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!
