True Grit On A Different Type Of Course

Put your green fees in the honesty box, grab a scorecard and out you go. A stark contrast to my experience at Cape Kidnappers, the golf course at Glentunnel is a small village gem with just a few locals on the fairways, no golf carts allowed and green fees just a fraction of what I paid at the big course in Hawke's Bay. Maybe not quite the same views, but still an enjoyable round with some challenging holes and a fast moving creek that threatens to gobble up a couple of balls.








I rent some clubs from the campsite where we stay and we get around the links in about 3 hours. Jenn, my caddie, finds it goes quite quickly — much less hunting for errant shots in the trees and rough...





I miss my own clubs.


Mid afternoon, we drive on, past the Mount Hutt range and into the town of Geraldine where we take a spot at the Kiwi Campsite there (we realize that most of our favourite non-DOC campsites throughout NZ are Kiwi sites). One of the attractions in Geraldine is the old cinema built in 1924 which is still in operation, showing first run movies. Tonight it is showing True Grit, the Coen brothers version which we've seen, but what the heck — we reserve one of the old love seat sofas in the balcony and enjoy the classic vibe with a few of the other visitors.









Heading down the stairs afterwards, Gary, the projectionist invites us in to see the projection room with the original "rod burning" projectors still in use. Somehow they find the parts to keep them going. It's an education for us and a real treat - almost better than watching the film.