Meat on a Stick

Spit Roast, Claremont Country Estate. May 2008. Ajr

You've gotta love those big country appetites!

Meat for kings.

Tender spit roasted prime Angus beef.

En Masse!

Photographed at yesterday's equestrian fund raiser.

At Claremont Country Estate.

www.claremont-estate.com

Opera at Claremont

Claremont Country estate. May 2008. Ajr

It was a perfect North Canterbury day to laze about under gigantic trees at Claremont Country Estate listening to Dame Malvina Major singing from some of her favourite operas. Factor in unbelievable quantities of tender barbecued meats, espresso, Waipara Valley wines, delectable sweet treats and a gigantic auction and you have the perfect fundraiser. All this in aid of local rider, Annabel Wigley, shortlisted for the New Zealand Olympic equestrian team. www.claremont-estate.com

Fabulous Fundraiser

Claremont Country Estate, Amberley, North Canterbury

When there’s a chance to visit a gorgeous old homestead I’m invariably there; and on May 31st I’ll be heading just north of Christchurch to visit the very lovely Claremont Country Estate again. That’s because they have a great day out planned – a fundraiser for local rider, Annabel Wigley, who has been short-listed for the New Zealand Equestrian team to ride at the Beijing Olympics. Claremont owners, Richard and Rosie Goord have rallied to the cause and they’ve invited one of New Zealand’s leading opera singers, Dame Malvina Major to head up a day of musical entertainment that also includes folk singer Phil Garland and a Christchurch jazz trio. All this in their lovely homestead gardens along with barbecues, wine sales, food stalls, coffee cart, pony rides and a mega-auction. The day kicks off at 11am at Claremont Country Estate, 828 Ram Paddock Road, Amberley and tickets cost $25 (or $30 at the gate on the day). Ring 03/314-7559 for ticket sale details. www.claremont-estate.com.

Dinosaur Days

Limestone outcrops and fossils, Claremont Country Estate.

If you stay at Claremont Country Estate in the heart of North Canterbury’s limestone country (see previous post below), you’re in for a big surprise – a free 4WD journey of discovery that will take your breath away. The riverbeds of Claremont Estate are riddled with secrets – hidden pre-historic treasures and more ancient fossils than you can poke a stick at. This is where you can stroke a 60 million-year-old fossilised dinosaur bone on a river bank! There have been amazing discoveries here. In 1872 Alexander McKay discovered the fossilised remains of a Plesiosaur (now in Canterbury Museum); and in 2004, a one-metre Mosasaur skull was discovered. Over the years, more than 134 vertebrate remains have been removed from the property for study. I was most intrigued by the huge spherical boulders – ‘God’s Marbles’ – that are found along the banks of the Waipara River. These 65 million-year-old limestone spheres, 1-2 metres in diameter, have evolved around fragments of dinosaur bones and over a period of about 4 million years, have grown like pearls to the size they are today. Over 230 of them have been removed from Claremont and shipped to museums around the world. This tour was one of the most exciting things I’ve done – totally breathtaking and all very “Jurassic Park.” I half expected to walk around a limestone outcrop and come face to face with Sam Neill and a flock of Pterodactyls. With my imagination already in overdrive, perhaps it’s lucky I didn’t. www.claremont-estate.com

North Canterbury Comforts

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day at Claremont Country Estate, in Waipara Gorge, one hour north of Christchurch. There, amid spectacular scenery, Richard and Rosie Goord have created a gorgeous intimate lodge in one of Canterbury’s notable country homesteads. Claremont, built in 1866 from hand cut limestone blocks quarried on the property, is listed with NZ Historic Places Trust (Cat.2). The Goords enlisted Christchurch architect, Stewart Ross to renovate and extend the property and today guests can sink into its sublime comforts, safe in the knowledge that their every whim will be catered to. Not surprisingly, highly regarded American hospitality critic, Andrew Harper named it his Grand Award Winner for New Zealand, 2008. With its wide, wisteria-clad verandahs, its big rooms and the hospitality of its hosts, it has a wonderful ‘homely’ feel to it – relaxed, friendly, easy; but best of all, the total silence (but for the bids) and the tranquillity. Life in the country - that’s the thing! I was very taken by the fact that, while I was there a blue heron landed on the chimney. Surely that must be a sign of good luck? http://www.claremont-estate.com/

Mushroom Soup Anyone?

Left: Ajr drawings from "Nature Diary" 1984; Right: Richard Goord of Claremont Country Estate with giant fungi.

Things grow BIG in North Canterbury! Claremont Estate’s Richard Goord found this monster ‘mushroom’ as we travelled around Claremont's 2,400 high country acres in his 4WD vehicle. Back in 1984 I created a daily Nature Diary and many of my entries related to fungi; I studied and drew them endlessly and became quite familiar with many species. However, the mists of time have eroded my knowledge reserves and I am unable to categorically name this fellow. But it’s definitely not a common edible field mushroom (Agaricus campestris) – this I know because it had white gills and an unpleasant smell. Suffice to say I wasn’t prepared to risk eating it!