Salmon catchin!!

21 August 2015
329088kms. 13:30. Beautiful sunny day after another minus 6 frost. Forecast awesome for next couple of days so we're off to the Canals to, according to Mike, do some "salmon catchin!". Not fishing, catching! 14:00 done shopping/filled diesel and now on way to Clyde Dairy to get fish & chips for lunch. Went into Twizel to fill up with water. Had 1 jug at the pub and parked up beside Lake Ruataniwha at 17:20. Beautiful evening but it's going to be a cold one, we think.  Sat and watched TV and talked. Decided we weren't that hungry after our late lunch, so had a ham and salad turkish bun for tea. Hit the pit at 22:00.

22 August 2015
Up at 05:30 because Roxie needed out! Minus 1.6 so not too bad. Had coffee and back to bed!  Up again at 08:00 - now minus 3.2. But glorious sunrise and clear skies so it's going to be gorgeous. And it was, but no fish! Didn't see anyone else catching any either. Jo came out and had coffee and lunch with us while we were at the Pukaki Canal, and after trying B and checking out C, we dumped and went and parked in her driveway. Had drinkies, went to pub for tea - beautiful blue cod (& the place was humming) and when we got back to Maggie (@ 10:30) we were confronted by 2 very unhappy dogs as one of them had needed to go to the toilet. Poor things! So spent next hour cleaning carpets/feet/shoes.

23 August 2015
Up at 7:00, minus 5, clear skies and it's going to be another cracker day!
Mike cooked breakfast for Jo and I, & once things were warmed up & thawes out so we could use the hose to finish cleaning, we headed off back to Pukaki Canal. Nothing happening for ages and then started to get some nibbles on the shrimp. And the next thing, my reel frantically spins into action, followed immediately by the crash of rocks as my shrimp is taken - along with the hook, sinker, line, rod and reel!!!! Mike tried for a while to snag it but no luck. Off into Twizel to see if hardware/fishing shop still open but just missed the Fishing shop who closed at 13:00! Bugger bugger bugger no more fishing for me.  Despite trying and a few nibbles, Mike had no luck either. Packed up at 16:15 & moved to the spot we found further away from the road beside Lake Ruataniwha where we are now allowed to park. Gorgeous afternoon but can see the front coming. Oh, & our usb cigarette lighter charger has given up the ghost. Used both power banks but they're now empty too. So having to conserve battery power on phones. And I sat and cross-stitched this afternoon - but had left the current page, needle and scissors at home so had to start on a new page! And the guys who saw my rod disappear reckon it would have been one of the big fish they've been catching all week - 20-25 lbs!!!

24 August 2015
Up at 07:00, plus 1.5 degrees and overcast. 09:00 - dumping in Twizel and then home via Wrinklies. Awesome weekend!!

Oh yessss we have her back!

13 August 2015
9:30, 328607kms. Finally, finally we are away again. We did use Maggie for a weekend in Invercargill while I attended a course (I have volunteered for Victim Support & Mike came down as well so we used Maggie while I attended the first training session) in June but that wasn't a proper Maggie trip. Nor was the usual Queen's Birthday weekend trip. And before that, in March I did go up to see Dad (and encountered a couple of decent quakes!) but now we're finally off exploring. We haven't had Maggie at home for the last couple of months because she was getting a new vent put in the shower and a roof repaint oh ok, & having the chip I took out of the side of the luton repaired! (Parked outside Dad's resthome and the front left wheel fell into a drain right beside a tree so the luton hit the tree and it chipped off the gel coat). All took way longer than we thought and we've had serious withdrawal symptoms! But yay - we're on our way. Both almost as excited as our first trip!! Off towards Tuapeka - weather forecast not ideal but we're that keen to get away that we don't care!  Checked out Tuapeka Mouth (strange name as it's nowhere near the mouth!) on both sides of the river. The ferry wasn't operating but drove round. Also checked out the Heritage Hub - would be lovely on a hot summers day. Bought a combination chow mein from our "usual" Chinese in Balclutha which we ate at Kaka Point. Gorgeous weather - 15 degrees and sunny! Carried on and got to Jack's Bay at 14:00 and decided to park up and enjoy the sun and surf. Good swell rolling in and we're going to fall asleep to the sound of the ocean! Walked the dogs and then chilaxed for the rest of the day. Had spaghetti and meatballs for tea - a real Maggie meal as we never eat that at home. Wind continously increased to the point we lost reception on the TV for a while. Bed at 22:20.

14 August 2015
Up at 01:15 because the noise and the rocking motion of the wind made it impossible for me to sleep. Left Mike happily snoring upstairs and settled onto back bench where I slept reasonably well 'til 07:15. Still blowing, but dry and 10 degrees. Left Jack's Bay at 10am to go and dump and wash the salt and sand off Maggie. Then went exploring and found Tawanui DoC camp, right beside the Catlins River. Tricky steep windy muddy road coming in but this place is stunning. But nowhere to park today as it's a complete bog - everywhere, even though the place is massive. Such a shame but we'll definitely come back. Carried on exploring, over more steep windy and muddy roads (loving it though, so cool to just go) and now (12:37) having lunch by the Papatowai Bridge. Yummy ciabatta buns with salad stuff and the usual cuppa soup. Took dogs down the track to the Old Coach Rd - lovely walk. Then on to Papatowai and decided to park up on the hard at the DoC Camp because we doubt there's anywhere non-boggy round here, all set up at 14:00.  Bought an icecream from the store and walked around town and had a good look at the curio place - which is closed for winter but the moving sheep skeleton on a push bike - with sheep baaa sounds and all - is something to behold. And the moving whale is just spectacular! Got back to Maggie at 16:00, had showers and relaxed for rest of day. Bed at 22:20 after tea of steak, surprise peas and corn.

15 August 2015
Up at 6am but decided that was too early so back to bed til 07:40. 6 degrees and very damp after overnight rain. Lightly overcast and we're very tempted to stay BUT - and it's a big but - the forecast says heavy snow from this afternoon here and in Central so we think it's best to play it safe. Although Mike did think about taking a snow day on Monday but there's no cover on the roster. So it's now 9:20 and we're on our way to Owaka (26kms away) to see if someone wants to serve us some breakfast. 10:40 had breakfast at the Catlins Cafe - really yummy but not quite warm enough Salmon bubble & squeak with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Bought a cool sign for in the kitchen. Dumped everything and hosed Maggie down as she was covered - badly - in mud!
Filled up with diesel in Balclutha and got Chinese in Roxburgh for what I thought was tea. So when Mike stopped at the Roxburgh Dam Lookout at 13:00 and I asked him what we were doing I was surprised when he said "lunch!". Explained I was still totally full from breakfast. So we carried on home and will have Chinese for tea. No sign of the bad weather yet and it was 18 degrees when we got home at 13:30, 329086 kms (478 this trip). Oh, & Tuapeka Mouth is so called because that's where the Tuapeka River enters the Clutha!