I HAD TO HAVE ONE.
And so we had a terrific little stay here in Gore and slept well in Crowded House, helped of
Gore
Town gardens course with a 'wee dram' of Old Hokonui.
See you on the next leg to Te Anau.
A&M
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