Post by nikkortorokkor on Aug 5, 2007 2:22:13 GMT -5
Today we took a family walk over to Taylors Mistake (it is common practice to drop the possessive apostrophe from place names in NZ - annoys the heck out of me, but there we are) - a small bay that a certain Captain Taylor mistook for Lyttelton Harbour (next door) in 1858.
OK, so it isn't quite my own town, but it's close enough to drive to in 40 minutes, so I figure you'll be geographically generous.
Taylors Mistake is known for great surf and photogenic Baches.
Bach is the local lingo for holiday cottages (further south in the Presbyterian provinces of Otago & Southland they're called cribs). They are cheap and cheerful, home made shacks that grow like topsy, usually with little or no official permission.
The baches at Taylors date back up to a hundred years, built by Christchurch citizens wishing to escape the city life for a weekend or, better still, the Christmas (summer down here) holidays.
These baches came under threat of demolition in 1979, and some of the most historic have gone. But local action and a growing sense of the importance of preserving the icons of ordinary life has ensured the survival of the rest.
To keep Peter W happy, yes, there are people at Taylors Mistake. The surfers are a hardy breed, braving the Southern Winter to catch breaks as the Southern Pacific waves roll in. They aren't bald mutants by the way: hardy or not, at this latitude (43 degrees South) you wear a full winter wetsuit with gloves, booties and neoprene balaclava!
Finally, Sumner Beach, Redcliffs, the Estuary and Christchurch, the city where the surfies and bach-owners dwell. In the background, the Torlesse range.
for more info on Taylors mistake baches, see
www.taylorssurf.co.nz/baches.html
OK, so it isn't quite my own town, but it's close enough to drive to in 40 minutes, so I figure you'll be geographically generous.
Taylors Mistake is known for great surf and photogenic Baches.
Bach is the local lingo for holiday cottages (further south in the Presbyterian provinces of Otago & Southland they're called cribs). They are cheap and cheerful, home made shacks that grow like topsy, usually with little or no official permission.
The baches at Taylors date back up to a hundred years, built by Christchurch citizens wishing to escape the city life for a weekend or, better still, the Christmas (summer down here) holidays.
These baches came under threat of demolition in 1979, and some of the most historic have gone. But local action and a growing sense of the importance of preserving the icons of ordinary life has ensured the survival of the rest.
To keep Peter W happy, yes, there are people at Taylors Mistake. The surfers are a hardy breed, braving the Southern Winter to catch breaks as the Southern Pacific waves roll in. They aren't bald mutants by the way: hardy or not, at this latitude (43 degrees South) you wear a full winter wetsuit with gloves, booties and neoprene balaclava!
Finally, Sumner Beach, Redcliffs, the Estuary and Christchurch, the city where the surfies and bach-owners dwell. In the background, the Torlesse range.
for more info on Taylors mistake baches, see
www.taylorssurf.co.nz/baches.html