South Island #4

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Feb 13th

Walked around shores of Lake at Frankton, near to Queenstown. Drove to Te Anau and stayed in Barnyard Backpackers which had log cabins with beautiful view over valley. Went for a run on the Kepler track which started a few ks drive away. Perfect for running with very springy terrain and nice and cool on the shade for the woods.

Feb 14th

Got up at 6am to drive to Milford for Kayaking- had to scrape frost off car windscreen! After safety briefings and donning of various bizarre kayaking garments we started Kayaking just before 10. We had the best possible weather - blue sky and bright sunshine. It was still pretty cold in the shade- we saw lots of seals and a fiordland penguin in the water. A really great place for kayaking. We were on the water until after 1pm then we drove back to Te Anau and stayed the night there - not too tired despite the early start.

Feb 15th

We drove to Curio Bay in the Catlins stopping briefly to get provisions at Invercargill (no other reason to stop there-!) Went straight to the bay and saw loads of Hector's dolphins in the water- they are there all the time. Signed up to go surfing the next morning.

Feb 16th

Good conditions for beginners. I was just using the bodyboard but Mike had a lesson with Nick who was also the owner of the hostel we were staying in. He was a good teacher and Mike managed to stand up quite a few times. Some dolphins came to see us and swam right under me! It was amazing being in the water with them. The water was about 16 degrees so obviously we had wetsuits on!

We walked along the beach and back in the afternoon- about 3 miles long. Saw a seal coming in to land.
Back at the hostel in the evening we chatted to another older English couple who used to live in Sheffield!

Feb 17th

Mike did some bodyboarding without a wetsuit! The dolphins came to investigate who this crazy creature was! We left to drive to Surat Bay further east visiting some waterfalls on the way. At Surat bay we stayed very near the beach- you could see sealions out of our bedroom window! We walked along the beach and saw lots of Hooker sealions sleeping with one or two showing signs of life.

Feb 18th

We walked along the beach again before we were leaving and saw a whole family of sealions playing- they looked so funny running about and play fighting. Then drove to Dunedin to stay in the same B and B as last time. Stopped at st Clair beach for lunch. Went running round sports field- Mike went orienteering in the early evening.

Feb 19
Our 10th Anniversary! Went to the Otago peninsula and did a couple of walks at different beaches. Saw more sealions but no penguins - only their footprints. Had a nice meal out at Speights brewery pub in evening.

Feb 20th

Went swimming at open- air salt- water pool at St Clair then drove to Geraldinein rain- it rained all day and all night!

Feb 21st
Drove to the airport - went the scenic way to avoid possible flooding of rivers near the coast. Arrived in Auckland at about 4.00 - went to hotel - felt strange to be back in a city. Went to gym in hotel and then had sushi at restaurant in town. Very humid.

FEb 22nd

Had brunch out - Mike went swimming- I went on internet and to gym - met Mike for coffee. Packed bags ready for flight to Oz next day.

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