From Southland to Queensland.

Sorry it's been a while since my last story on our travels. Over the last couple of months we have covered a bit of ground.   It started back in Invercargill where we were to pick up our new ute.  Even that took a lot longer than expected.  To start with the Ranger was coming down from Auckland and somehow got itself lost and nobody seemed to know where it had gone to. A week later it arrived none the worse for it's unexplained absence.  Then we started having to deal with the modern tradie about getting the hitch transferred, the new tonneau cover fitted, the side mirrors exchanged and the new wiring for lights and electric brakes to connect to the rig.  It started with the engineer for the hitch.  He was booked for the Tuesday.  When we got there he said he would only look at it today and Friday he might get time to drill the holes for the attachment.  Then it had to go to the Rhino guy to spray the tray before the hitch could be attached.  It sat in his yard over the weekend and he finally got onto it the following  Thursday.  Then the Tonneau cover was fitted. He had it for 3 days then it was back to get the hitch fitted and then onto the auto electrician for another 2 days.    I'm sure Joel and Julie thought we had moved in on a permanent basis.

Just a note.  You can click on the photos to make them full screen.

The new truck hitched up on the Lewis Pass.

  Still we got to know Invercargill and the surrounding hinterland a lot better.  We had time for lunch at Riverton overlooking the lovely estuary.  We had bike rides and bush walks and a lovely BBQ on Oreti beach dressed up in our winter woolies and snuggled into our beach chairs.  Our taste buds were
appeased with bluff oysters, smoked mussels, salmon, and those great Fat Bastard Pies.  We made a couple of visits to the Fat Bastard Pie shop.  The seafood pie my favourite.   Another thing put to rest was that blue cod in the south are definitely much better to eat than the same fish up north.  We throw them back in the north island as they are mushy and unpleasant to eat.

A big bull sea lion eyeing up his girlfriend.

Me and Joc.

Some lovely waterfalls around the Catlins.

Seascape in the Catlins.

BBQ on the beach mid winter.

Oreti beach.

   Also while at Joels I got their bird feeder filled up with sugar water.  What a response that got from the local bird life. There would be tuis, bellbirds, wax eyes and sparrows lined up in all the handy trees waiting for a shot at the sweet water. Sometimes 6 or 8 tuis drinking at the same time.

When the tuis left the wax eyes moved in.

Beautiful tuis.

  Finally one afternoon the ute was ready for pick up.  It looked great and it was nice to finally take it for a drive.  Joel and Julie made us feel so welcome but we felt we needed to get out of their hair and get back on the road.  So the next morning the rig was hitched up and we were on the road north.  The first day we made it to Cromwell where we parked at our usual spot by lake Dunstan. Then the next morning we were travelling up through the Lindis pass when a stock truck and trailer passed us in the opposite direction and squirted out a large rock from one of it's wheels and straight into our windscreen.  It left a big cracked star in our very new windscreen. Bugger, bugger, bugger.  Bloody Murphys law.  I try not to get stressed about these things.  Sometimes I fail.
  Anyway we had decided to spend some more time at Twizel.  We must really like this place as we seem to end up back here a lot.  The first night we stayed at the NZMCA camp by the salmon farm again.  This camp is free to members.  Unfortunately some members treat the fishery as a pure meat hunting enterprise.  That night a party of blokes arrived in their caravan and parked behind us.  The first thing they do when they arrive is hammer in rod holders along the top of the bank.  Then they bait up with huhu grubs and sinkers attached and cast out into the middle of the canal.  There is six rods lined up along the canal.  They fish until very late at night and I hear them up at 5.30 am when their generator starts up to make their coffees.  A couple of them straight away bait up all the rods and get them out into the current again.  The previous time we were here these same blokes were here then as well.  Those rods stay fishing all day and half the night while they make their meals or drink their beers.  They have bells and lights attached to their rods so that they can hear when a fish strikes and at night they can see the light jiggling around and know which rod the fish is on.  This way they can fish but not really keep a close eye on the rod all the time.  At the end of the day they have a filleting session where the mostly small salmon are filleted, vacumn packed with the power from the generator and chilled in the fridge.  They catch a lot of fish with this method.
  When I saw these guys were back again I said to Jocelyn we were going as I don't think I could stand being parked next to them without saying something.  Unfortunately As long as they keep within their limits and sizes it is all legal.  But I have never seen a ranger there checking on any fisherman so I don't know weather these rules are being adhered to.  So again we moved back down to the Ohau C camp for 3 days.  It was still very cold but I managed to get out and catch a few trout, mostly released again and as always we enjoyed ourselves in this lovely spot.

Jocelyn with Mt Cook in the background.

The iced over crater lake.

  Next we were off to Christchurch to get the windscreen fixed and then back to Kaikoura for a few days to visit Rod, Catherine and Gracie.  I even did some milkings with Rod and surprisingly found it was very easy to step back into those shoes.  It was nice to catch up again but we were intent on heading up to the Golden Bay area for a couple of weeks so it was back on the road with the first stop being Hanmer and those lovely hot pools.  Then over the Lewis pass and on to Murchison for a night.  That Lewis Pass is truly beautiful but unfortunately the traffic now makes it a very different trip to what it used to be pre quake.  From Murchison it was a pleasant trip through to Motueka and then after a trip to the grocery store it was up and over the steep Takaka hill.

Lovely tarn on the Lewis pass road by the St. James walkway.

  Unfortunately our Golden Bay holiday was to come a bit unstuck at this point as approaching the last left hand bend descending the hill on the Takaka side there was a bump and and a bit of a lock up from the rig.  We had just broken a spring on the front axle of the rig.   I managed to get mostly off the road and a call was put to Orange Mechanical in Takaka.   A while later Michael arrived and took charge.  Eventually we were able to limp the 20kms in to Takaka at about 30kms an hour and park up in Orange Mechanicals yard.  We were to get to know this yard and Takaka quite well over the next week.

Jocelyn on our walk out to Farewell Spit.

 We were well looked after in this town not only by Orange but by the friendly people and atmosphere in this lovely wee town.  Unfortunately it was the couriers that let us down.   NZ couriers picked up the new spring from Christchurch and were meant to have it to us on the Saturday but Murphys law stepped in again and it vanished.  No one new where it had been sent to.  It wasn't found until Tuesday morning and the garage received it about 2pm Tuesday afternoon.  So we had been in Takaka a week by this stage.  Michael was away but his dad Ian set to and fitted the springs in quick time.  It was getting pretty late in the day by this time so after hitching up we headed in to the dump station to empty out the tanks.

 Takaka dump station is designed for cassette type empties not big rigs with permanent tanks so it is quite a manouvre getting the rig close enough for the hose to reach.  After corkscrewing the rig back in to the site we were ready to hook up. After gloving up  I saw Jocelyn had put a glove on as she had to stretch and hold the pipe over the drain.  I suggested she put another glove on thinking one hand might get tired holding the pipe stretched out.  Before hooking up I saw she still had one hand without a glove.  Now this is where the blond moment became apparent.  She had put the second glove on but she had put it on over the first glove on the same hand.  Oh my god this definitely shows the different wave length  Jocelyn and I operate on.  We both spent the next 10 minutes in hysterical  laughter.  We always make sure we wear gloves when touching any of the hoses or attachments for the black or grey water tanks as we don't want any infections transferred from unhygienic practices.
 We got back on the road heading to Totaranui .  Anyone knowing Jocelyn knows that when she starts giggling it takes awhile for her to get things back together.  She still had tears streaming down her face and was still having trouble talking through the laughter.   I guess you probably had to be there.
   Anyway we found our way over that very tight winding road over the hill into Totaranui DOC camp.  We found a nice site to set up and then settled in for a beer and a wine reflecting on our one week delay in arriving to this spectacular spot in our lovely country.  Over the next 10 days we walked a number of the tracks, went for bike rides and went kayaking.  I did a bit of fishing catching a few gurnard but it was pretty tough going getting enough for a feed.  It really was great to be back at this special sheltered beach.  All the wekas, native pigeons, pukekos etc still wandered through the camp coming right up to your feet showing no fear of people.  There was still deer sign at both ends of the beach where they come out at night and kick up their heels.

Totaranui Beach.

The wildlife are very tame.

Sheltered camp sites in Totaranui camp.

  But all good things must come to an end and we found ourselves back on the road and climbing over the hill back to Motueka then on to Murchison for a night.  We stayed another night in Hamner and yes we had another swim at the hot pools.  Then on to Weedons NZMCA camp at Christchurch where we were going to leave the ute and rig while we go to the Gold Coast and see Jenny and Stan.  Which is where I am sitting down writing this story.

 We are into our second week here and enjoying the climate and hospitality.  It's been great to spend more time with Jenny and Stan who have been great hosts running us around to see the country, both beaches and hinterland.  We spent a day at Dreamland riding the coasters and tower of terror.  One ride "the Claw" was a bit much as Jenny, Stan and Jocelyn all came off it feeling decidedly seasick.  I was probably lucky as when they pulled the frame down over my chest it was too tight and caused discomfort and pain from my heart surgery.  So I bailed out of that one.  Jocelyn wasn't too keen to do the other rides after that.

Tower of terror.

Up on the roof of Panaview Court.

Surefers Paradise skyline.

 On a couple of our walks we have so far spotted 3 wild koalas in the tops of the eucalyptus trees.  And one on the ground just starting to climb back up to the top. I've been for swims in the surf and the pool. We've had a few nights eating out and the odd lunch as well.  I have to wait until I get back to NZ on Sunday  before posting this story as most of my photos are back in the rig.  So will finish off then.
  Our time in Aussie came to an end.  The weather was fine, and warm though a little windy at times.  The gold coast is a very busy place with a lot of people around and the malls are great for shopping and eating.  The people are friendly and helpful.  But it is always great to come home to New Zealand.