Decided to stay put, so a leisurely start to the day - were ready to leave by 10.30, which was the opening time of the Forrester Gallery, next door, in which there was a Steampunk exhibition. The centrepiece was a beautiful chrome & bronze motorbike, but D liked the machine for collecting samples from alternate time-line Earths, & L the "Aethernet" communications device. Some great ideas on display, brilliantly executed. A glorious day, as we wander...

Slowly dragged ourselves away from the campsite, eventually leaving at ~10.30. Popped into the supermarket to get a couple of thankyou bottles of wine for Ash & dropped them back at the campsite office. Said farewell to the mountains & fantastic view, & headed south east, towards the coast. Brief stop in Timaru to refuel the car, then an hour on the main road, south, before crossing the Waitaki River, and turning inland, towards Duntroon, & Vani...

Woke to blue skies, sunshine, & fantastic views of the snow capped mountains in the distance - definitely whiter than the day before! But with a really wintery chill to the air, when the wind blew. Made good time getting morning stuff done, & were leaving the campsite by 9am. Stopped a few km out of Fairlie for a quick photo session (kids + mountains in the background), then drove on to Lake Tekapo. Another quick stop for scenic photos, then to the C...

Day Off! Grey, overcast & rainy day, as predicted. Plan for the day: do nothing! Kids played for a while after breakfast, D waited for AA man to arrive, to break into car (took all of a minute!) to retrieve keys! Then we walked into Fairlie for a wander around the shops, for kids to play on town play area, and a coffee / hot choc & cakes. Back to campsite for kids to play, while L did washing & D shopped for food supplies. Asked kids what hey wan...

Woke to clear, sunny skies, & fantastic views over the bay. Completed the usual morning chores, and reluctantly left the site at 10am, buying a Top 10 membership card as we left (10% discount on accommodation, local attractions, and (annoyingly) the Interislander Ferry). Rove into town, and wandered along the sea front shops for a while - sat on the end of the pier, hoping to see dolphins (we didn't!), and learnt about Paua (abalone) pearl farming & jew...