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Day 206 and after a good sleep (helped by being pretty drunk) we were showered and ready to leave by 10am. Helen was sitting up front with Burns driving, but after a while didn't want to as she was struggling to navigate us out of the city. The drive to Oamaru was boring, as most of the long drives we have done. At a campsite along the way we cleaned the waste out and managed to empty it. Luke Burns and I managed to shove a hose up the waste pipe and unblock it, allowing 5-6 buckets off horrible milky water to drain out. It stank of sewage. Lots of bits of food which had been washed down the sink kept flowing out which made it even worse. We reached Oamaru by 1 and found out that we could go and see some Penguins later that day on the beaches (but we weren't guaranteed to see them). We had lunch and Luke and Burns did some arrowords to pass the time. Together, they are useless at these, often making each other laugh too much to get them right. One instance of how bad they are is that instead of 'Bunions' they managed to get 'Pantoes' for a clue about a foot sore. Luke also came up with another of his classic phrases (his others are 'Beer Feet' after drinking beer, and 'Whisky Lips' after drinking Whisky). This one was 'Cheese Cheeks' saying his cheeks felt hot and burnt when he ate acidic cheese. The first penguin area we went to was a hut on the top of a cliff with about 20 people waiting and watching to see if any penguins would come ashore. They didn't. It was during this time that Laura was adamant she knew the penguins wouldn't come out till dusk and that the she was an expert on Penguins (just like she was sure that Nadi was the capital of Fiji, which it isn't). Burns then struggled quite badly to reverse out of the parking area, and was glad when it was over. Penguin site number 2 involved paying which we didn't want to do so we found an area out of town to park for the night. Laura had bought a new game for us to play, 'Malarky', which is basically a bluffing game, which we played for the first time. After this we went to bed and planning on heading to Mount Cook in the morning.
Day 207 and we were lazy and didn't get up till 9-10ish. After a stop in Countdown buying some food and drink we drove north to Mount Cook which was about 200 km away. I watched 3 episodes of family guy and then fell asleep. I woke up and it was pouring with rain. Luke must have driven very fast because we made great time and got to Mount Cook by 2. It would continue raining all day, and we had to go into the only cafe/bar to read books and play pool as there was nothing to do. The fog was really bad to so we couldn't even see Mount Cook out the window. Burns and I had some cheep beers and the others had Mochas. We spent a few hours here, then in the dark, tried to find a layby we could park in overnight. We parked by a big rock which helped shield us from the wind and rain. At this rate we didn't expect to do a walk as it was horrible weather. Dinner was a curry which I loved as did the others. However, Helen and Burns, who have the weakest stomachs, badly needed the toilet afterwards. Unfortunately for them, there were no toilets about, so outside had to make do. As we got ready for bed we realised how loud the thunder was and the rain started getting heavier.
Day 208 and the rain had continued all night and was still going when we woke up in the morning. This pretty much confirmed to us that we wouldn't be doing any walking. At the info centre Luke tried to use a shower, which he then told us rubbish, so instead we used the hot water in the toilet cubicles. That's how desperate we were. Helen made us pancakes to cheer us up and we left for Christchurch by 12ish. I sat up front with Burns driving, and we managed to pass the time by listening to this Ipod and talking about football. The others slept and watched / listened to Ipods. We stopped in a town called Ashburton and had Ham sarnies for lunch and drove on some more. We crossed over the longest bridge in New Zealand and parked up for the night in a layby on the other side. I then had a powernap while everyone else read. Dinner was Pasta and Mushroom sauce, but as Coops cooked it, she had some and said she didn't like it. She used Ranch dressing instead while we ate the sauce. After some games, we were in bed by 10, and Helen had Jumpy leg and was restless which kept me awake for ages.
Day 209 and I was woken at 5 in the morning by the train track which we had managed to park next to. We also got lots of beeps from trucks on the road who obviously don't like freedom campers. We drove the final 30km to Christchurch and then spent 30 minutes trying to find the town centre. We struggled to find anywhere to park, and Luke was getting frustrated whilst driving by the narrow turnings and the sheer size of the camper van. Eventually we parked up and had showers. Burns went to have a shave and came back looking 20 years younger. He even got a beer and to watch football in the barber, something I think should be employed by English barbers. Burns and I also found the Holy Grail, which was a massive Sports Bar. It had 4 levels and a 10 metre across screen which was awesome. After Burns got a kebab we both went to the internet and met the girls and Luke afterwards. At 5ish we headed into town for a drink and a game of pool as were all bored. We ended up in Base Backpackers where the drinks were cheap, and the entertainment, provided by 'MulletMan' was decent. The girls went to get some food (Chinese) and came back with glum faces. The reason being, Coops had her bank card swallowed by an ATM. She had to then phone the bank which must have been annoying. After a few beers we headed back to the camper. I had a pie as I was starving, and Burns bought Milk and had 2 bowls of cereal. We were both keen to get up 6am in the morning so we could go and watch the Barcelona Chelsea game so headed to bed.
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