Mount Somers & The Coolest Hedge

What a difference a thick, snuggly duvet makes! Plus two hotties and two dogs. I was as snug as a bug in a rug. After that roasty-toasty sleep, we were up early and ready to hit the road. But first, a brief stop at Rolleston to fuel up and grab a few things from the supermarket, and then we were off.
Mount Somers here we come!

Driving across the Canterbury Plains was stunning. Clearly we were in another district, with long straight roads, lush green paddocks and snow capped mountains in the background. We'd left behind the wild east coast beaches, hilly farmland and busy Christchurch traffic.

Much sooner than I expected, we arrived at Mt Somers. It was roughly about an hours drive from Rolleston.

Mt Somers is a small town in Canterbury, nestled beneath the Southern Alps. I'd visited this cute little village a couple of years ago as I went to explore The Ashburton Lakes. My original plan was to spend the night at Mt Somer's domain. But, no-one else was there and as the day was still young, I changed to Plan B. 
Actually, there was never a Plan B, so I made one up. 
Plan B = have a look around the township and then continue on south. 
So I parking the bus outside the domain, and we (the dogs and I) went off to explore.

Mt Somers is one of those towns that appears to be a sleepy village. But it's so much more. It's the gateway to Lake Clearwater, Lake Heron,The Maori Lakes, Erewhon Station, plus several other high country lakes. 
And then there's its history. Did you know, the development of the area, first started with large sheep stations, and was then mined for coal, clay, sand and limestone? Now the region's economy is mostly agricultural.
It's also famous in the experimental and underground music communities. Mt Somers is home to Peter King, who hand cuts records (one at a time) onto polycarbonate plastics. You'll have to google 'experimental and underground' music to find out what that's all about.

Mt Somer's Museum in the domain

The muster's hut in the domain

The streets were very quiet, and if I remember correctly I think I only saw two others cars while I was there! If the internet information is correct it's population is just over 2300. 

The historic Mt Somer's General Store can be seen on the main road and beside it is the Library.

The historic Mt Somers General Store

Mt Somers Library

My favourite Mt Somer's attraction was the 100 year old Macrocarpa Hedge that's been transformed into a striking piece of living art. 

Oh, and something else... it's the small things, right?

I was intrigued at how spongy, springy and soft the grass around the village was! It was like walking on a lush, green, bouncy carpet.

Eventually we looped back to the bus. Although,there are many interesting places in the area to visit, I was focussed on carrying on with my journey to North Otago before the autumn leaves got blown away. 
Our next stop would be 'Lake Opuha'. Bernie and I had spent a couple of nights there a few years ago (in late spring) and the reflections on the lake were gorgeous. I wondered what it might look like in autumn?