The weather has been amazing with clear skies and no wind. We have both had a bit of sunburn and have really enjoyed not being cold and windblown for a change. I've had the kayak out and caught a couple of trout,not large but enough for a meal from each. And Jocelyn got in her kayak today and came for a paddle as well. The lake was like a mirror and the water crystal clear so you could see down into the depths.
Previous to this we have spent a fair bit of time in Southland. After leaving the farm at Oxford we went to Dunedin for a couple of nights and caught up with Monique and Greg. They came and had dinner with us one night and we had a great time. We did a bit of tiki touring around the area.I also made sure I went and found some clams in the harbour. This is where most of the clams you see in the supermarkets come from and they are so big and meaty.Had a few steamed open with a bit of seasoning added and they were good but the clam chowder I made the next night was fantastic. Definitely hope to get some more of those next time we pass through.
Then we headed off to the Catlins and we found a DOC camp at Papatowai. This is where you get to see trees that grow sideways and after spending a few days here you realise why. The wind seems to be relentless.And when you chuck in a fair bit of rain with it it can be hard to form a good impression of a place. So we did a few beach walks and bush walks but had to be well wrapped up at all times. Apparently the fishing is really good off the coast but I expect that is because there would be very few days in a month when you would be able to go to sea. After a few days in the Catlins we moved on to the bottom of the South Island and stayed with Joel in Riverton.
I was only there a couple of days and I had to fly to Rotorua and spend some time with my Dad Joe who was home from hospital but needed some help for a while. Being unemployed meant I had the time and it worked out great that I could spend some time with Joe. While I was up there I did manage to get one day out fishing with Mick and his mate Rob.We had a great day in the deep water and hauled in a good number of bluenose so we had plenty of fish to share around. Of course I also spent a fair bit of time over at Papamoa seeing Heidi and Luca who is such a happy we gem.
Jocelyn and Joel also got a fair bit of family time as well although Joel was still working.Joel having just moved down there was also looking at property to buy so Jocelyn spent a fair bit of time looking at prospective properties for him.
I was up north for 3 weeks then flew back down to Invercargill to meet Jocelyn and then that weekend Catherine was coming down with James and Grace for the weekend.So we had a great time. The next day Joel, Jocelyn and I made an early start. We were off to do a four wheel drive trip through the Nevis Valley from the Cromwell end and come out at Garston on the Queenstown TeAnau highway.
It turned out to be a reasonably full day with a round trip of 210 kms. The first section of road over the Garrick range climbs to 1300m following the miners route to the Nevis diggings and to the Nevis settlement. It was settled by the pastoral farmers in the1850s and then by the miners in the 1860s. the lower part of the Nevis valley is for 4WD only as there are a lot of fords and river crossings to negotiate. All in all it was an entertaining day with the views the history and the remoteness all contributing factors.
When we left Joels the next day we found a NZMCA park at Lumsden.Lumsden is a small town with the Oreti river flowing nearby.The Oreti along with the Mataura which flows through Gore are both considered excellent trout fishing rivers although I still find it very difficult to cast a fly in gale force winds which we still seem to experience while we are in Southland.
From Lumsden we travelled to Te Anau and again stayed in a NZMCA park which has just recently opened there.Jocelyn and I decided to walk a portion of the Keppler track and ended up doing about 4 hours and it left Jocelyn struggling with a crook hip and me wingeing about sore feet.Its a bugger getting old. Again we had major wind blowing through the camp so had to keep everything tucked away and battened down.
So then we moved on and we are back where I started this story out of Southland and back into Otago and 3 lovely fine days at Cromwell. Tomorrow we will probably head to Wanaka.
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