After a fond farewell to Caroline and the kids on Monday morning I started the long journey down South to Dunedin.
I had an unexepected upgrade to a rather plush looking Hyundai hire car which combined with the spectacular scenery, made the driving a complete pleasure. I was aiming for a Town called Ashburton, which was about 7 and half hours from Nelson, I felt the full 11 hour journey to Dunedin was too much for me in one day.
After about 3 and a half hours I stopped in Kaikoura, a small town famous for whale watching, for a refreshing cup of coffee.
Kaikoura
Most of the road was right on the edge of the coast and provided the most amazing backdrop. I don’t think the pictures really do it justice. As you travel along you are struck by the shear scale of the wilderness areas.
Vast fruit plantation
Stunning east coast views, visible for 3 hours
By 7.30pm I had reached my motel ready for a good meal. I decided to cook for myself to save a few bucks but in my rush to get to the shops before they closed missed a few ingredients for my Chicken Stroganoff. It wasn’t my best (using tomato ketchup instead of puree) but it was welcome. The room was good but yet again I was met with disappointment regarding the internet access, despite a couple of hours of trying neither myself or the manager could get me hooked up to the WiFI. This was disappointing as the internet is my lifeline to my family, work and for this blog and I carefully choose the hotels based on access to it, preferably for free.
Next morning I rose early and cooked my own sausage butties (mmmm!!), did my washing and packed up my stuff to move on. Meanwhile the Motel manager was still trying solve the internet problem and by 9am he had resorted to unplugging and rebooting all his routers. Low and behold, it worked so I had an hour to Skype home, do my accounts and check directions to the next stop.
The next 4 hours from Asburton to Dunedin seemed to go a little slower that the day before despite being a good bit shorter but I think this was mostly fatigue. By 1.30pm I was in Dundedin, a Southern city a lot bigger than I had expected with a city centre neatly laid out in a series of streets in the shape of an octagon.
Smack bang city centre of the Octagon
I found my way to the motel easily by following the street plan. It was an excellent location and clean, all at a very reasonable price. It’s always a relief to get where you are going to after a long journey, nothing more stressful than driving around after a long day when you cant find the right street but you know it’s nearby.
I dumped my stuff and explore the city for a couple of hours. For tea I decided to go to the supermarket and get some cheese and ham and buy some fresh bread to make my own sandwiches, very nice.
My Motel, my room top left with balcony!!!
After an evening stroll I returned to the room to complete a few admin tasks and contact Dr Mark Lokman of the University of Ontago to confirm the details of tomorrows visit. Really looking forward to that, mark has some eels that he thinks will spawn!!!!
I retired to bed with book for a good nights sleep.
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