Ataahua, Canterbury, New Zealand, South Island, Travel, Travels in small-town New Zealand, Wild Horses

The Open Road

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Daily Photo – Heading Towards Ataahua

If you’re behind the wheel on a quiet back road, driving through rural New Zealand can be an incredibly atmospheric experience. Dark asphalt and crisp white lines stretch into the distance, while the steady rhythm of power poles and wire fences guides you through an empty landscape. As a storm rolls in, heavy shadows and dramatic tones spill across the horizon, while distant rows of trees and weathered farm gates frame a peaceful, solitary journey on the open road.

Depending on your route through the country, the character of the drive will vary. Here in Otago, highways often cut through vast, open basins where the road seems to chase the shifting light across the hills. On the West Coast, the tarmac winds tightly between the roaring Tasman Sea and dense, rain-soaked rainforest. In the central North Island, long straights slice through ancient volcanic plains beneath immense skies. In Central Otago, the road emerges from rugged river gorges onto wide, sweeping stretches, revealing a ribbon of highway that reaches towards a dark horizon, carving a bold path beneath a restless sky.

#dailyat6am, Akaroa, Canterbury, South Island, Wild Horses

Akaroa War Memorial

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Daily Photo – Akaroa War Memorial

When at last I arrived in Akaroa, I checked in at the Grand Central Hotel, where I was booked for several nights. I dropped my bags on the bed, had a quick rummage around the room, then headed straight back out onto the main street for a wander.

It was late afternoon, that in-between hour when the hospitality world quietly shifts from day to evening. Tables were being cleared, chairs nudged into place, menus swapped over, and family groups gathered on corners, pointing in various directions as they tried, with mixed success, to agree on dinner.

At the end of Rue Lavaud the shops gave way, replaced by a large garden reserve. At its centre stands the Akaroa war memorial, surrounded by benches and carefully tended gardens. Rising from the middle is an elaborate, free-standing cupola, complete with a granite spire and flying buttresses, proudly displaying the names of those remembered from war. As far as war memorials go, it’s a rather impressive one, the sort of structure that seems to have been designed with great confidence and then left to quietly get on with the job ever since.

#dailyat6am, Akaroa, Canterbury, New Zealand, South Island, Wild Horses

Akaroa Farmers Market

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Daily Photo – Zed’s Shed at the Akaroa Farmers Market

The first morning I was in Akaroa, the farmers’ market was on, so I took the opportunity to stop in for a slow wander around the various stalls. There’s something about a small-town market that feels instantly reassuring. The trestle tables, the hum of polite conversation, the scent of baking and coffee drifting through the cool coastal air. It’s less about what you buy and more about the ritual of being there.

While I was making my unhurried circuit, I stopped at a food truck called Zed’s Shed and ordered a bacon butty for brunch. It arrived wrapped in paper, warm in the hands, unapologetically simple yet delivered with flair. And I must say, it was very good. So good, in fact, that I briefly considered going back for a second. I stood there weighing up the decision with the seriousness of a man facing a life choice. In the end, however, my need for coffee proved greater than my appetite, so I set off in search of caffeine.

#dailyat6am, #fromtheroad, Canterbury, Leeston, Wild Horses

The Ellesmere Brass Band Hall

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Daily Photo – The Ellesmere Brass Band Hall

According to the internet, Leeston is a charming rural town in Canterbury, offering a quiet escape with quality schools, plenty of local dining and numerous fishing spots. It has an oversized longfin tuna sculpture and even a brass band that’s one of the oldest in the South Island. I know this because I looked it up.

What it doesn’t tell you is that some idiot, who has forgotten how to drive, will cut you off as they pull onto the high street, forcing you to stop suddenly at a pedestrian crossing while two gentlemen make their way across the road at the sort of pace that suggests this is the only thing they’ve got to do all day.

#dailyat6am, #fromtheroad, Canterbury, Wild Horses

Farm Field on the Outskirts of Tai Tapu

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Daily Photo – Farm Field on the Outskirts of Tai Tapu

In Tai Tapu I called into a place called The Store, as I needed to use a bathroom. All the promotional advertisements outside promised a wonderful dining, coffee and shopping experience, so I assumed a place such as this would have the bathroom facilities I desired. Suddenly feeling an immense pressure in my bladder, ready to explode like the Clyde Dam spillway, I casually walked inside and immediately scanned the room for a sign indicating a bathroom.

As I quickly surveyed the room, not instantly seeing anything that resembled a bathroom sign, I became aware that about two dozen people all seemed to be staring at me, while a guy on an electric piano played New York State of Mind by Billy Joel. Clearly, I had walked into an afternoon music session, and the guest performer had been placed right on the edge of the dining room, within two or three metres of the front door. This meant that anyone entering the establishment like myself at this very minute immediately found themselves sharing centre stage with the afternoon’s entertainment. Feeling startled, and aware that everyone was now looking at me and not the talented guy on the piano, I did my best to casually stroll to the far side of the room, all the while trying not to knock anything over, ignore the steadily building pressure in my bladder, and desperately locate something that might resemble a bathroom. By sheer luck, I made it to the service counter, where a kind lady gave me a sympathetic smile and pointed towards an alcove at the far end of the room beside a patio. Above it was the word “Bathroom”, the doorway partially blocked by a family who were happily seated, swaying with their eyes closed in an impressive display of rhythmic timing.

Faced with an obstacle course between myself and relief, I spent the next few nanoseconds apologising as people shuffled their chairs to make way. At last, just as Moses parted the Red Sea, all the chairs suddenly moved aside and I had an unobstructed avenue to the bathroom. I was inside within seconds, and a very nice bathroom it was too. I was impressed, to say the least.

I emerged with a spring in my step and quietly exited via a side door I had not noticed. It opened onto the patio and into the car park. Feeling relaxed and once again at ease with the world, I climbed into my car and noticed a chalkboard sign that, due to my impressive display of angle parking, I had missed on arrival. It read, “Concert in progress. Please enter via the patio.” I left Tai Tapu in a sheepish frame of mind.

Aotearoa, Canterbury, South Canterbury

South Canterbury Farm Shed

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South Canterbury Farm Shed

I have to admit that there’s one thing I love discovering beyond perfect barbecuing weather, it’s old or abandoned houses, sheds or buildings. Whenever I’m driving somewhere, invariably I’ll find myself pulling over on the side of the road, next to an empty field that contains some time of derelict structure. When I’m with my family, this is usually accompanied with an audible groan from the rest of the car as it often entails waiting while I stare in amazement at the crumbling remains of a factory or homestead out of the car window. 

However, on this occasion, being the only occupant in the car I could stop wherever I wanted. And, that’s exactly what I did.