Ruff and the smooth

Philip and Shona Somerville are transported through Naseby Forest by ''musher'' Nigel Voice and...
Philip and Shona Somerville are transported through Naseby Forest by ''musher'' Nigel Voice and eight Alaskan malamutes. Photo by Rose Voice
Sam Inder gives pointers to Shona Somerville on how to throw a curling stone at the Naseby...
Sam Inder gives pointers to Shona Somerville on how to throw a curling stone at the Naseby International Ice Rink. Photo by Philip Somerville
A Naseby street scene. Photo by Philip Somerville
A Naseby street scene. Photo by Philip Somerville

Walking the dogs is something else entirely in Naseby, Philip Somerville reports.

We made new friends with a difference on our recent weekend sojourn to the Maniototo.

Their names are Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, Aluet, Soldier, Willow, Bonar and Ruby.

Each is an Alaskan malamute. Bonar, so said ''musher'' Nigel Voice, is strong but not the brightest, a real workhorse who will pull all day. Willow is the veteran being given a spell in a less responsible position while Ruby is a youngster being trained in the lead role.

''The females are in charge, as you'd expect,'' Nigel says with a smile, before the dogs take off.

Our first 100m is exhilarating as our rig bounces along at up to 30kmh. Soon the edge is off the dogs' initial friskiness and we cruise at a sedate trot.

Nigel, a former Dunedin policeman, and wife Rose, once a Christchurch anaesthetic technician, have set up a thriving business just outside Ranfurly. They met through their love of Alaskan malamutes, the largest and strongest of the sled-pulling canines, and they now design and make equipment for dogs and dog racing. They breed as well. When we visited earlier this month they were caring for 15 malamute adults, four puppies and two rare Canadian Eskimo dogs.

Part of the business is to share their kennels and dogs for tours and for rides in a wheeled rig.

Their dogs have featured in a documentary about Australian Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson and in an advertisement for Louis vuitton luggage.

More than three hours in their enthusiastic company and that of their gregarious malamutes rushes by. Shona is keen to return when there's snow on the ground and we can swap wheels and rig for runners and sled.

When the possibility of a Maniototo weekend courtesy of Central Otago Tourism came up, Shona and I were more than happy to oblige, in part because Ranfurly and Naseby themselves are like old friends.

We've stopped and pottered around Ranfurly - a hour and a-half from Dunedin - before on our way west. And we spent a weekend in Naseby late each summer for several years with our children and other families from Opoho enjoying the company, the swimming, the mountain biking. This time, we were given the chance to curl at the Naseby International Ice Rink. We'd not seen the sport in action but were soon doing our mediocre best to slide the stones with accuracy and the correct ''weight''.

Rink acting manager Sam Inder teams us up with other locals, and the 90-minute session is over too soon. Suffice to say, Shona's team won. A fun game with good company and good friends for the morning.

I was pleased the rudimentaries were not impossibly difficult. And the ''grippers'', galoshes over our shoes, meant I didn't feel in danger of crashing to the ice.

It's a wonder such a facility exists in a town of only about 120 permanent residents, and the rink and the sport rely on ''casual'' visitors. As with Real Dog Adventures, a good portion come from Otago Central Rail Trail cyclists.

Naseby reeks of history and it was pleasant wandering the streets, visiting the cemetery and the compact and packed museum.

We were advised of the panorama from the Hamiltons cemetery across the plain and on the hill near Patearoa. And so it proved to be. The gold-mining was town once was home to 4000 and, apart from the graves, almost nothing remains.

Back in Ranfurly via the metropolis of Gimmerburn (one hall and two houses), it was nice to return to the smart Hawkdun Lodge where friendly manager Richard Evans, with a long family history in the district, was able to inform us of the fortunes of the area.

We lacked the energy to venture the 20km to Oturehua and the Hayes Engineering Works, although we were tempted. Only last year, we'd finally turned in and spent an hour at the heritage site and homestead, surprised by the scope and skill displayed at what was a nationally important enterprise in the 1890s and beyond.

There was time, though, for Shona to reacquaint herself with one of Ranfurly's stops on the Central Otago arts trail.

She called in on The Practise, an art gallery, gift and clothes shop, while this philistine wandered back to the car and a rest.

Shona was then able to report back on a nice chat with co-owner Amie Pont, learning the shop was full of a variety of locally crafted and produced items. Another friend made, albeit temporarily.

Add a Comment