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WHERE VIV'S AT...
Peter Burtonwood (MI Fire E), Deupty Chief Fire Officer of Invercargill Fire District has almost killed Jabba. So there I was driving through Invercargill, with Jerene directing. and we're heading straight ahead through a green traffic light when Mr Deputy Chief Fire Officer in his little fire van decides to turn right and that also means right into us and Jabba. Which means that Jabba has to go to the car hospital and here we are stuck in NZ's most southernly YHA for the night whilst Jabba has surgery. Thanks Mr Burtonwood, we only came here to update our DVDs at the spacestation before heading out to The Bluff.
So when I last left you, we were in Akaroa and Jerene went out on a boat to get seasick and swim with Hector Dolphins (the world's smallest) and I went for a great walk around the hills of the peninsula. Next stop for us was Dunedin but on the way I realised that we were going to be going via a town called Oamaru that offered something special - Yellow-eyed penguins (the rarest penguin on earth) and also blue pengins. So I suggest to Jerene that we spend the night there and she agrees and we get the Pengiun Express that night in search of these rare birds and we get to see two of them (that's the yellow-eyed ones) and lots of blue ones and they entertain us for a few hours.
Right back on the road the next day for Dunedin but we notice a place of interest on the way - well if you see a place called Shag Point would you not stop too?? So curious (and probably desperate) we make our way to Shag Point to discover that Shag is in fact a bird - but we're not disapointed as we got baby seals too and great photo opps.
Right we get to Dunedin which is Celtic for Edinburgh and yes, looks a bit like Scotland (as does most places we've been to so far) and get lost on the one way system before finding our way out to where we really want to go which is the Otago Peninsula. Jerene is studying architecture so first we head for Larnach Castle which is (and I quote Lonely Planet here) "a monumental extravagance, a mashing of architectural styles and fantasies on the highest point of the peninsula" and it's ok and the views are good. But what I really want to see it at the very end on the peninsula and this is the world's largest seabird - The Royal Albatross - so we get there, almost get blown off the cliff in the strong winds but we see two of these magnificant birds gliding around but as the heavens decide to open again we decide to make our way back to town before getting to the stage of using Jabba as a boat to get back.
Yesterday was by far the worst of the weather we've had so far, everything from torrential rain, hailstones, freezing winds, black skies etc so we decide to head for and stay at Curio Bay - a beach at the most southernly point of the South Island (yes the nearest point to the South Pole...) where we almost freeze to death and end up starving as our campsite is very basic with just an outside toilet and no cooking facilities and as our cooker in Jabba has to work outside the van and as it's raining we can just eat bread and drink cold beer. So this morning we wake up, hungry and freezing cold to be met with more great weather and, of course, Mr Peter Burtonwood. So thanks Peter because of you, we've got a warm bed for the night and everyone at home has got an unexpected postcard!!
Oh how am I finding NZ - well beside the weather which locals have great pleasure in telling us is abnormal "it was 33 degrees two weeks ago" it's ok but so much like home I'm wondering why I've come all the way to the other side of the world to visit Scotland and the Lake District. However, when Jabba's better we're heading up the west coast and to the top bit which I think will be stunning and more what I expect (though still trying to figure out exactly what that is).
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