Flash Takes The Plunge(r) (14-17/05/09)

THURSDAY 14TH MAY

Instead of going down the coast, we headed inland to do the loop that would take in Lake Tekapo. First we stopped at the town of Geraldine for lunch. After lunch Louise and I went for a walk around town while leaving Laurel and Hardy to wash up. Surely they couldn’t balls that up could they? On the way back we saw Flash shoot up the road. We thought maybe he’d been caught short so we went back to the van and asked Dot where he’d gone. When we got into the van the pots hadn’t been done and asked Dot why they were still in the sink. She said that the sink was blocked and Flash had gone to get a plunger! Louise and I looked at each other in dismay and asked had they bothered checking to see if the gray water was full first. The answer was obviously no, as we checked it ourselves to see if it was full. The answer was a resounding yes. This meant that Flash had run around town looking for a plunger for no apparent reason. The plunger is now sat in the cupboard taking up space. We arrived at Lake Tekapo around 16:00p.m and headed for a campsite because we had to get some power and empty the gray water. We had a very quick walk around the town. After a swift one in the pub while we waited for Flash to book his star gazing (some people would say he does that all day already), it was back to camp for the night.

FRIDAY 15TH MAY

We woke up to a stunning sight as it had snowed over night, and all the mountains that surrounded the lake had a fresh blanket of white over them, amazing. Louise had found out there was an ice rink not far from the campsite and talked me into going. I was more than a little wary after my last experience in Central Park NYC. When I was there I fell over about six times in twenty minutes and only made it round twice before exiting the ice defeated, while Louise zoomed around like a pro. This time was different. Only me, Louise and Flash were on the ice so I was a bit more confident. Flash had been ribbing me about how it was easy so I thought ‘fuck it’ and just went for it. I turned out to be better than expected and didn’t fall over once. While Flash, after his boast about how easy it was, fell over at least three times. Afterwards we headed to the thermal pools where Dot joined us. These weren’t smelly like the ones at Hanmer Springs so it made for a more enjoyable experience. The backdrop of the snow-capped mountains was mind-blowing. I never thought I’d be sitting in a pool, relaxing without a care in the world with such incredible scenery all around. It beats working that’s for sure.Flash ‘Arry went star-gazing again as it was cancelled last night, so the rest of us stayed around the camp and listened to the incessant rain.

SATURDAY 16th MAY

We shot off a bit sharpish this morning as we didn’t pay for our second night on the camp. I begrudge paying anyway as we only used the showers and it cost us NZ$2. Flash managed to put his money in the wrong shower, so he was stood in a cold shower for five minutes before he realised. We headed to Oamaru a small town about seventy miles north of Dunedin. On the way we drove through a town called Twizel (I’ve put this in because I like the name),then drove past the massive Benmore Dam, before stopping to check out the Takiroa Maori Rock Art Site west of Duntroon. Some of them have fallen off as they’re on limestone, but it was worth a look.We arrived in Oamaru and Eric and Ernie booked a trip to see some yellow eyed penguins. Louise and I had already seen plenty of penguins so we spent the early evening in the local pub. After a couple of hours in the pub one of the barman said that there were two malingerers hanging around our van. I rushed outside to tackle the ne’er-do-wells and found Mork and Mindy looking for a way to get into the van, even though we’d told them we’d be waiting in the pub. Louise and I stayed out for the night and were going to go to the famous Penguin Club to watch a few bands until we found out there was only about 20 people inside and the bands were crap. Instead we stayed at the pub and drank half a bottle of Bombay Sapphire.


SUNDAY 17TH MAY

After waking up with a gin-head, I got a quick shower (by quick I mean get wet, turn off shower, have a wash, rinse off. These self contained campers only hold 80 litres of water but take 20 minutes to warm up 25 litres), and we went to visit the local whisky distillery. I not a whisky drinker at all but I went in all the same, and ended up spending all my time in the art gallery upstairs. Being ignorant about most forms of art, I found what was here really good, but hey what do I know. We left Oamaru and headed to Moeraki Boulders about forty miles up the road. I don’t know how they got here or what they’re made of, but I do know they look spectacular and they’re fun to climb on. But the best thing I saw while I was here was watching Dot get on and off one of the boulders. She has quite a bit of difficulty doing stuff like this has she has arthritis. However as we’re nearly related I’m allowed to laugh at her when she’s stumbling and groping while trying to get on and off some massive stones. So far it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in New Zealand. After fun on the beach we stopped off at Shag Point to take a photo of the sign and then found somewhere to park. As it was dark and there was loads of rain we stayed within the warmth of the campervan and played Monopoly the ‘Here and Now New Zealand Edition’. I realised that without trying I’ve already visited 6 of the places on the board in the four weeks I’ve been here. Now that just makes me want to visit the rest of them now.