Ascot Park Invercargill

... day i went to bluff a little outcrop, it was very windy so windy that i kept blowing down when i walked in windy areas. i did some sheltered walks along the coast and then headed back to invercargill and visited the museam about life in the antartic circle and NZ sun antartic islands, was very interesting. <br>

... further down the coast we found another Dept. of conservation campsite and settled by lake Mahinapua in the pouring rain.<br><br>13/8<br>The weather got worse into the night and, although we slept well enough the incessant drumming of the torrent on the roof and windows was disturbing.<br>Once awake and up, it was apparent that our van had some serious leaks. Water had entered the side windows through the seals and soaked the edge of the foam mattress (made up from the ...

Awaking to incessant downpour, we were stymied by the winter hours of the wineries - it was a Sunday and none were open - argh! Although this may not be welcome reading in offices around the country, it is very easy to lose track of what day it is when you're not working and we had paid the price for our descent into the work of leisure and relaxation. Short on ideas, we carried on along our original route towards Te Anau, gateway to the Fiordland national park ...

... unless you chose to stop there to explore their gold mining history - the whole place looked relatively peaceful. the most disturbing part about passing through was that we discovered that none of the bottle shops were open to be able to pick up a case of beer. now, this had been the case on the last morning in alice springs. we had thought that maybe it had been a case of licensing laws preventing the bottle shops from opening their doors too early, but we did wonder if it ...

... was not a cloud in the sky - apparently the best day in weeks. The lake with the Fiordland mountains behind was a beautiful sight. We stayed at Possum's campsite and it seemed a shame to eat inside so we had fish and chips, sitting on a rock by the lake. 19 Feb - After getting our dhobi dried we drove to Rainbow Reach and walked the last section of the 'Kepler Great Walk'. We stopped for lunch on the far side of Lake Manapouri, by the ...

... place for some time, then whilst walking across some rocks,looking for hectors dolphins, Biddy spotted a lone penguin sitting amongst the boulders. Quite a surprise and the highlight of this stop. We went to sleep on a hot and windy night, after excellent BBQ steaks, to awake to pouring rain and a reappraisal of our days plans.

... just had a baby!!!! - Walk round the Invercargill Peninsuala, which they have just completed, which was very pleasant especially as it was very warm - Dinner at the Workingmen's club - 3 course meal, free glass of wine, coffee/tea and a huge welcome, all for 12 NZ dollars (just under 4.80 pounds (no pound sign on this machine - sorry!).

... by candlelight). Stockings as usual - this year with mostly Kiwi tack and lacking the usual Christmas paper hankies, toothbrush, satsuma, nut and pound coin but lots of fun. No lunch preparation but a leisurely morning thinking of our family with a sprinkling of tears followed by a phone calls to friends and relatives (for whom, of course, it was Christmas Eve!) with a lot of laughter and then followed lunch at the Cabbage Tree ...

... my stuff and as I did found myself wishing it was for the journey home. It sounds pathetic just 36 hours later, but I was rock bottom fed up - the creeping feeling of lonelyness from the day before had become a full on black cloud and I was feeling sorry for myself. This wasn't really the best time to have a self pitty attack. For the next 5 days I had no accommodation booked and hadn't even decided where I was heading once I picked up my hire car. I'd felt this before a couple of ...

... About the only thing missing were tumbleweeds gently blowing down the now dry and dusty landscape. Can there be anything more lifeless than a ski resort out of season? Apart from Nicholas Cage in every acting role he&#8217;s ever had, that is. <br><br>The only reason I had come back this way was because I had my second bite at the skydiving cherry booked the next morning, and so I was staying back at the Queenstown ...