Not-so-sunny St. Arnaud

 We ventured a little further inland to the Nelson Lakes region which has a couple of fresh water sub-alpine lakes and a couple of local ski fields.  A simple day trip to test out the van, really.  (Notice how much taller Dave is than me when we are sitting down? Weird, eh?)  Oh, right and in case you hadn't noticed the right side drive, Jackson snapped this photo so I could point it out to you.  There are signs all over NZ that say "KEEP LEFT".  It's really funny, but they get SO many tourists here!   

As you see, the weather was chilly and overcast, but we managed a 2 hour hike through a lovely beech forest.  

The boys were fascinated with the "honeydew" that collects on the outside of the beech trees.  They are all blackened by a sooty beech mold (fungus) and tiny scale insects burrow inside.  They have a very long tube like appendage that protrudes from their rear and looks like a white hair sticking out of the tree.  WELL, these scale insects eat the tree's sap and produce a sweet tasting "nectar" that birds and (unfortunately) wasps love.   Apparently it's safe to eat - so we did!  The boys LOVED it and ran through the bush catching droplets of honeydew on their fingers and licking it off. 
 

 Walking around the lake we found a great dock near a popular summer campsite (not opened yet, so deserted at the moment).

 You might be curious to know what the boys are looking at . . .

 

Long finned eels are native to these lakes - who knew?  Even though they are at the top of the food chain in the lakes, they still prefer to hide under the docks and amuse visitors.  They grow up to 5ft long and 50 lbs...anyone for a swim???   

 

We drove up near the summit of Mount Robert to look down on the peninsula we'd walked around and as you can see I'm "homeschooling" Jack with a good explanation and all of the necessary details, reading the history panels etc  - while Xavier is under Daddy's supervision . . . .

OK, people, get it together for a group shot.

As part of our commitment to both the scenic route and Dave's love of driving on gravel roads, some of our "off the beaten path" adventures find us in places like this:

with a cool swing bridge in a farmer's field near the start of a reserve trail

overlooking a pleasant stream

 we were after 4:30pm though, so we let Jackson pinch the cow and we headed home

walking through the sheep paddocks

and opening and closing the farm gate manually.  Not that you can see, but this gate didn't even have a hinge, it was chicken-wired to a metal stake.  And the passenger has to get out of the vehicle and lift it! 

Oh, the places we'll go this year (hopefully back to the beach sooner, rather than later!) . . .