This page is host to our trips down to see the Hughes family (Cam, Pam, Tam, and Sam) in Central Otago.
Trip 1 (January 2-6)...........................................

Some roadside lupines, approaching Lake Pukaki and views of Mt. Cook. The roadsides are just carpeted in them, and had we come through a week or two earlier we would have seen them in full splendor!


My first good clear view of Mt. Cook! It's a rare day that the whole mountain is out of the clouds. A fairly overcast day, which is why Lake Pukaki isn't its usual bright blue. Which mountain is to the left?


These are the seconds...the cherries that get dumped, because they were picked without a stem (the consumer's idea of a cherry includes a stem), they have a split in them from rain, or other defect. Perfectly good cherries, better than you find in grocery stores in Christchurch...and they're just throwing them away! Makes those of us from the northern non-fruit growing areas of the world cry! Just FYI, one of these bins, full, would weigh 200 kilos. And that's just from one day's harvest at this particular orchard, a whole binful. Of throwaway ones.


These are some apricots on a tree in the part of the orchard close to the Hughes' house. Beautiful, eh? And the best part is, they taste as good as they look! Not ripe yet though, at least 2 more weeks until harvest from this picture.


This is the view of Mt. Cook we had on the way home, made us glad we'd taken a picture on the way south! Pukaki is looking a bit more like itself though!

Trip 2 (February 7-9)..........................................
My cool evening picture of Mt. Cook. FYI, the Maori name for Mt. Cook is Aoraki, meaning _________________________.


This picture is of part of one of the orchards that Cam manages, from atop a hill, looking towards_________________ from between Clyde and Alexandra. The stuff under the bird netting is cherries.


This is looking back over Clyde from the same vantage point, at the Clyde Dam and Lake Dunstan (created by damming the Clutha River). Clyde would be starting in the bottom right corner of the picture if the hill I'm standing on wasn't in the way!


Yours truly and the new kitten, Squeak...a stray that was on death's door who came looking for food. Wasn't sticking around much during the day, but would come back for food. Tried to sleep in our bed both nights. Right on top of my face, in fact. The bed was apparently not good enough!


Robbie taking a well-deserved nap. He's 9 weeks old in this picture, and just the cutest thing ever! Pam wanted to call him Bubbles (Bubbles and Squeak, clever!), but Cam and the girls wouldn't have it. When we were there, he and Squeak weren't coexisting peacefully just yet...and Fatso and Milo, the other two cats (pictures to come), didn't think much of him either. Fatso scratched him right on the nose, and Robbie figured out pretty quick who wears the pants. He did succeed in sleeping in our bed, because he didn't try to sleep on my bloody face!


This was taken on the way home, the chalk cliffs just south of Omarama. I just think they look super cool. Kinda hard to see in the picture, but there are formations carved out of the hillside, freestanding...in the picture they just blend in. You'll just have to come down and see for yourselves!


Here is the bounty we brought home this trip! I forget how much we estimated it at...60 lbs, at least! I made Al lay down next to it for perspective. Jam apricots up the front, then white flesh nectarines (best nectarines I've ever had, full-stop), then some peaches, and then eating apricots...Fruit coming out our ears! YUM! When we get moved into the new flat and unpacked, will put a picture up of all the jars of stuff we made with the fruit.

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