Before we left, I know that I cleared the refrigerator of anything that might look like a science project upon our return. Alas, I did miss one or two items, and there is nothing likes the whiff of broccoli gone bad to wake up the olfactory sense. I uncovered what may have been an egg plant in another life. Guess the vegetable compartment was missed in the frenzy to get ready and go. Anyway the egg plant thing was an unusual liquidy-like blob wrapped in plastic and had what appeared to be roots sprouting from one end. Well, I say one end but it was not possible to determine if the creature from the back of the vegetable drawer had and end. A bit of advice, composting is entirely doable inside the refrig, no need to take it to the yard waste container, nor the compost heap in the back yard. Ok, on with the last post and speaking of food…
I finally had lamb shanks and they were tasty. Lovebird Laura couldn’t look. While she eats meat, the thought of eating lamb which of course is a baby animal, made her wince. She had the vegetarian soup but I am SO glad that I had lamb. Yummy!
The plan for our last tourist day included sleeping-in and visiting the city of Dunedin (pronounced Duh- need- in) and consuming as much of our remaining food as possible. Lovebird Gary was our official guide as he found a walking tour of Dunedin that began with the railway station. It is the most photographed building in NZ –according to our guide- and was still in use. We were no different than most and snapped loads of pictures probably too many. As we walked, our guide –Lovebird Gary- gave a running commentary and descriptions of what we were seeing. Of course one stop on the tour was Speight’s brewery but unfortunately a guided tour of it was out of the question. The tours were booked up. Just need to plan ahead next time, but we found the tasting room err bar and ordered a sampler which the four of us shared. Beer before lunch is not something that I would normally do but we were still on vacation and what the heck, right? The tour took us past a large statue of the revered Scottish poet Robert Burns –Robbie to the locals- a church, an Anglican cathedral, and the Cadbury chocolate factory. Chocolate after beer and before lunch, it was heaven sheer heaven. A large group of teenagers, who appeared to be on a field trip, were waiting for their tour of the factory. Why a teacher would take a bunch of teenagers to a chocolate factory was a question without an answer. Perhaps it was a marketing class or some such, all I know is that the males looked hungry as it was lunchtime, and the chocolate was everywhere. The teacher was either a saint or I don’t know what but the bus ride back to school was probably noisy. We decided to purchase a few Cadbury bars before the teenagers cleaned them out, so opted to buy without touring. We stocked-up and allowed ourselves one last wonderful chocolaty inhaled breath of the place. The tour of the city completed, we lunched in the RV and were back out on the road.
The quest for the last campsite, lead to a few tense moments. We all had ideas about what would be the perfect site. Getting four adults moving in the same direction for 2 weeks is simple campared with finding a campsite. The Fella wanted to freedom camp –not pay and park somewhere scenic. I wanted scenic but did not mind paying. The Lovebirds were open but preferred someplace with a shower and power. An hour or so later, we had a spot that was somewhat rustic but cheep ($15), had showers and power, and was scenic in the broad sense of the word. Never mind that there was a field of sheep in front of us and train tracks behind us –it was all good. The last Miller Time was prepared. (For those who don't quite get the Miller Time thing....it is the Batie family name for cocktail hour.) Gin and Tonics for the women and Old Fashioneds for the old farts oops I mean the men folk, and with what was left of our munchies, things settled down nicely.Our blood sugar and livers happy we ate dinner which was BBQ’d steak, baked spuds, salad, and the $40 bottle of Pinot Noir that had aged at least a week. ‘Twas a great last night on the S. Island. Sleep was only interrupted a couple of times by passing trains, Ok it was four for me but whose counting! The site was the least expensive and had shall I say, a certain je ne sais quoi about it.
The last day on the road to return the motorhome (Christchurch) was uneventful unless you count the transportation museum that the Big Fella located across the street from the drop off location. I am NOT kidding. The man has a nose for these things. He and his bro’ decided that this was an opportunity and as we had a couple of hours before the official return of our vehicle, why not. The women sat out the museum and kibitzed with Lee the gentleman at the drop site. Lovebird Laura borrowed his phone and confirmed our airline reservations while Lee told me in great detail about the earthquakes. We were west of the epicenter and the second quake was felt in the area but no damage was sustained. Just prior to the rumbling, he saw that his horses were acting a bit odd and observed them being pushed straight up into the air, all four feet leaving the ground. They took off and the shaking started. The epicenter of the September quake was closer and he described watching as the contents of his house crashed to the floor. Anything breakable was down and in pieces. His brother, who lives next door, lost hundreds of dollars in beer and liquor. No not the beer! He laughed as he said bottles were everywhere and in pieces.
Once the guys were finished with the museum, we took a flight from Christchurch to Auckland where we stayed for the night. I won’t bore you with those details, or the fact that the flight from ChCh was over an hour late causing us to miss dinner –like we miss many meals-, and it was pouring rain in Auckland, and the flight from Auckland to LAX took 11 hours and I got no sleep because most other passengers were talking and that we had a four hour layover at LAX which maybe one of the yuckiest airports in the universe. We did arrive home safe and sound.
I cannot say enough nice things about New Zealand. The scenery was gorgeous and diverse. The people are friendly, hospitable, and laid back. And even with the chaos of the earthquakes in Christchurch, “No worries,” was their mantra. I will return for there is much we missed .I hope that it is soon and encourage that all who read this edition of Moose and Mosquito go there too.
Thanks to all who helped to calm our kids’ nerves following the earthquake…next time I will send them both an itinerary! Over and out.
Mary :)
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