Travels WithJohn and Janice
Terrace Downs golf course in its mountain valley, South Island, New Zealand
New Zealand3 min read

Dateline February 4, 2015, Terrace Downs and Quickenberry B&B

New Zealand2015 TravelGolfBed and Breakfast#new-zealand#south-island#terrace-downs#methven#cafe-131#quickenberry-bnb#will-owen#playing-around-nz#green-lip-mussels#southern-alps#golf#pete-and-bunny-warenski#new-zealand-australia-2015
Terrace Downs, in its mountain valley
Terrace Downs, in its mountain valley

Wind cancels the round.

We arrived at the Terrace Downs golf course at our scheduled tee time. The wind was blowing about forty miles per hour, with gusts up to sixty. Golf was out.

A windy day at Terrace Downs
A windy day at Terrace Downs

The course sits in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, and the wind comes howling through. The people at the clubhouse were lovely and moved our tee time to the next morning, in the hope that conditions would calm down.

Methven and Cafe 131.

The women working at the resort suggested we head over to Methven, a small village down the road with a few cafes. So we went. We walked through some of the stores, the hardware store being the first stop, as is right and proper, and made our way to Cafe 131.

Walking through Methven
Walking through Methven

The best part of Cafe 131 was a sign hanging inside.

The sign at Cafe 131
The sign at Cafe 131

It was a lovely cafe and the lunches were great. The postman was next door, so we picked up postcards and sent notes to family. Then back to check into our B&B, Quickenberry.

An "upgrade."

When we arrived, the host greeted us and told us we had been "upgraded" to stay in a villa over at the golf course. The truth, we suspected, was that she had overbooked. Will Owen, who had arranged our New Zealand itinerary, had told us that the previous week's guests at Quickenberry had been there without any issues. Her neighbor owned a villa at Terrace Downs, so she moved us there.

It was a small disappointment because the B&B itself looked very nice. We did, however, drive back to Quickenberry for a gourmet dinner that night and breakfast the next morning, both of which were exceptional.

The villa had nice views of the golf course and a wonderful moon that evening.

Moonrise over the villa
Moonrise over the villa

The round, take two.

Golf after breakfast was interesting. The course was in decent condition. The greens were very slow, and a few of the holes were set up with blind shots, but the vistas out to the mountains and the rivers were beautiful.

Pete and Bunny next to the river
Pete and Bunny next to the river
One of the mountain holes
One of the mountain holes

What made the round a little more insane was that by the time we reached the last five holes, the wind had picked up to well over thirty miles per hour, with stronger gusts. The golf got crazy in a hurry.

Lunch and on to Tekapo.

We finished and headed to the clubhouse for lunch. Bunny ordered the Green Lip Mussels. The picture is good, but the brilliance of the green was even better in person.

Green Lip Mussels at the clubhouse
Green Lip Mussels at the clubhouse

Then we packed up and headed out for Lake Tekapo.

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