Daily Photo – The Iconic Yellow Barn

I came to a place called Willowbank, where I had the option to turn off State Highway 1 and head inland some six kilometres to Waimate. I was encouraged to do so by a large yellow barn by the side of the road which told me to “hop in for a visit,” accompanied by the silhouette of a wallaby. The irony here, of course, is that wallabies are considered an invasive pest. Millions are spent trying to control their numbers while they happily nibble their way through fence lines and pasture in the surrounding countryside. We have a man named Michael Studholme to thank for introducing them to New Zealand; a local runholder during the 1870s, he decided it would be a good idea to release them on his property as a novelty – a decision everyone has regretted ever since.

Yet, here they are, frozen mid-hop on a farm shed, inviting you in. It’s a very New Zealand contradiction: apologising for something while simultaneously putting it on the welcome sign. It’s a wee bit like Rotorua saying, “Welcome to the Sulphur City!” – we know it smells like rotten eggs, but please, come stay in our luxury hotels – or painting an aeroplane black to advertise the national rugby team, then flying it at night!

Anyway, I thought about heading into Waimate for a poke around to see if I could spot a wallaby, but the thought quickly passed, and I headed for the Waitaki River and Otago instead.