2026 May - Southland, Otago

Fortrose evening

Friday 1st May at Fortrose presented us with a very cold start but a lovely sunny day as a result so soon we were heading to the Tokanui Golf Course from where there are the most brilliant views out over the estuary as well as a some views out to sea.

First drive of the day

This means of course that it was much hillier than I expected but I was still keen to play. The course, which was well laid out, was in good condition, having just been mowed and the greens were good making it excellent value at only $10 each. There was only one bunker on the course, just above the 9th, and last, green and we both managed to avoid it. These rural 9 hole courses are so quiet and we hardly ever see anyone else playing. Here there was one other couple on the course with only the man actually playing. Incidentally none of the last few 9 hole courses we have played on have had a toilet open which seems unusual but that must be what they do around here - only open them on club days.

Afterwards we had lunch at the Fortrose Cafe, an excellent decision as I had a nice soup and a delicious cheese roll which was finally reminiscent of the ones we enjoyed in Dunedin, as students, after Sandy and  I had finished our part-time job of being usherettes in the Regent Theatre and were on our way home - a body-warming hot chocolate and yummy, melting cheese roll were the special treat. Any cheese rolls I've had since have been so disappointing so the ones at Fortrose were a great find! We had a chat while we were there with other motor-homers, from Te Anau, and they were also staying at the freedom camp that night. We decided to enjoy another night there as well, the parking area being a little busier than the previous night with maybe about 10 vans staying on the estuary within hearing distance of the sea which I love.

Fortrose Freedom Camping

With the sun shining the next stop was the lovely flat Wyndham golf course which at first circles the race course and then crosses it to fairways in the centre of the track - interesting!

There were several horses trotting around with their trainers as we played.

Shot over the race track to the 9th green

Out of a sand pit into an old gravel pit (No.1 green)

A few bunkers on the course didn't cause any problems and the greens were good. As it's only a 9 hole course we had time to move on to Hedgehope Golf course which is very hilly so only Len played whilst I filled the time with replenishing the muffin supply. Our quiet stay for the night was at the Gore Race Course where we  could see the horses in their stalls and were the only van there, being handy to the toilets with the fly cemetery within. 

Trevor the trout

The next morning we drove on into Gore itself where we could get the washing done, wander through town and visit the Eastland Southland Art gallery which had an interesting exhibition by David Elliot titled Wind & Waves, John Money's collection with a lot of carvings and sculptures of West Africa amongst other works and amazing paintings by Ralph Hotere who died in 2013. 

One of David Elliot's pieces

We stayed the night in the RSA carpark which is actually out the back, on another street in front of the masterful 18 metre long ANZAC mural depicting the different wars that NZ has been involved in. To support the RSA, and to avoid having to cook, we enjoyed a dinner of blue cod & chips in their restaurant that night.

Where's Heidi?

The next morning, Monday, after Len picked up his meds from the pharmacy we had a wander through the lovely, peaceful gardens in town and admired the birds in the rather dilapidated aviaries, especially the parrot who could say a few words, as well as enjoying a lovely chat with an elderly local lady who was on her way to join her friends for their bi-weekly coffee session. Waikaia golf course was the next one on the list and it's right next door to the Waikaia campground where we stayed the night. 

End of the season at the Waikaia Campground

You just walk through a gate at the end of the campground to bring you straight onto the course. We had rung the campground manager who said to just find ourselves a park and that they were closing for winter at the end of the week so it was very very quiet with nobody at all about, not even the manager. There were just unoccupied vans but, although dated, all the facilities were open and clean. The golf course was flat and rather wet but overall in pretty good condition although the fairways could have done with a bit of a trim, the sheep on the course obviously not quite able to keep up with it all. However the sheep did seem to know their place and we only saw them run across a green once.

Waikaia Golf Club

The course which has bunkers is on the edge of the Waikaia river which you could hear rippling over the stones at times. After playing golf we walked into the tiny town , population 110, and happened to come across Nev, the camp manager, who said he'd be at the camp at 8.30 in the morning for maybe an hour so we could fix up payment then.  The town museum, Switzers which showcases the history of gold-mining in the area, was closed but it was good to admire the adjoining bottle house constructed of 20,000 wine bottles - the focal point of the town really. There were just a few solo people about, half on their quad bikes which we were told that are more or less compulsory in the town because of the normal rainfall and mud. So we were very lucky to strike 2 beautiful days.

The quirky Bottle House

After a very quiet night in the campground we woke to quite a heavy frost which made it a freezing excursion to the warming $1 camp shower but a beautiful sunny day. Len had a long chat to Nev who is so proud of the area he lives in which is not surprising - it's a nice part of the country and we love the extra quiet roads. Waikaka (population 117) golf course where we were going to 'Play and Stay' for $15 was about 40 mins away, a drive through striking countryside with cows, sheep, and attractive flax and toi-toi lining much of the journey.

Beautiful rolling countryside and "Daisy" the cow.

The golf course was no disappointment with an attractive pond and manicured fairways presenting themselves as we turned into the fairly long drive.

No.8 fairway down the right of the pond.

I opted not to play as we could see it was rather hilly but Len enjoyed his game while I thoroughly relished sitting outside Heidi by the 7th green, reading the Listener and my book. It was Ladies Day and they were only playing in 2's with all of them stopping for a quick chat before going on their way.

 

No. 7 Green

What a friendly club and I especially enjoyed having a long talk to an active 86 year old who wasn't playing that day but had just come up to do some things. Lots of topics which finally ended up on retirement villages as she and her husband are soon going to move into one after living in the same house for around 58 years. Lots of stuff to clear out but her strategy is to just gather the things she needs, shut the door and leave the rest of the things for her kids to sort. Probably an excellent plan. Only the men's toilet was open through 24 hours but that's no problem to me.

Beautiful evening with a bonus rainbow

It was a freezing night with a beautiful sky at first, before light drizzle, clouds and wind emerged but we were still a little sad to leave such a friendly spot. I drove to Tapanui Golf Club, along the very quiet road (love them!), where Len played in the cold and wind on the hilly course while I made some warming vege soup which he needed on his return.

An unusual hazard on this course

Very flat camping spot

We stayed that night for $10 at the Tapanui Recreational Grounds which are just around the corner and actually adjoin the golf course next to No 15 tee and a rugby field, parking being on the old, large tennis court area. The school made a good shortcut for a walk to the village 4 Square and the Bottle store as this is another area, along with Southland, where you can't buy alcohol in the supermarket because of the Licensing Trusts, Tapanui being in the Mataura Licensing Trust area. I can't say we enjoyed our pizza from the 4 Square, (never again) but it made for a night off cooking and we'd had healthy soup for lunch. We were the sole van on the tennis courts so it was another quiet night apart from the rain.

Lots of puddles about in the morning and it was time for me to drive again, this time to the Heriot Golf Course which was only 12 minutes or so away, a bit longer for me even though there was virtually no traffic. I played on this one with Len as it was flat with just the hazard of a stream running through it, although all the sheep poo was another natural hazard - exhausting if you try to navigate it all to keep your shoes and wheels free of poo!

The sheep are keeping well out of range.

So the sheep were the fairway mowers with the greens having little electric fences around them to keep you fit.

Demonstrating the wire straddle.

Again, we were the only players there - normal for these 9 hole courses in the south which makes it a surprise when we see any other folk. There were toilets to use in the clubhouse and you can stay the night here but we opted to move on the Clinton Course so Len could tick another 9 holer off - far too hilly for me -  stopping on the way in Tapanui to dump and fill.

Clinton 1st Tee

Len enjoyed the course with it's good fairways and greens but it was pretty strenuous being up and down all the way round. He even found some mushrooms to add into the pasta dish he made for dinner and we're still alive! No toilets available but you are allowed to stay here in the carpark, only being joined by a whole lot of cars when people arrived for a meeting - they were celebrating their 140th anniversary the next day.

Puddles again in the morning as well as fog but it had been a quiet night. After my phone appointment with my GP for some antibiotics and prednisone to settle my COPD flare-up we moved on to the Owaka Golf Course where there was another van with a couple from Te Anau with a few other cars turning up later. Again, not a course for me with very steep hills at one end, electric fences around the greens and sheep and poo everywhere - a bit more challenging than some but no problem for Len who was actually able to chat to someone at last - a member who had worked in Sedburgh, England, in Len's neck of the woods.

Back to Heidi after a gruelling 9 holes!

It was drizzling as we drove on to the South Otago Town and Country Club in Balclutha where we are likely to be for quite a few nights.

Friendly T&C Club

The weather has packed in - rain, strong southwesterlies up to 60km/hr and gales for the next few days it seems. Hail and snow are coming close. There are 4 other vans parked up here but we have found a sheltered spot behind a shed which is better than where the others are situated overlooking the river but being terribly shaken by the wind. Heidi is embarrassingly filthy from the many gravel roads we have been travelling and sadly even the rain can't wash it off. The club was humming as Friday is raffle draw night and after a lovely roast beef dinner with lots of varied vegetables we were invited to join Tiki, the lady club President at her table for some good chat and a few laughs. They were all very welcoming.

We walked through town on Saturday morning as my phone told me that both the chemist where I need to pick up my meds and the hairdresser where I want to make an appointment were open but it turned out they are only open every second Saturday so after a coffee and sharing a nice jalapeno scone for a taste of something different we parked down by the river to have lunch and for Len to do a circular walk before heading back to the Club, where our sheltered spot was still available, for a second night this time having a small blue cod fish & chips for dinner which we didn't think was as good as the roast.

Another wild night and I got to sleep late as I couldn't stop reading my book, 'The  Colour of Law' by Mark Gimenez to see how it finished. A good ending I have to say and the best book I've read for ages! Had me engrossed all the way through.

It's Mother's Day today and even though I was about to make a lasagne very thoughtful David has banked some money in my account for dinner so we will be trotting across the club car park again as the weather is just too foul to drive or walk anywhere else - bitter with howling gales and when Len walked to the big rubbish bins a couple of blocks down the road he nearly got blown to Dunedin. I have made a big pot of pumpkin soup though which will last us a good 3 days for lunch and I have some roasted pumpkin left to put into the lasagne tomorrow night. We don't normally eat out this much but at least club prices are very reasonable and we can stay here for free. It's good to give something back.

There are still 3 courses to play close to here so we won't be moving north until they are done and dusted. Maybe there will be a little window tomorrow but I think that's wishful thinking It's 5° outside right now  at 4.30pm and surely the predicted hail is imminent.

Well so much for that special dinner idea as after braving the horizontal wind and some rain across the car park to the club we found that it doesn't serve meals on a Sunday night although they had put on a special Mother's Day luncheon, so it was back to Heidi for a simple home cooked dinner.

Monday was another very cold windy day but Len braved the conditions to play at the 9 hole Kaitangata Links course out on the Coast. 

Not much parking at Kaitangata GC

As usual we were the only ones there and there's not much parking room  but Len enjoyed the sloping course with its well-tended fairways, which were very wet in places. He was round in no time but I was well back from my little walk, after cleaning Heidi, through the long wet grass and mud to an area nearby where I could look down onto the beach and wild sea, not taking the risk to walk down to the beach as the track was steep, narrow and slippery and there was no-one to rescue me  if I came a cropper.

We then drove out to the Allan Grange 9 hole course, past the large Danone factory, where it was also cold and windy. Again Len was the only player until a couple of young schoolboys were dropped off to have a round.

Very rough, but interesting course with sheep

I'm not playing at the moment as I'm on antibiotics and Prednisone for a sinus and chest infection but I'm improving quickly and will soon have more energy. Len found the course interesting with no cross- over fairways on this one but the sheep here were untrained and happy on the fairways although the greens were fenced off. So after the second quick round of golf we returned to Balclutha to stay the night at the A&P Showgrounds where there were eventually 2 other vans. It was absolutely freezing when we walked out to the Raj Indian Restaurant where we had a very attentive waiter and OK curries but it was nice to be home again afterwards.

Good level parking at the A&P

No golf on the agenda the next day as apart from it being very cold and windy Len has hurt his R patello-femoral area from twisting & trying too hard with his golf swing and is limping around. He is finding it easier since I strapped it up and probably needs to work on his golf swing technique! I had a haircut I liked from Jenny at Hairworkz in the morning and then I took myself off to the movies - The Devil Wears Prada 2 - as we had just seen the first one on TV. Len wasn't keen to follow it up with another so it was just me and 2 others in the comfortable, intimate, little Balclutha theatre. Meryl Streep was amazing as always - such a great actress. Afterwards Len and I met up at George Cafe for a coffee and cake getting there just before it closed. Then it was off to the Liquid Laundromat to do the weekly wash thinking that we might stay in the Freedom Camping area behind it for the night but we didn't fancy it. Could have been noisy with the road, cars coming and going, plus strays so it was back to the A&P Showgrounds for an assured quiet night. Made a lasagne for dinner which lasts us 3 nights or 2 and a spare for the freezer.

Wednesday was another cold day but it wasn't raining and the wind had died down to a 39 kms SW. With a tap handy at the Showgrounds Len delighted me by fetching the "mop" from our garage, filling the bucket with water and washing the thick layer of dirt and dust off Heidi which had accumulated from all the metal roads we have travelled along recently. So we looked quite a bit cleaner when we arrived at the Balclutha Golf Course where it was Men's Club day and Len was welcome to join them but they only play 13 holes and he wanted to play 18 so he actually ended up on his own but did join them for a drink afterwards. He managed to get a cart luckily as his knee wouldn't have coped at all with the very hilly course. Initially we were parked on the road but once everyone had gone home we were able to move into the car park to stay the night.

Our night stop car park

The next morning it was still windy but by the time we had bypassed Milton and arrived at the Toko golf course the day was beautifully warm and sunny meaning that once we were halfway round we had stripped off our outer layers and were down to golf shirts.

Idyllic surroundings

What a fantastic course - it has to be one of our favourite 9 holers, from the Bellbird singing to us at the clubhouse to the lovely trees, gentle humps and hollows, narrow rippling stream running through the course, good fairways and quite fast greens, right down to the lovely garden with the lady working in it and telling us we were playing the wrong green midway round which meant we had to backtrack! There were a few other men on the course mostly in carts but nowhere near us. The only downside was that after we finished I realised I no longer had the cover for my driver so I speedily backtracked right round the course only finding it when coming down No 9 again and there it was just over the stream from where I took my second shot - I missed it the first time. Such a relief to eventually find it though! After golf we backtracked to Milton just to remind ourselves what it looked like, the standout building being the old church although we were diverted from the main road through the town because of roadworks. After passing the lake at Waihola we bought lovely blue cod and chips for dinner to take to the POP at the Taieri River Mouth which sounded so good on the NZMCA reviews being right on the water. It wasn't until we got there that we realised it was the very memorable place we had stayed before, years ago. Memorable because of all the old broken down buses, trucks, boats and vehicles tucked around the site but we were happy to be there again. Carl and his wife plus 2 little dogs are permanents there and help elderly Keith, whom we didn't actually see this time, look after the site. We were the only other van staying.

Keith's house with two mobiles

Len's new mate

Cloudy overhead again in the morning but the sky was awesome and the sun eventually came out while we were walking along the beach, Charlie, Keith's little dog, racing to join us. I was only worried when a runner came towards us with 2 big dogs some distance out from him, not knowing if Charlie would be OK and feeling responsible but Charlie came right to heel without telling him and I was able to chat to the runner who made sure his dogs kept their distance. After lunch we walked up the road to the Wetlands thinking we'd be able to do the circuit there but we ended up going out and back as the path disintegrated to nothing eventually - a nice walk though.

A reflective walk

We walked on further along the road and then down to the beach thinking we would get all the way back to camp but there was a stream that we didn't want to take our shoes off for so we had to backtrack to the road again which is an interesting walk anyway with the houses and the campground.

The little girl spirit is still there.

It's a nice, relaxing place to be so we decided to stay another night there before driving up the coast road to check out the Island Park golf course. Being Saturday and Club Day it was really busy with no chance of a game so instead we kept on our way to revisit Tunnel Beach which has a new meandering, less steep path going down to it now. Lots of people doing the same thing but the carpark is big and has allocated parking for motor homes which is handy.

Looking down after walking back up!

Evening sun over St.Clair

It was great to pop in to see Barb & Newt at St Clair Beach afterwards and I was able to take a little of the baking that I did the previous day though we enjoyed Barb's Crackers and Blue Cheese much more. They are such fun to talk to and very hospitable but we didn't accept their offer of dinner and a bed as we already had plans to stay at the Otago Taieri A&P Showgrounds for a couple of nights while we played the local golf courses. $15 a night but no facilities. On the way we picked up a couple of curries from Krishna East Taieri - very brown gravy-like 'sauce' but big servings especially with the rice and mistakenly an extra garlic bread. He must have thought I asked for 2 but never mind, we had plenty of leftovers for the next night!

Fog surrounded us on waking the next morning and it was -4° overnight so pretty cold. However the sun emerged and, although cool, it was a beautiful day with no wind. We drove out to Gladfield golf course first but they were very busy with Pennants being played so we headed back up the road and around the corner to J Tees Course which adjoins Gladfield.

JTees Course

Being a Sunday it was very busy too but we got on ok and just had to bide our time as play was very slow. It's a nice little up and down course, having six Par 3s, three Par 4s and no Par 5s which suited me much more than Len so I had my first win for a long time. The course, function facilities and the owner's house are all on the market and Len had a good chat with the owner who wants to retire and apparently has a buyer lined up as a strong possibility already. The A&P Showgrounds was again our overnight stay with about 6 or 7 other vehicles.

After waking to -3° it was nice and sunny by the time we drove out to Gladfield golf course in the morning' the clothing layers being gradually stripped off until we were down to our T shirts.

Gladfield Course

A few other spread out players on this undulating course with quite big dips from a lot of the tees and subsequent rises up to the pretty good greens. Afterwards we planned to stay at the Wingatui Racing Club where we had stayed previously 14 years ago but when once we arrived we found it closed due to an upcoming race meeting. We didn't waste our journey out there however as it's very close to the developing Chain Hill Tunnel cycle and walking trail the first section of which has just opened. No parking area there so we had to park way on the edge of the road quite far away.

Chain Hill Tunnel

The walk itself which took us through a long tunnel with automatic lighting and some bushy areas only took about 40 minutes return with a man and his 2 children being the only others on track. Afterwards we headed back to the A&P Showgrounds for our third night noting that the same nice new Hymer came and parked beside us once again. I happily dashed over to have a chat with the solo lady in the morning just as she was preparing to leave and we had a really good interchange with Len joining us later to have a look around her vehicle - a 4 wheel drive 6.5 metre which felt really homely. Lovely vivacious Sonya, who reminded me of Margo, was just on her way to fly her microlite, the weather again being perfect.

As for us we were of course off to play golf again, returning to the Island Park golf club which was fairly quiet being a Tuesday.

 

Some beautiful features (if you stay out of them)

Trish & some golfing buddies

They were busy chopping down trees so the 9th fairway was closed unfortunately as I was having my best round for ages. The nice course was quite undulating and hilly in places with quite a drop-down from the first tee but it was quite manageable. There were some sea views, a pretty lake and well-tended gardens which included some 'playground figures'. Although it was sunny there was a chilly wind and my hands being so cold I couldn't feel them. We joined about 8 other vehicles at the Woodhaugh  NZMCA Park in Dunedin for the night. The following morning we walked straight onto the path behind us in the camp which takes you through the Woodhaugh Park and on into the north end of Dunedin through to the South where I wanted to get some more wool from Spotlight for the jersey I'm knitting as I had somehow miscalculated the amount needed. However, sadly,  they had none in stock but said there was still some in Christchurch so I'm just hoping that it's still there when we arrive. Morning tea was a coffee and shared cinnamon roll in the Meridian Centre with us also having delicious Poke Bowls there for lunch. We both bought some more warm clothes - a pair of dark green trousers each, socks for Len a merino and dark blue lightweight jacket for me. We took the route through the University on the way home so I could reminisce about being a student at Physio School and pass our flat site at 689 Cumberland St where units are now sited, the house having burnt down years ago. We were both exhausted by the time we got back to camp with a whole day of walking. 

What a dull dismal day we woke to with the onset of rain about 10.00 am putting a question mark on whether we would still play at the close-by Belleknowles Course but after a couple of hours it stopped and we could dump before heading out to the very hilly, wet course which basically goes down one fairway and then up the one next to it with 7 & 8 being rather hidden over the road.

No.3 with a view

The short No 1 goes downhill and flows down towards the quiet road where we think Len's drive rolled, the neighbour over the road dashing out to bring us 3 other balls (probably collected from the roadside) and have a chat. No 9 felt a bit dangerous as it crosses No 6 and anyone on that fairway wouldn't be able to see you. It was also a strange green to approach being blocked by a bunker  which, of course I went in, and part of the fenced clubhouse grounds. Luckily there were only 4 others on the course, probably students, with 2 some way in front and 2 a couple of holes behind. Because of the steepness I didn't take my own bag and trundler with Len kindly letting me put 5 clubs in his bag so I could walk unimpeded although my game was still very sad. After golf we parked down by the railway station so we could walk to the 'Hard to Find Secondhand Book Shop' which I had found online to have a copy of this months book-club book 'The Dinner' which was great as I hadn't been able to find a copy of the previous month's book 'The World's Strongest Librarian'. For this reason I suddenly decided to weaken and buy a Kindle to make book access easier even though I much prefer to hold a proper paper book. So the next stop was Noel Leeming's for the purchase of a Kindle which Len is currently enjoying using! 

Eventually we were on the road out to the Otago Peninsula to stay at the Rauone Reserve, a Freedom Camping spot, which had good reviews and was just past the next golf course on the list.  We were the only ones there initially but 4 others arrived after dark and it was a nice quiet night.

Spectacular cloud as we settled in at Rauone

The next day it was just a short drive back down the road to the interesting links Otakou Golf course, yet another 9 holer - humps, hollows, rabbit holes  (they close the course on Monday nights for rabbit shooting) some trees including firs and eucalyptus. Although the temperature had only risen to 12° we were soon down to T shirts with the sun shining warmly and no wind. We really liked the course with Len opting to play the course again, off different tees, after lunch. 

Otakou Course

Whilst he was out, at 2,30 pm a large group of men arrived to play but Len had nearly finished by then. We decided to return to the Rauone Reserve for the night from where we did a short walk between the groynes on the harbour and through the next door playground. We were the sole van there that night with no others arriving after dark this time.

Saturday was cloudy and it was time to visit the Mosgiel Liquid Laundromat which had well deserved excellent reviews with the filters and soap dispensers all being perfectly clean. It was very busy but luckily I only had to wait a few minutes for a washer. The only problem was that the next few days were cloudy which made it very difficult to dry the garments that can't go in the drier. Usually they can dry in a couple of hours on the wide black area at the front of Heidi but the sun didn't come through until Tuesday. Luckily the sun somehow dispensed the wet clothing smell! Once the washing was complete we stopped for a very nice lunch at Kelly's Kitchen in Milton. Dinner was fish & chips from Mr &Mrs Potato at Clyde which had good reviews although we found them a little greasy. The road was pretty quiet and we had enjoyed the landscape with plentiful schist, hills and rocks.

Evening at the top of the dam

Home for the night was at the Burton Recreational Reserve, a Freedom Camp, on the quiet side of the Clyde Dam where there were 4 other vehicles.

The reason why we were heading back into Central Otago was because we missed playing the 9 hole Gibbston Valley golf course as it only opened in March. Sunday was another cloudy day and the $95 course was quiet but Len really liked playing it although he still has to be very careful with his knee - lots of schist, unsighted holes and all Par 3s and 4s which meant we had come all this way for just an hour of golf with me not playing these expensive ones!

View across the practice green.

The car park was very small but the restaurant/lounge area was lovely with expensive decor, a fire and comfortable seating and we enjoyed having a drink and a shared muffin after Len had completed his round. After passing through Cromwell, where we dumped and filled up with diesel, we drove on to stay the night at the Champagne Gully Freedom Camp on the opposite side of the Clyde Dam next to the main highway making it noisy in the night. There were 2 other vans there with the one next to us leaving at 5.00 am. Another cloudy day dawned and we were soon off to Alexandra where we walked out as far as Marshall's Rd and back along the great river trail, taking about 1.25 hours and initially passing some awesome comedy figures in a garden - players on a cricket pitch, a bar with bar lady, bath chair and more - so well done.

A large Pinot Gris please.

It would have been good to get the bikes out and bike to Clyde along the river trail and back on the rail trail although that part we have done before. However Len's knee would have suffered with the twisting involved getting the bikes in and out so walking was the best option, only seeing one other walker and one cyclist.

We had sushi for lunch in Alexandra before popping into New World for the weekly supplies after which we continued on to the Ardleigh Golf Course, which we have previously played, for the night, there being just one other vehicle there - a sole lady and dog in her caravan. Ardleigh GC is just west of Palmerston and the road there was so quiet with no other vehicles going in our direction since Ranfurly and only a handful coming towards us, one of which was weaving over the centre line. It had been another cold and cloudy day.

Tuesday we drove to Warrington Domain which is a large Freedom Camp but after  doing a loop walk through a narrow wet track down to the coast along to the NZMCA Park and back along the road for a walk along the main surf beach, which had some nice little body surfing waves, before returning to the domain and hearing loud music from a probably long-term camper we decided to move to the lovely NZMCA Park which is very quiet with 4 others vans and where we have a view over the water.

View from our parking spot

So much better for us than the Domain and with lovely sunshine which has finished drying off the washing at last.

So it's now Wednesday and after a very, very cold night with frost on the ground as well as the windscreen of the car opposite us I'm now sitting in Heidi bathed in sunshine writing this while Len is using AI to write his life story which will be handy for his family to read as well as for some funeral information! He's getting such good feedback from the AI man and is really enjoying doing it. After lunch we plan to move on to the Red Barn POP at Moeraki to get closer to the next golf course, Waitoa Park, near Oamaru.

We finally left the NZMCA Park after lunch, driving up the quiet, but winding, humpty-bumpty coastal road, crossing the railway line numerous times and seeing some quaint character churches before we arrived at Karitane, one of our favourite little places with it's beautiful views over the estuary on one side and the ocean beach on the other. We walked from the Karitane Reserve near the Waikouaiti River estuary  along the path leading to the coastal cliffs around the Huriawa Peninsular and up to the historic 200 year old Pa site in a loop, passing the whooshing, dramatic blowhole and seeing sweeping ocean views towards the long stretch of Waikouaiti Beach to the north and Karitane Beach to the south.

View from headland to Waikouaiti Beach

Probably a little less than an hour altogether after which we continued on to the Red Barn POP at Moeraki just stopping to dump in Palmerston on the way. The POP is in a fabulous location, right next to the beach giving us the awesome sound of the waves breaking and just a 10 minute walk along the beach to see the famous boulders.

Boulders by the sea

We're both sure that there are less stones now than there were when we were here 6 and 13 years ago and no longer any that you can see on the eroding cliff face. From past photos we can definitely see that this is the case but apparently the number visible can change based on the tides and the weather with large storms and heavy wave action frequently burying them with sand or uncovering them. However the number is finite as the process that created the boulders in the first place has stopped.

It was great to have a rest from cooking tonight with Len opting to take charge in the 'kitchen' - a totally delicious bacon and mushroom pasta dish. Yum.

Thursday at the Red Barn POP right by Moeraki Beach was a quiet catch-up day with me getting this blog up to date and Len writing his 'Life Story' which has become a bigger project than first intended. After lunch we walked southwards down Moeraki Beach as far as we could before the high tide prevented us going any further even though we could have continued up onto the road but I wanted to get back in time to watch the video link to Max Eves funeral during which I was able to see people that I hadn't seen for years, in my other life.

 Another cold night but a sunny day as we headed to Waitoa Park golf course the next morning, taking a little detour along a narrow but sealed road out see the beach at Kakanui although we didn't linger for long.

Trish post "gritty" at Waitoa Park GC

The Waitoa Park Golf Course is exactly that - a long drive in to a very park-like, flat 9 hole course with either a single line of trees on either side of the fairways or tall, trimmed hedges. Numerous shallow bunkers, one of which I managed to get out of and straight in the hole! The young couple who were ahead, waiting to let us through, were very impressed, just as Lydia would have been. A true miracle I have to say! I loved the course as it was all Par 3's and 4's, no Par 5s which totally suits me and even though the grass still had dew on it the ball was running quite nicely. It was good to see others playing for a change as most courses have been so quiet and by the time we left the men members were about to play their Friday afternoon haggle.

We had left the golf course in time to have lunch in Oamaru at the rather retro Lagonda Tearooms, a family business for 54 years and which I had seen had recently been voted by Stuff readers as one of the best Tearooms in NZ. It's spacious, iconic  and offers a nostalgic, classic Tearoom experience. Len and I shared a bowl of wedges with cheese and bacon and had a spirulina smoothie each which was very nice and plentiful with the waitress bringing full glasses plus the metal shake containers the smoothies were made in, giving us another full glass each. Very good value and very full stomachs by the time we left!   We wandered through the rather beautiful town with its grand old Oamaru Stone (white limestone) buildings of which there are 70 registered as Category 1 or 2 historic places. By chance, the annual Steampunk NZ Festival was scheduled for this Kings Birthday weekend and we saw about a dozen steam punkers about the town. With a packed programme of "whimsical inventions, fashion showcases and street festivities" throughout the weekend we decided to pop along to see the Steampunk Street Parade following our night stay at the North Otago A&P Showgrounds where we stayed a few weeks previously - a large area with maybe about 25 vehicles but still lots of room.

Saturday was cloudy and cool but luckily no rain all day. The Steampunk Parade was good to see with all the participants in their amazing selection of outfits.

Plus I can now understand how they do the "teapot racing", the teapots being on wheels and activated by remote control although we didn't get to watch the races themselves.

After chatting to the local lady and her grandson standing next to me at the parade we realised that we really must go and see the Steampunk HQ which we found pretty interesting.

Bat out of hell

What's up?

By the time we were halfway round I started to actually understand what Steampunk is all about which was helpful! We had a nice lunch at the Busy Woolstore Cafe close by before doing the usual tour of the harbour to where all the shags were still sitting on the historic wharf. Not as many people about as I expected. Instead of returning to the Showgrounds we decided to stay at the very central Freedom Camping spot in the Oamaru car park on Eden Street. Before dark there were only about 5 of us there but by morning there were about 20! It had been a very quiet night and if you listened carefully you could hear the sea.

After dumping the next day we drove out to Riverstone Castle which had been enthusiastically recommended to us by our friend Gilda - it had been closed the last time we were close by. 

T & The Castle

The castle, surrounded by a lake/moat with a drawbridge  and built by Dot and Neil Smith is amazing with a huge collection of antique furnishings -it's beautiful and Dot must be the most incredibly talented person with so many skills apart from organising the build of the castle - a restaurateur, gardener, florist, retailer, singer, piano player, sewer, knitter, jam and chutney maker extraordinaire for a start! Raewyn, our guide in the Castle, was excellent being full of knowledge and truly passionate about the Castle and it's development. It's certainly well worth a visit. Afterwards we had a coffee and nice, naughty cakes in the very busy restaurant which is run by Dot and Neil's son who is a chef.

 

From the Castle we drove on to the Old School Pareora POP - a great, quiet place to stay with a shower and toilet although I had to undress 3 times in the morning before I actually got my shower as the 2 $2 coins weren't dropping in properly and setting the shower off as it should so I had to make 2 visits to Colleen, one of the custodians, for help. Phew, it eventually worked and I could instruct Len on what to do!
After arriving there, the afternoon before, we walked down to the sea where, very sadly, the big pipeline from the Silver Ferns farm puts all it's waste straight into the sea - if you look on Google maps you can see the brown waste clearly discolouring the water for a fair stretch of the coastline. The beach itself was stony with the sea being rough and having rips - not a place to swim for lots of reasons!

Worrisome pipe