Cheese making at Pyengana Dairy Company
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Had a good sleep in today - got up about 7:15am. Had breakfast, packed the car, checked out, and headed off after stopping in St Helens for bread rolls.
First stop was Pyengana for the Healey's Cheese Factory. We drove through the tiny town of Pyengana, looking for a sign indicating the cheese factory, but only saw a sign saying "Pyengana Dairy Company". Michelle said that was it but since it didn't mention Healey's or Cheese I kept driving. We figured out when we left the town behind that that must have been it, but decided to go on to St Columba Falls which were not far up the road.
We got to the waterfall car parking area and noticed a few other cars there - we figured everyone else must have come here to wait for the cheese factory to open, since it was still before 9 o'clock. A short walk showed us to the waterfall which was very cool. Driving back to Pyengana we tried to figure out if we had seen St Columba Falls or Ralph Falls - the map and the roadsigns were all contradictory.
We got back to the cheese factory and saw a guy mixing milk curds and whey with his arms. We sampled several types of cheddar cheese with and without bits in. We bought a small block of European pepper cheese to use for lunches. As we left we saw they also made milkshakes, so I ran back and got a chocolate one - fresh milk from cows who lived right across the road - yum!
Cheese making at Pyengana Dairy Company |
After leaving Pyengana we drove the winding road up through Weldborough Pass. We stopped for the quick Myrtle Forest walk which only took 10 minutes or so.
Continuing north we turned off the main road at Herrick for a side trip out to Mount William National Park. After a stretch of fairly smooth gravel road we hit Musselroe Bay in the park. Not very scenic, but we stopped there for lunch - St Helens bread rolls and Pyengana cheese.
We drove back to the main road and continued on through Derby - where we stopped for a toilet break and to check some local craft shops. Then it was straight through to Bridport where we checked into the Bridairre B&B at about 2:30pm.
After a relax we went for a walk to check out the town. We went down the road we had driven in on, passing the scenic sewage treatment works before we realised the shops must be back the way we hadn't been yet! Eventually we found the shops and Michelle had a vegie pastie from the bakery. We walked back up the hill up what we thought was the quickest way to the accommodation, but we ended up lost on the far side of the hill and had to ask a local resident the way. After cutting through a narrow back alley pedestrian walk we made it back.
Some more relaxing then we drove out this time to get some dinner at the fish and chip place. I had grilled ling, salad and chips and Michelle was still full from her pastie. Then we came back to the B&B and had a spa and then hopped into bed for the night.
Mixed Business of the Day: Bridport Hairdressers and Real Estate Agent.
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