So Long, Fairwell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu (8-10/06/09)

MONDAY 8TH JUNE

Today, after finally sorting out everything, we leave Methven and head again to Kaikoura via Christchurch.In Christchurch we find out that our gas bottle is out of date and so therefore it can’t be filled legally. This means we have to go back to the hire place for yet another problem with the van. This puts us a couple of hours behind and makes Louise pretty pissed off that she has to drive in the dark yet again. When we arrive at Kaikoura the likelihood of the whale watch going ahead is very small, as the weather is pretty filthy, but we’ll see tomorrow.

TUESDAY 9TH JUNE

Dot Com and Flash tried to go whale watching on a boat today, but were unable to due to rough seas. They did however go and do it in a plane for a whole NZ$5 more. I went looking for some books at the very quaint little book shop on the high street and picked up a couple of Bill Bryson novels. They’re bound to be good as he’s one of the funniest authors I’ve ever read. It was back on the road as soon as Derek and Clive had finished their whale watch (where they saw four compared to our one) we headed back to Christchurch along the rather awkward Highway One (what classes for motorways in New Zealand takes some getting used to).

WEDNESDAY 10TH JUNE

It’s Dot and Flash’s last full day in the country, so the only obvious thing to do is go souvenir shopping for one last time. I don’t like shopping unless it’s for my benefit. So I spent most of the afternoon stood in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, watching grown men playing giant chess. By giant chess, I don’t mean chess with giants, but chess using rather large chess pieces. Watching other people play chess is tantamount to looking at other people’s holiday photos: it’s incredibly boring.As a gift from Flash for driving him and Dot around New Zealand for five weeks, he took us out for dinner. With the cost of eating out fairly high everywhere you go, we opted for the buffet at the casino. The food was good and I won NZ$400 on the roulette; every little helps when you’re not earning.