Greytown- Taking The Scenic Route In Autumn

The thing about planning an adventure is that you never really know how it'll all work out: what you'll encounter, whom you'll meet and what astonishing things you'll come across along the way. And you're definitely not in charge of the weather- ever!

In April we made the tricky decision not to head north as we had planned- during the cyclone the Napier Taupo road took a hammering and was closed for some months and still sounding pretty dodgy as we reset our plans. The Old School House near Te Awamutu will have to wait for another day. 

When you're not travelling far it's not difficult to take back roads and drive sedately and even stop often without tiring yourself out or taking all day to get there. 

There's a certain kind of excitement when you spot forageable or interesting stuff on the roadside.

Our timing was perfect for harvesting the sweet chestnuts that we found nestling in the grass

Fascinating things prickly all over like wee hedgehogs.

Not much further up the way we came across a grove of walnut trees with a good number of them overhanging the road.

April is a brilliant foraging month to travel.

When you're travelling back roads at a sedate pace it's not really inconvenient to stop abruptly when you spy interesting stuff. Like this cute little railway "station" at Matamau. 

Apparently the Ormondville train enthusiasts and volunteers are on to the restoration process, but I don't think anyone's been here for quite some time.

Perfect place to find a wild rose and her lovely hips.

There are some interesting rail bridges out this way.

So sad to see that this place didn't make it through the cyclone.

Funny old rest stop on the way. We decided to stay in the car to drink out tea.

Lichen is pretty amazing stuff.

Next stop was Eketahuna. Some very cool building art here.

Kiwi and some history on the wall.

Useful.

Interesting paradox- the sex shop and the RSA display side by side.

And then here we were in Greytown- staying above 

the Main Street Deli Cafe.

And then right upstairs here we are...

and then more stairs. Original stairs in fact, from around the 1880s.

It always helps to bring our own extras to these places- a few flowers and pretty tablecloths can make a world of difference.

I think that Apartment 88 must have been pretty styley when it was first renovated but it has become a wee bit tired at this point, though we still had a lovely stay.

Pretty florals out the bedroom window.

And best of all a Linden tree!

Another sitting room upstairs

Right there above the centre of town.

There are a number of beautiful old Lindens and Oaks scattered down the main street.

And quaint old buildings.

A very short walk up the road and round the corner and the town quickly meets country. There's a nice little camping ground at the back of the memorial park.

And a magnificent parade of memorial Linden trees alongside the playing field.

Seems there's an Elmwood wherever you go!

And some truly beautiful homes and gardens,

Mole street- that's the one we're after. Just down here there's an apple orchard.

Here they come. He's (her dad) getting a bollocking for "walking as slow as a snail! "

Interesting that the blackberry is quite different to what we have here in Hawke's Bay, even the fruit- not as tasty as ours.

Such quaint old buildings right in the middle of town.

Clever art work- Ti Kouka /Cabbage tree

And then I found myself drawn up this skinny little pathway by the Mad Hatter, only to find a little bit of urban garden magic!  

Craig Thorton's Grand Illusions.

And down here I found Craig sorting dahlia seeds with a paintbrush.

What a delightful experience. I was even given a walnut key, which has been most useful.

The timing of our stay was just perfect as the little orchard just down the road was open for us to pick our own apples.

From March to May Molewood orchard is open for people to come and experience the joy of picking tree ripened fruit.

Of course you have to be in Greytown for that to work well. 

We were only away for two nights, but my word it's amazing what you can experience in that time. We had a plan to find a quirky Greek Orthodox church back Masterton way, but on the journey there we found other interesting things like this old brick building...

with a bit of history, in Carterton.

It's not often that you come across truly sadly abandoned buildings in the middle of a town in New Zealand, but St Mary's in Carterton just so oozes pathos we had to stop and explore.  

As we were squeezing through the fence, we noticed two older ladies wandering around the grounds so we approached them to chat. It seems that the new owners of the land, and therefore the church, have not bothered to secure the premises so there has been persistent pesky bouts of vandalism. Being home turf to these two caring souls they were feeling pretty perturbed and doing what they could to keep an eye on things. 

They were glad of our interest.

Just before the vandalism began.

Still some lovely stained glass windows remain.

Of course, there are many strands to the dis-ease and dis-quiet that pervades this property: church history and Catholic goings on have a lot to answer for in many people's lives. The aura of disrespect and neglect is so strong you could even smell it, no wonder that the ratbags have been drawn in to a conspiracy of destructive behaviour. It will be interesting to know what becomes of the property in the end.

The lichen tells this story too. It's been growing a long time on this nob.

Our eventual destination was, well just here!

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration is an architectural curiosity in the Wairarapa landscape. This little church has been sitting plonked in a paddock in the middle of the farming community, for forty years. It arose from the vision of two men – one a Greek immigrant, George Pantelis, and the other a young (18 year old) art student, Stephen Allwood.

George came to New Zealand in the 70s and settled in Masterton. He ran a restaurant which catered for people with a penchant for large steaks and very late nights. George was large and extremely strong, with a personality to match, well able to deal with any stroppy diners. He wanted to build a church in the Wairarapa to leave a legacy, and because he was extremely devout." George has since died and everything seems to be in limbo as there are no longer any Greek families living in Masterton. But here is George's church still plonked in the middle of a paddock. So intriguing!!

I have borrowed photos of the interior as it is truly marvellous.

It's a funny old story and not nearly as reverent as it you might expect.

There's a great little write up about it just here.

This bit is quite fascinating:" In 1979 George commissioned Stephen Allwood, a second-year student at Ilam Art School in Christchurch, to fill the church with icons. Stephen arranged to take a year off and started painting in January 1980 with the intention of completing it before going back to art school in 1981. He’d worked out that he would need to paint one icon a week in order to complete the task on time. Each week George would translate the relevant chapter from the Kontoglou books, and Stephen would get to work." So basically a kid (young man) did all this painting!! And just a Kiwi boy at that- no one from the Continent, or some highly acclaimed artist- just Stephen Allwood a second year art student.

Ocacsionally there are events and tours held here, but not terribly often and George himself is now long gone.

Heading back in to Masterton we spotted a delightful wall mural.

And then there was a visit to Bear Flag Books and Retro. A teeny shop crammed to the gunnells with a vast array of odd, astonishing, quirky and delightful "things". You can catch up with the location and a few postings just here.

Nowhere else would you come across a darning mushroom torch from the 1940s?!!

I was permitted one free photo since I'd made a purchase. Mark has a great sense of humour.

The purchase being this incredible Ranzware enamel, cast iron fry pan made by Radiation New Zealand and an absolute treasure. It'll last us the rest of our lives!

We parked just here so that Rob could zip across to the Victorian urinal in the Memorial park and I got to sit and admire this clever installation outside the Sheep & Shearing Museum. 

Not something you see everyday 😁

Our plan was then to take a back road on our return to Greytown- out through Gladstone, as it was a route we've never been before. 

Along the way we found a few surprises.

So much of New Zealand is similar and familiar especially in rural areas, but the enchantment of that patina of aged wood and woolsheds never grows tired.

Very cool Oak tunnell.

And then we came across another church. One that's had a bit of a rough life but is still happily functional in the middle of this rural community.

A pioneer cottage, I would think. Imagine living in that with a growing family and no electricity or running water.

I'm so glad that rural people often just leave things be. We could do with more of that in our urban settings back home.

Last time we were in Greytown we discovered Cuckoo- it's vintagey, quirky & fits us perfectly. We had the best, local, small batch real cider here.

Flowers always make things special.

Of course we love the colours too.

The food is simple & delicious. We loved the heartfelt chat with Ian on our way out. 

He's making Kombucha too & gave us a bottle of his passionfruit & peach brew to take home.

On our journey home we stopped in at the renowned Clareville Bakery just out of Carterton.

 Eketahuna was our next stop for a cheese scone & a cuppa. I wandered back up the road to view the poignant ANZAC commemorative display on the corner here outside the War Memorial building.

I'm so glad I took the time.

It's amazing what you can experience in just a few days without getting on a plane or spending a lot of money. We love our small holidays. Sweet memories so deeply imbedded now in who we have become.