Autumn Festival Parade

Festival Parades are an odd business. Throngs of people line the streets to watch cars drive slowly by and various people waving from the backs of small lorries (called 'floats'). Odd. Oh well, the streets of Arrowtown are pretty at the moment, and this is what folks do round these parts to kick off their festival.

'Noah' on this ark is a local primary school teacher whom I know from shows. As he cruised past in his 'ark' I asked him for his best Noah wave. He smiled beatifically and said, 'Ha, ha, you're all going to drown'. Now, that's not very Christian, is it?





Some of the Arrowtown Entertainers



And some more

This bloke on stilts with a gun was chasing a woman dressed as a bunny rabbit - also on stilts. You might have thought this might upset the children, but no, they were all highly amused, having been brought up by their farmer parents as vermin-haters. They breed them tough in Central...

There is something strangely appealing about a person dressed up in an animal costume, and I still haven't quite worked out what it is, but they always seem to want to dispense hugs.



These are the mini belles - trainee can-can girls, not small French cheeses



And this is the adult version

The Scout group claim that they have a lot of fun, and I must admit that abseiling, hanging from a flying fox and toasting marshmallows over the campfire does look fun. When I was in Brownies all we got to do was polish our shoes, knit blankets, and dance around a plastic toadstool.



These people are far too young to have beards

Next was the Art To Wear promotion, which is a rip-off of the World of Wearable Art spectacle. The lady at the front  is modelling 'Cage Free', the winner of last year's organic category and the people's choice award. Unsprisingly, her appearance attracted a lot of attention, and this was a popular float.



Would you like a sweetie little girl?



Thankfully the streets were not alive... I think I am the only person in the Wakatipu Basin who dislikes this musical, although Fee and Dave are both lovely

The 'what breed am I?' part of the parade is always popular as the good folk at Remarkable Vets encourage their clients to lead their dogs through Arrowtown. I didn't have the heart to tell the girl at the front that donkeys don't count as canines.

Tekapo Anniversary

For our 10-year wedding anniversary, we went back to the place where we got engaged: Tekapo. There is still something stunningly picturesque about the ridges of mountains and the achingly clear waters. Him Outdoors had called in a favour and we stayed in the Peppers Blue Water Resort at Lake Tekapo.

A delightful touch was the fresh-baked loaf awaiting us with cheese and chocolate, and the Nespresso machine complete with instructions and little sachets of coffee.

We headed out on an Earth and Sky star-gazing tour which took us up to the observatory on Mt John. We looked through telescopes at cellestial clusters and drank mugs of hot chocolate while peering at Saturn's rings. I saw many shooting stars and the pillars of light, which are part of the Aurora Australis and blew my mind contemplating the number of stars and the distances between them in various nebulae and constellations.

We came home to our cosy accommodation for a rest in the enormous bed - it's a double king or some such; I reckon even Chester would have a hard time trying to push us both out of that!

The next morning we were off for a walk up Mt John - the views as spectacular as always. This time we sat at the cafe at the top for a ginger beer and some quiet contemplation.

After our walk we went ice-skating at Tekapo Springs and then soaked in the hot pools. These are shaped like the lakes in the region: Tekapo; Ohau; and Pukaki and the temperatures range from 36 to 40 degrees.

Back at our room we had a bottle of Veuve Cliquot we had been saving for a special occasion (and this was pretty special!) and then went to dinner at the restaurant where I had high country salmon while Him Outdoors tucked into venison. Delicious!

The next day we went walking along the Lake Tekapo Peninsula Walk which provides more glorious views and turquoise-coloured lakes.

A short side trip brought us to Lake Alexandrina. This is a jewel of a lake; fringed with modest baches it looks like the perfect spot for kayaking, fishing or simply admiring the reflections of the mountains.

Tobin's Track

Walking around the river and in the hills at this time of year is just beautiful - the willows and the poplars make fabulous patterns of dancing light and colour. With the sun beaming down over the golf courses and the village, Arrowtown from the top of Tobin's track looks like a toy town. Stunning.

Cocktails and Beer Tasting

Before moving house and country, we need to rid ourselves of some extraneous clutter, such as all these spirits we seem to have accumulated. So, what better way to do so than to invite our friends round to try out some experimental cocktails?

An anabolic steroid



The evil cocktail genius



The Fudge Princess with something green



Mr Faulkner 'enjoys' his tequila sunrise



Bad Fairy does sophistication

Him Outdoors has also been trying his hand at homebrew. He has made a rather palatable porter, so he suggested a blind tasting of his beer against four others. Not afraid of top-class competition, he pitted himself against Three Boys, Emerson's, Harrington's and Renaissance. As you can see, it was serious business.

Some interesting conclusions were that the girls liked Spaz's beer more than the boys did. Some of the lads suggested it was not as complex as the others, whereas my female friends appreciated the fact that it 'tasted the same all the way through'. A pro for the women was that it had a soft mouthfeel and no bitter aftertaste, while a con for the men was that it lacked hop flavour and lingering finish.

Next time you come to visit us try it and see for  yourself whether it really is an old wives' ale.