End of the road

It was great to wake up to unexpected sunshine this morning, just what you need on a long weekend. The southerly that had blown through last night had given Mt Herbert behind us a faint dusting of snow on its summit.
After a brief trip into Tai Tapu for parts for the ride-on mower, I decided to swing by McQueens Valley to see what was blip-able in the land over the hill from me.
Despite its geographic proximity, the valley is quite different from ours; McQueens is a much flatter and broader valley and at no point in its length do you get the feeling of being completely surrounded by tall hills. Its northern slopes seem to be dominated by gorse too, rather than the stands kanuka and other pockets of bush that grace the hills around us.
One thing both locations share though is a long history of settlement. Indeed midway along McQueens stands a cairn commemorating the valley's first settlers - Archibald and Catherine McQueen, orginally from the scottish highlands - and the story behind their homestead, Lake Ellesmere Station.
At the end of the road, I came across another friendly stallion and an eclectic collection of letterboxes. Like most places on the peninsula, it felt miles from anywhere.
Here's hoping tomorrow shapes up as nice as today. I feel a trip to the harbour coming on...