A challenging day

Trip Start Nov 01, 2012

Trip End Mar 06, 2013

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Flag of New Zealand Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand
Sunday, January 6, 2013

Today we woke up in another free camping place in Dunedin, a stone's throw from the shops and library (NZ libraries all have excellent internet and WIFI). Dunedin, according to a Kiwi source, is the furthest point on the planet from UK, so I guess we are heading home now. Our drive south was horrendous, high winds in a light hi-top camper was not fun - hardly surprising the locals have planted miles of tall trees to act as wind breaks.

We arrived in the Catlins via the 'South Scenic Route’ mid-afternoon and headed up to Nuggets Point (29 South 169 East) to view Penguins and Seals. The route up was a hairy mountain drive given the steep drops and prevailing high winds so we took advantage of our camper to shelter from intermittent rain storms while drinking hot English tea. After our walk, it was fantastic news when M realised that he had left the lights on and flattened the battery. With 18km of steep downhill, bump starting the van should not have been an issue, however, we could have picked a better time and place to discover you can’t bump start an automatic.

With K now in panic mode about spending the rest of her holiday on Nuggets Head, M and his trusty gerber replaced the car battery with the campervan fridge battery and saved the day. Panic over we parked up for the night outside the pub in Kaka Point and quaffed several jugs of NZ local beer.

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