Daily Photo – The Royal Hotel in Temuka
So on to Temuka, whose most famous resident was Richard William Pearse. Born in 1877 at Waitohi Flat, just eight minutes from the South Canterbury township, what makes him so remarkable is that nine months before Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved the world’s first sustained and controlled flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, Pearse made his own attempt, albeit with a little less style and grace. Where the Wright brothers stayed airborne for a controlled 12 seconds, Pearse’s effort amounted to three seconds of uncontrolled jerking and bumping before crashing into a hedge. Nevertheless, it was an extraordinary achievement for a man working in near isolation, removed from society, tinkering away in a farm shed with little more than bamboo, tricycle wheels, wire, canvas, and a hand designed and built two cylinder combustion engine.
Railway track near State Highway 1
So, usually I’m pretty good at remembering where and when I was when I took a photo. It’s not often I can’t pinpoint an exact location, however this is one of those times. What I can tell you is that I was driving to Christchurch and somewhere beyond Timaru I stopped to stretch my legs. Spotting a walking track, I followed it and found myself under a bridge, with both railway tracks and a river next to me. It was fairly obvious from the surroundings that the river had recently flooded. This of course meant that I had to spend a lot of time avoiding puddles, something I wasn’t too successful at.
Racecourse Road – Buy
Heading south from Christchurch, it was around Ashburton that I became curious what might be down some of the side roads that detour off State Highway 1. After crossing the Ashburton River, I then passed through the towns of Winslow, Hinds, Ealing and Rangitata before succumbing to temptation and near the town of Orari turned down Racecourse Road. From there, I discovered some Railway Tracks, a Trotting Club, a Golf Club and eventually the town of Geraldine which is referred to as one of New Zealand’s most underrated stopover destinations. It is also one of the few locations where you can see the native long-tail bat.
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.
Farm Field In South Canterbury – Buy
Here’s an image from South Canterbury that I couldn’t ignore and that I thought you might enjoy.
… from a Small City. My daily musings from Ōtepoti to get you inspired. Read the blog, view the photos, embrace the creativity.
