Bright Wings

Exploring Pongaroa

A beautiful, sunny Wairarapa Sunday was perfect for an outing to Pongaroa, via the scenic route, Highway 52.

This highway winds through Mauriceville, Alfredton and Tiraumea and passes through ever-changing scenery of native bush, hills, forestry and beautiful valleys.

100 kilometres or so later we arrived in Pongaroa. As the sign says - the way to go.

Pongaroa has a thriving arts community and includes some lovely examples of street art.  This colourful mural was painted on a corrugated iron fence. One of the locals told us Pongaroa had recently held an arts exhibition.

The old Post Office, long-since closed, has beautiful lines, if a little tired-looking.

The lovely church of St John the Baptist, tucked away in a side street.

The Akitio County War Memorial Hall reflects an earlier age of local government. Now Pongaroa is part of the Tararua District Council.

After enjoying an ice cream from the Pongaroa Store and Cafe we headed west along the Pongaroa to Pahiatua highway.  The road winds through hilly country, and included a pleasant, shady drive through the beautiful Makuri Scenic Reserve.  It finally joins State Highway 2 north of Pahiatua.

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Pongaroa: the way to go is the Pongaroa community website.  Well worth a look.

The Tararua District Library blog has links to a wide variety of useful links for visitors planning a trip to the area.

Worthwhile reading

Chris Trotter on the narrowness of thinking of commercial boardrooms and national education standards.

Mac Doctor on Bible graffiti as art and myths about religion.

Those of us horrified at the cost of the anti-smacking referendum may wish to note that smacking is trending downwards according to a Stuff report.

The hotel industry is struggling with low occupancy rates. The Herald reports there are bargains to be had around the country.

Perils of being a Wairarapa Commuter

I watched with increasing concern initial reports on Twitter - later confirmed by other media - that the 5.33pm Wairarapa train last night had derailed just out of the Maymorn tunnel.

Stuff reported

Train driver Adam Ford, still inside his mud-covered engine, told The Dominion Post at the scene last night: "I came into the tunnel and I could not see out the other end. It was a sea of mud. The portal was completely blocked. We slammed into it and slid off the tracks."

Six other carriages on the 5.33pm service between Wellington and Wairarapa stayed on the tracks but were stranded in the tunnel.

Passengers were stuck inside for more than two hours before being moved to the rear three carriages, which were pulled to Upper Hutt station by a second locomotive.

I'm not a Wairarapa train commuter at the moment but I have plenty of experience of reaching home at 9.30 pm or later because of incidents - some weather related, most mechnical - affecting the Wairarapa train.

I recall a perilous trip in a small minibus over the Rimutaka Hill in similar conditions to last night after a slip blocked the line at Maymorn. After waiting for a couple of hours at Upper Hutt station while arrangements were made, we were treated to a rather frightening ride - a howling gale, torrential rain and slips everywhere.

Wairarapa commuters are a phlegmatic lot. There's no point in getting wound up because you're missing a family birthday/meeting, etc. They just accept the train's stuck and that's that.

I was woken this morning at 5.06 am by a text from KiwiRail to say that there would be no trains, nor substitute buses.  For once KiwiRail was being proactive and sent out a text in time to allow commuters to make arrangements to travel by car.

Some Martinborough commuters have attempted to travel by car but have been caught by floodwaters from the Ruamahunga River.

For most of the time the train service is reasonably reliable, but there are times - such as today - when it is wiser to work from home or take the day off.

Saleyard tourism

Feilding's Promotions Inc manager Helen Worboys has come up with a novel idea for increasing tourism - guided tours of the Feilding Saleyards.

For $5 you get a talk, illustrated by a sheep on its back, observing salient sheep features, meat texture, sale yard trucking, bidding, pregnancy scanning and the place of wool in the modern world.  A visit to the high-tech computerised cattle rostrum is followed by a cuppa and pie in the Saleyard Cafe.

This has been a huge success for Feilding and should be investigated for the Masterton Saleyards. 

Those of us who know the difference between a Romney and a Perendale need to remember most New Zealanders these days have no association with the country.

They have difficulty understanding the relationship between the meat in the supermarket and the fluffy little lambs they see from the car. Here's an opportunity to improve knowledge and a drawcard to persuade tourists to visit the Wairarapa.

Today's Dompost Indulgence paper has a feature on the Feilding saleyard tour. Sorry, it doesn't appear to be available on the Stuff website.

Award for Tora Coastal Walk

Rural Women New Zealand have named Jenny Bargh, Kiri Elworthy and Kath Elworthy, who run Tora Coastal Walk, as one of three initial winners of the RWNZ Enterprising Rural Women Award.

The Tora Coastal Walk partners also received $1500 in prize money and the opportunity to attend a BNZ Women in Agribusiness course.

In congratulating Jenny Bargh and Kiri and Kath Elworthy, Rural Women National President Margaret Chapman said the passion shown by the women for their business, their economic success and their inputs into the rural community were deciding factors in their win.  

“The business has been running for 14 years, but the women’s enthusiasm is still strong.  They live in a very special part of the country and love to share it with others.  They make a special effort to bridge the urban-rural divide, talking to their guests about what’s happening on the farm and making it a total rural experience,” says Ms Chapman.  “Attention to detail and personal touches are an important part of the Tora Coastal Walk and its success.”

Great for the Tora Tour trio and great for Wairarapa tourism.