August
8th August
We decided to explore the inland scenic route from Darfield to Geraldine. Sometimes we do these trips without any real goal or activity in mind but just to scout future trips, get lost, and discover places that aren't in the guide books.
A frequent commenter on this blog (Hiro Protagonist) recommended traveling through Geraldine when we do our next trip to Mt Cook so we decided to have a look.
The inland scenic route is well worth a drive. We turned off the road to Arthur's Pass at Darfield and headed south. The southern alps were on our right for most of the trip providing a spectacular background to the Canterbury country side. We passed through Glentunnel; a lovely little town where I could envisage retiring; Windwhistle and crossed Raikia Gorge.
Eventually we stopped for coffee at a little place called Stavely. When I say town, there was a church, a coffee shop and a community hall. If you need to use a toilet the shop keeper will give you a key to the community hall :) Our curiosity was aroused with a sign pointing to Sharplin Falls and and ice rink. We decided to to take a little detour and investigate.
It took just five minutes, following signs, to find the ice rink.
About 3 minutes from the main road we came to a car park and a small suspension bridge which we had to walk across. On the other side we found a set of 3 ice rinks in the beautiful countryside.
Children were skating, playing hockey and pushing each other about on ski chairs on these simple frozen ponds.
A small hut had been set up with a log burning fire for parents (and frozen kids) to sit in. The whole scene was enchanting.
Here are some more pictures. Click on either of the rink pictures to see a larger version.
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The rink seems to be run by a local community organisation and it costs a few dollars to get in.
After we left the rink we drove down another little road and came to a trampers hut. This is the beginning of a 45 minute walk to Sharplin Falls. We didn't do the walk this time but when we do I'll put up a page here.
Eventually we got back on the road and continued on to the charming little town of Geraldine. Once we arrived spent the rest of the afternoon having coffee and browsing antiques before heading back to Christchurch.
--Brook
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