The Germans in the Rotel were up at 0630 and the babe
next door started crying and so by 0710 we were getting edgy and although it
rained a little bit overnight it had also been windy which had dried off the
tent and so by 0730 and after a cup of tea we were in full clear up mode.
The weather was still rather grey but this turned out
to be only on the peninsular as the nearer we got to Dunedin on the road
alongside the sea etc the town was lit up by the sun and shining of the
waterfront warehouses so not a good photo to take. We stopped in a little shop
for some batteries for the airbed pump and then headed South on Route 1 in the
direction of Invercargill. We stopped for a coffee in a rundown old town called
Clinton which they called a ‘three horse town’ as they had a statues of three
horses pulling and cart. The on to Gove where we stopped for a Subway, Gove is
a bustling little town with loads of cafes, restuarants and even has a
McDonalds and Pizza hut.
We then continued West across the lower half of the
South island and about 70 miles from Te Anau it started to spit with rain and
it got steadily worse thereafter and when we arrived at the site it was
chucking it down and there was no way either of wanted to put up a tent. So we
changed our booking and now have a little hut complete with a double bed a
kettle and toaster and not much else and you still have to use the communal
loos and it is costing us an extra £ 15.00 per night. Lo and behold not long
after we arrived so did the Germans with the Rotel cattle box on wheels and
they were setting up the table under the tarpaulin again in the pouring rain,
good luck. We were planning to do our lamb chops tonight but even the small
distance from the hut to the cooking area would have meant that everything
would have been saturated. So we remembered that there was not a bad Chinese
Restaurant in town that we have previously used and opted for that and the food
was very good but the size of portion has also increased significantly and
there was to much for us to eat. Te Anau is a lovely place when its not
raining, we do have to bear in mind that it does rain 300 days per year and so
to get the weather right is more luck
than judgement. The little town has some smashing little shops and all based on
the shores of this very large lake and in the sun is a perfect place to stay.
So we have decided to review the position tomorrow as the ground is pretty much
waterlogged in the camping areas and although we don’t mind a wet ground sheet
we do not want a very wet tent that we cannot dry out for several days as it
could go mouldy and then we are in real trouble. So we may opt to stay in the
cabin for the small amount of extra required.
After dinner we spent time on the internet and the
notebook pc is now running much better thank heavens so the giuys in Dunedin
did a good job.
Let’s see what the weather brings tomorrow but on
Friday we are on the Doubtful Sound full day outing and the weather promises at
least for Friday to be good, so let’s wait and see what happens.
