Wifi has been very 'iffy', particularly over the last few days and so I've fallen behind with blogging. Therefore, a catch up is called for!
SUNDAY, 3rd November : WINDWHISTLE to TIMARU
The view from our room on Saturday, 2nd at 5.00p.m.
and on Sunday, 3rd at 7.00a.m.
Ice on the windscreen
We left WINDWHISTLE on SUNDAY, 3rd at 9.45a.m. by which time the ice on the windscreen had melted and the temperature had soared from 1 degree at 7.00a.m. to a 9 degree heatwave! We stopped along the way for a 40 minute visit to the Roger Mahan Heritage Collection of vintage cars and machinery
and at a nearby Farm Shop Cafe for coffee, but no f.a. cakes
Driving through Winchester, we couldn't help but notice the dozens of horse trailers, horses and people all congregated in a large open area and assumed there was a gymkhana or similar happening.
We arrived in TIMARU at 12.30p.m., too early to check in to our accommodation for the night so went for a tour of the town, first going to the foreshore, then found a cafe for a light lunch, then a little way out of town to Ellis Road Beach where we parked and walked along the path to the lighthouse.
Fields of Canola
After our beach and lighthouse visit we checked in to our motel, and had a couple of hours R & R before heading into town for a very good roast lamb dinner.
MONDAY, 4th November : TIMARU to WAIANAKARUA.
On the way to Waianakarua we passed the Masonic Hotel at St Andrews and another field of canola, stopping for road works and for a break at the Waitaki River & Bridge.
Twenty minutes later we arrived in Oamaru and spent a happy hour or so wandering through the SteamPunk HQ
There was so much to see that it was hard to take it all in and I was surprised that I found it fascinating, as it's more Mike's 'thing' than mine.
A stroll down the main street to find lunch revealed some lovely old buildings
and a walk through the Victorian Precinct we found interesting
Before leaving Oamaru we visited the Kakanui lookout for views of the city
then had a lovely drive along the coast to Waianakarua
and our accommodation for the night
WAIANAKARUA to DUNEDIN, Tuesday, 5th November.
The sky was overcast and the temperature 13 degrees when we left the holiday park. We'd decided not to have breakfast in the shared kitchen, even though we were the only ones there, instead choosing to have our brekkie at the cafe at Moeraki. A good move as it turned out as there were very few people about when we arrived
and we watched the sun rise over the ocean while waiting for our breakfast
then strolled down to and along the beach to see the famous Moeraki Boulders
which were much smaller than we imagined them to be, from the photos we'd seen, but were still impressive and worth the visit.
The cafe
The beach was becoming crowded, with groups and tour buses arriving so it was time for us to leave.
We followed the coast then, ducking in and out of lookouts along the way
spot the seal!
We stopped in Palmerston and bought a pie and a sausage roll on the way into Dunedin
and before going to our B&B in Portobello, on the Otago Peninsula, we visited North Dunedin and the 'steepest street' in the world
The view from our B&B room
WEDNESDAY, 6th November : In DUNEDIN.
Today was sightseeing day and in glorious sunshine we first visited Allans Beach, driving around a lagoon to the carpark then crossing private property to the path to the beach
Driving through some very steep hills (or small mountains) along narrow, winding roads
was sometimes a bit scary, but worth it
for the stunning views and to reach Larnach Castle, built by William Larnach for his first wife, bought in the early 1960s by the Barkers, a young married couple, as a derelict building, restored by them over several years and now open to the public. After a coffee in the outdoor cafe, we spent a couple of very pleasant hours wandering through the castle and gardens.
Next, we drove into Dunedin in search of the street art we'd heard of but disappointingly, could find very little of it and that we did find did not impress us at all, so no photos but we did pass by the wonderful Railway Station.
By this time it was late in the afternoon so off we went on the wriggly road around the bay to the Portobello Tavern for refreshing drinks and a very excellent fish and chip dinner, after which we drove further along the bay to the Albatross Centre in the hope of seeing the albatrosses arrive but we missed out on that event. There were hundreds of gulls there, settling in for the night and Mike was dive bombed, I caught the dregs! We called it a day then, a very satisfying day and drove back to the B&B for our second night of tranquility.
THURSDAY, 7th November : DUNEDIN to PAPATOWI.
We couldn't see very much from our window this morning because of the heavy mist but we weren't in any hurry to leave so were quite happy to wait until it lifted. It was an easy drive out of Dunedin, taking a back road to the motorway, stopping at Mosgiel for fuel and further along at Waihola at a cafe for coffee and pikelets served with jam and cream...yum! Another gorgeous sunny day enabled us to sit outdoors in the sunshine and we had an interesting conversation with the lawnmower lady who sat with us while she drank her coffee. We then drove down to the Taieri River Mouth and had a wander around
Balclutha Bridge
which we crossed then left the main road and drove to Kaka Point where we stopped for a while and ate our picnic lunch
This message was written on our picnic table....how sweet it is!
A walk through the woods to the Purakaunui Falls
and coming into Papatowai
these sheep seemed to find us interesting
We were soon checked in to our accommodation, a self contained cabin with a lovely view from the deck, which we went down to investigate more closely before retiring for the night.
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