272079kms, 11:54, 24°C and very cloudy and muggy. Off to Dunedin for 2 reasons: 1) Marielle has appointment at Dunedin Hospital and 2) Maggie has appointment at Armstrong Prestige for a full service and to fix the glo-plug problem. Filled in Alexandra 272089kms: 50.14L. Had fish and chips for lunch at Galloway beside the Manu - caught up with JJ who was fishing! 13:14 - rolling. 15:23, in Palmerston (stopped at usual spot along the Pig Root for a smoke and a stretch!) Now only 14.5°C! Could see the sea fog as we were coming into Palmerston, and now very overcast and dark. Went into Karitane to see if there was anywhere there to park up - no - so carried on along the "scenic" route towards Dunedin - nothing much to see though due to the very thick fog! 16:00 - all set up at the Warrington Domain in a lovely balmy 13°C!!
Took the dogs for a walk along the beach and it started to rain as soon as we left Maggie. Rained off and on for rest of the evening, and the fog came in even lower. Had marinated lamb, fresh beans and new spuds (all veggies home grown!) for tea and went to bed at 21:40. Did 198kms today.
21 January 2010
Up at 07:00 after not such a good night - for some reason, neither of us slept well. Not cold - 13°C, but very foggy and damp. 08:15 ready to move on to Dunedin. 12:19: 18°C and sunny! The forecast was awful for Dunedin today - it was meant to rain all day - but instead, it's beautiful. In town too early, so had BK for breakfast! Too warm to have jackets with us as we walked round town after the Hospital appointment! Maggie has been serviced and number 2 plug has been replaced (it had shorted out) but we need to stay in Dunedin area tonight as the glo-plug controller had also shorted, and the new one won't be here until the morning. While we were walking around we came across an upholsterer, so now having new squabs made for the back seats - they were just too soft and always felt like we were sitting on wood! Also filled the gas as we thought it must be getting low - orange flame last night and we can't remember the last time we filled it - but not necessary as it was actually still half full - only took 4.5kgs. Then off to Kaikorai Valley takeaways to get spring rolls for lunch and combination chow mein for tea tonight - the joys of being in a big city! Took our lunch out to Whare Flat, thinking we'd park up there for the night. But the whole area is now Scouting Otago and no access!
On way there we saw massive clouds building up inland - quite spectacular. The forecast had said there might be heavy, thundery showers inland, and these clouds sure looked like they'd bring a dumping somewhere. Anyway, nowhere to park at Whare Flat, so ate our springrolls (YUM) and on to Outram Glen. Yep, lovely spot alright - so lovely every man and his family and dogs were there - so many people that the road into the place was so full of cars we couldn't get through. So much for that idea.
17:03 - at Longbeach and just taken the dogs for a walk - stunning spot, but once again, very foggy! Explored the caves and checked out where the ladder used to be attached to the cliff face so that you could get to the beach from Purakanui. The whole reserve at Longbeach is now "no camping" - as one local said, it would be ok for people like us, but it's to keep the hoons and bottlethrowers out - a shame, as it would have been a great place to park. So now no other option but to go back to Warrington Domain! 17:40 - all set up. And with nowhere else to go, we have done 163kms today only to end up exactly where we started! Amazing how the kilometers just tick away. Still foggy and 14°C. The fog did disappear for about 2 minutes, giving us hope that it would clear altogether, but unfortunately it kept rolling back in again - and did this several times. Had wonderful chinese for tea and hit the pit at 22:30. Oh, the new squabs are very firm, but infinitely more comfortable than the old ones - a good buy!22 January 2010
Marielle up at 06:30 - fine, still and overcast morning after occasional heavy rain during the night. Had a good sleep, Mike even slept in 'til 08:00! Dumped at the Domain and headed off into Dunedin at 08:28. 09:48 - have spent the last 3/4's of an hour at Armstrong Prestige while they try to get the glo-plug controller to work - and it won't! Mercedes have sent down a dud unit, so the glo-plug light is still on. Not happy, because it means that we are going to have to do another 400km trip to have a new one fitted and also, we could have gone home last night! 11:00 - have had breakfast at the Everyday Gourment - beautiful eggs benedict for Marielle and an ok mixed grill for Mike and now filling at BP Truckstop (272485kms, 56L). Continuous drizzle and a miserable day here with only 13°C so we are going home! Arrived home at 14:10, 272685kms (595.4kms for this trip) to a much warmer and drier place. And it has rained heavily round here - there was water in Black Jacks Creek, which is normally dry this time of the year - so the dumping of rain inland did happen!