Two old wrinklies with two west highland terriers Traveling New Zealand

HMNZS Reunion

We spent an extra night at Ranfurly and the following morning  we were invited over to the “White House’ for coffee and home-made pikelets (my contribution). We were in awe of the motor home, the lounge was enormous; and the kitchen was not much smaller. They also had a large bedroom; but that is the advantage of ‘pop-outs’ I guess.  Sue and Gavin left later that morning and we were alone again ………until a smaller vehicle joined us but they kept to themselves.

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We decided to head to the local pub that evening; for a drink before having a take-out. We arrived at the pub and sat at a bar table big enough for a crowd (only space left) and were joined by a local family who made our evening and were really welcoming. We left after a couple of  drinks and ordered our take-out before heading for ‘home’. It was a relaxing evening watching a TV series we had downloaded and bed.20180811_110705

We left Ranfurly the following morning via Middlemarch – where the single farmers meet the eager ladies for a dance and whatever else lol.

We safely ventured through ‘Orc country’ with Mac and Rose on guard the whole time……..keeping us safe.

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We headed towards Mosgiel where we would be staying at the Mosgiel  A & P grounds for the night. We were lucky to have a powered site for $15 and that also included toilets, showers & a laundry. I had PLENTY of washing to do and although washing was not a problem the drier was another issue altogether…………..however eventually I dried most of it before we met up with Jim and Sue.  Jim served in Waiouru at HMNZS Irirangi and on HMNZS Waikato with Rodney and the  and our last catch-up was in 1978 so it has been a long time between memories. Jim brought us some lovely fresh Blue Cod fillet for breakfast …..thanks Jim; yum!! We laughed and shared old and new memories and then headed to a restaurant for a meal before they dropped us off at Dogonit for the night.

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The following morning we had a slow start to the day not leaving until late morning and heading for Dunedin to stay at the NZMCA park.  Our arrival in Dunedin sparked a myriad of memories for me (2004) as I spied old haunts – the motel, hospital etc.; on-route to our destination.  It feels surreal to be here again.

The following morning we spent part of the day shopping and preparing dog food and then relaxed for the rest of the day until Alana (our God-daughter)  joined us and we took Abe, Mac and Rose for a walk through the park.

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That evening,  at Alana’s invitation we went to an amazing restaurant for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed our catch-up.  It has been years since we last saw her but it felt like it was only yesterday……many thanks Alana.

Next day we left Dunedin and headed to Moeraki Boulders to check it they were still there. It is a unique sight………the boulders so spherical having been there for millions for years ground by the sea.  Rod thought the café/gift shop were sneaky because there are two entrances – one; a DOC site has free access. The other has a very large sign pointing to the car park and as you arrive you have to pay $2 for access to the boulders when it would have been free 100 meters in the other direction. Anyway we paid our $2 and viewed the boulders before heading off.

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We were intending to head towards Oamaru but Mrs Garmin attempted to circumvent our path via Weston;  but after some heated discussion she complied and we got a look Oamaru which is a delightful town/city and well-worth the drive. We passed the site with the Maori drawings -no access today, but the cliffs were amazing and re-knowned for the fossils etc lodged in it’s banks

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Our destination for the night was to be another NZMCA Park but on arrival we found it grassy and soft and so opted for our second choice (which was the BEST one)…………at Glenmac farm which is slightly off the beaten track in the high country. We are on power which is a plus but when we stopped to change a $50 note  (to pay the  $10 donation for power) at Duntroon the cafe/pub were no longer open and our hosts were very understanding lol. We will possibly stay another day……watch this space

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