Tuesday, 15th November 2022

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Total exhaustion meant we both managed to get a decent night’s sleep in what feels like the first time in ages! It was nice to be able to get up and have a normal breakfast in our motel room, then pack up and get back on the road.

Today we travelled from Oamaru down to Dunedin, then round the Otago Peninsula, and finally taking the Southern Scenic Route down to Invercargill. So it was another long day on the road, about 9 hours in total but that included many, many stops at various scenic locations to get plenty of photo’s and enjoy the beaches and views we encountered along the way.

It was an amazing journey, with temperatures ranging from a grey, overcast 14 degrees which had us keeping our raincoats handy in the car, to glorious sunshine and 27 degree heat. We drove almost level with the sea, then reached heights where we were able to watch the clouds drifting across the road in front of the car.

There are so many sheep here, they are literally everywhere you go! Field after field of hundreds of sheep and lambs. There are also more cows than I was expecting, and the odd field (with much higher fencing) of deer of all things.

Highlights during the trip down were seeing all the old buildings, like Hampden Stores with what to me looked like scrap heap cars, but to Roy they were the best cars ever. We also came across the Teapotland, which was just bizarre!

We enjoyed a stop and a stroll at Moturata Island, where we could walk across white sandy beaches next to crystal clear water. The plants around the edge of the beach made it even more impressive as did all the little crabs scurrying about on the beach and under the water.

Today was more of a visual day, so not too much to write about. We’re looking forward to a slower pace for the next few days, less miles (or should I say kilometres) to cover, and more time to explore the area around Te Anau.

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