OK, how do we bring all this together? We didn’t have any internets yesterday so are going to have to combine a few days into one.
We started with an all day knife making class which was unique and amazing, but I’ll leave that to the end.
In the mean time-after the knife making we made our way to a fantastic eco-lodge named Beaconstone in Charleston on the west coast of NZ. Long story on how we (Ann) found it, but it turned out fantastic. For “hostel prices” we had a spectacular private cabin overlooking a river valley near the coast. The best part about the place was the other people who were there. Swiss, German, Scots and a Brit woman who was biking around the South Island on her own. We all hung out in the common room and talked into the night. Really fun and the big advantage of the “hostel circuit” over a simple motel (besides the price-which is about half or less).
Arrival at the eco-lodge, complete with rainbow.
Charisma time at the Beaconstone
Along with some blustery, rainy weather, we left Beaconstone and heading over the alpine pass toward the interior-getting away from the coast for the first time of this trip.
Between squalls leaving the coast...
A stormy night made from some dramatic surf action...
This one's for you Cliff McAuliffe. Kiwis have great road signs including this one to mark a railroad track hazard for bikes.
For Kelly Johnson-we just caught this one for Kelly's Creek while trying to capture the "one way" sign they use on narrow bridges.
We followed the rain (or did it follow us) over Arthur’s Pass, an alpine pass on the way from Greymouth to Christchurch. We’re staying the night at the summit of the pass, once again in a hostel. This time we’re in a small three bedroom house with two other couples-Kiwis and Germans. And again, they are about our age and we’ve spent the evening having a delightful talk about…everything…all in front of the wood burning stove that is cranking out the BTU’s and drying out everything from socks to shirts to underwear from our respective hikes in the rainy, windy mountains today. But despite the rain and wind, the hikes have bee spectacular! What beauty!
The alpine parrot called Kea. This guy can be vicious but is also a bit of a pest and was almost wiped out by sheep farmers because they kill sheep!
The beginning of our very lovely hike in the rain.
Such pretty country...
Just above us was the glacier...but hard to see in the clouds.
We planned to have some rain, so brought the right gear so we could enjoy the day instead of worry about the cold/rain.
So…about that knife making. I happened to see a brochure about a place on our route where you could learn to make a knife. Anyone who knows me, knows that’s all I needed to hear. We were booked. It turned out to be really fun! An all day course, you start with a piece of carbon steel 2 inches wide and 15 inches long and after heating it in a forge, banging the red hot metal on an anvil, grinding it, drilling it, adding brass and wood for the handle and then a lot of finishing, voila-you have a very good looking (and sharp) custom made knife. And as we’ve found with most other things we’ve done, the most fun was the people who taught the class and they others in it. Fantastic!
You start by heating up your piece of steel in the forge.
Then you beat the crap out of it on the anvil. It kinda starts looking like...a lump of metal after this-but it gets better.
Ann with our very patient instructor and master knife maker at about the halfway point.
...Progress...
The final product. I can report they are very sharp and people who have seen them are very impressed!
Our multi-national group of custom made knife owning maniacs. It's a bit amazing no one got hurt!
How big is that bird?!? It kills sheep?!?