Back to New Zealand.

More than two years after we were last in New Zealand it was time to return. Kerri and Harry spent two weeks doing family catch-ups before I arrived in Christchurch in the first hour of Christmas eve. It was a day of catching up and getting organized to go on the road for ten days.

Christmas day was all about the big family get together as is the tradition for us Westerners. It was a bit fragmented with the morning in Christchurch doing presents and ham and egg breakfast followed by an hour drive South to Ashburton for lunch that spilled over to dinner time.

Boxing Day.
After a bit of stuffing around we set off on our 2,000 km loop around the South Island. We had two cars with Kerri's parents and sister all in on the trip.

Our initial target was Oamaru for lunch. Canterbury is mainly farmland along the coast but there was much to get excited about With a 2-1/2 year old in the car. Everything from sheep & cattle to sprinklers, combine harvesters and milk tankers were common sights along the way.

When we finally reached Oamaru, we took a stroll down the historical precinct on Harbour st. There are some interesting little stores and museums that hold some interest. With lunch time approaching most of us had more pressing interests.

 The main street of Oamaru had more in the way of lunch options which was the main reason for the stop. There's still some interesting architecture in the newer buildings with the local whitestone influencing the designs. This is the Waitaki District Council building.

There was still a long way to go before we reached our destination for the day in The Catlins so we decided to go to the park that Kerri's parents used to take them to as children and let Harry loose for a while. He had loads of fun and wasn't the only one (despite Creepy Dumpty).

The more exciting tale was that of the gum tree branch cracking and falling halfway down the tree. This brought out the fire truck that had Harry absolutely beside himself. He talked about the fire truck in Oamaru for the rest of the trip and beyond.

 

The Moeraki Boulders were the first nature excursion of the trip. Moeraki is a half hour drive north of Dunedin. These boulders are essentially crystals that have had the surrounding sediment eroded away.

This one (below) looks a lot like the Death Star (Star Wars movies). Almost as if it came crashing down & landed on the planet.

Mr Inquisitive had to find out what was in the rock pool that was broken like an egg.

We were on our adventure properly and we'd broken the back of the longest day of driving despite having a solid couple of hours to go.

These below are called Red Hot Pokers and were at the end of the path from the boulders on the beach.

We pretty well drove straight through Dunedin electing to get supplies further south at Balclutha. This is the bridge over the Balclutha River that divides the town.

We eventually made it to The Whistling Frog "Resort" (below) in the Catlins where we would call home for the next three nights. It was dinner time when we arrived so exploring The Catlins would have to wait until morning.