About 3km out of Geraldine Erin spotted a wild plum tree and we went crazy picking the grape-like plums from the trees; half going straight in our mouths. We arrived in the Geraldine backpackers where there were more plum trees; the manager complained they were like weeds. We dumped our things then got straight back on the bikes to explore town before the shops closed. We went to the Barkers factory outlet store with free tastings. I was in heaven. They had Barkers juices (ok); apricot spread (devine); all sorts of jams, sauces, chutneys (onion marmalade was particularly good). I bought 3 jars of 98% Apricot spread to take home (admittedly it will be well-travelled spread - it has to go about 180km on a bike then jump on a plane - but it is worth it)
The next day we checked out more of the Geraldine shops. One particularly memorable one was the wool and 1066 Mosaic shop. Out the back is a mosaic made of small pieces of metal (nearly 2 million pieces); done over 20 years by one guy. He was there in the shop and enthusiastically pointed out various bits of it. It looked disturbingly like the Bayeaux tapestry in France, and he said that it was a replica of it! (The Bayeaux tapestry is 100m long). I immediately asked to see the 'Chick on Stick' - my favourite part of the bayeaux tapestry. He was immediately able to find it for me. It was just my warped sense of humour that enjoyed the whole roast chicken skewered like an iceblock...
He then showed us his CD he has put out - he showed us his Perfect Square that took him 2 years to figure out (it's a cube of numbers that every line in any direction will add to 2052). What was really cool about the CD is he has scanned loads of books (mainly about medieval history) and they are really well done - high quality scanning and to turn the page you just click on the corner and it appears to turn like a book, even with sound effects. He also has loads of games on the CDs, including ones he made up himself. All in All quite eccentric! I bought the CDs...
The ride from Geraldine to Methven along "Scenic Highway 72" wasn't very scenic. I guess the low cloud hiding all the hills and mountains was to blame. We had a couple of nice stops at cafes. The highlight of the day was arriving in the backpackers (Alpenhorn Lodge) in Methven. It is gorgeous. Homely, spaceous; a real haven for tired tourists. (Not to mention free coffee, free internet and spa!)
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