A day spent mending the tent and exploring Invercargill. So lots of miles walked but zero miles cycled. The weather has been windy and wet. The tent pole broke a second time (first time was in Franz Josef) due to a gust that hit it shortly after breakfast. The tent then collapsed, though the rain stopped. The collapsed tent was OK - no longer wobbled in the wind just lay flat on the ground. We left it weighed down and set off to find information about trips to Stewart Island (a rough crossing predicted so we may give that a miss), then we had a look at Henry the Tuatara (a lizard - a foot or so long and born towards the end of the 19th Century) and the art gallery, then we spent ages finding a camping shop that had a fix for the pole (a strong sleeve is now placed around the broken section), then we explored the Queen's Gardens (superb rose gardens), then we tried to find a secondhand bookshop and bakery that we'd seen cycling in yesterday. They were pretty dismal - the bakery seemed to load everything with lard. Then I took tea, to aid my recovery from all this, in the Queen's Gardens while Guy hurried back to the tent to examine the effects of steady rain on a collapsed tent. There is a lovely tea house in Queens' Gardens with pretty decent cakes at a very reasonable price. I realise I have missed National Trust Tea Rooms and pubs with sunny beer gardens. I then shopped for basics, plus a few additional tent pegs (more defences against winds). Then an evening of simple food and interesting conversation with fellow travellers. Is petrol too expensive, too cheap (it hit $100 just recently, seems cheap for a barrel of oil to me), what about canadian tar sands, what is a job for (most people here seemed to be travelling and working), what is the point of travelling, etc. Two canadians, travelling for a year or so gave us their blog address - http://upovertodownunder.blogspot.com
A day spent mending the tent and exploring Invercargill. So lots of miles walked but zero miles cycled. The weather has been windy and wet. The tent pole broke a second time (first time was in Franz Josef) due to a gust that hit it shortly after breakfast. The tent then collapsed, though the rain stopped. The collapsed tent was OK - no longer wobbled in the wind just lay flat on the ground. We left it weighed down and set off to find information about trips to Stewart Island (a rough crossing predicted so we may give that a miss), then we had a look at Henry the Tuatara (a lizard - a foot or so long and born towards the end of the 19th Century) and the art gallery, then we spent ages finding a camping shop that had a fix for the pole (a strong sleeve is now placed around the broken section), then we explored the Queen's Gardens (superb rose gardens), then we tried to find a secondhand bookshop and bakery that we'd seen cycling in yesterday. They were pretty dismal - the bakery seemed to load everything with lard. Then I took tea, to aid my recovery from all this, in the Queen's Gardens while Guy hurried back to the tent to examine the effects of steady rain on a collapsed tent. There is a lovely tea house in Queens' Gardens with pretty decent cakes at a very reasonable price. I realise I have missed National Trust Tea Rooms and pubs with sunny beer gardens. I then shopped for basics, plus a few additional tent pegs (more defences against winds). Then an evening of simple food and interesting conversation with fellow travellers. Is petrol too expensive, too cheap (it hit $100 just recently, seems cheap for a barrel of oil to me), what about canadian tar sands, what is a job for (most people here seemed to be travelling and working), what is the point of travelling, etc. Two canadians, travelling for a year or so gave us their blog address -