Fush’n chup bro?

Need really to make more of a concerted effort to learn New Zillund

It is nice to meet nice people and it is great to make connections that might grow into long lasting friendship, only time will tell that but what is sure is that there is a wealth of people that are kind and eager to share their life their experiences and their house with vagabonds like me.

 

I left Harry and Kim at round about 9:30. I looked at the weather forecast last night and I realised that it was going to turn drier round about that time so there was no point in leaving any earlier.

The route today was going to take me over two fairly steep hills and then along a further 30 miles of what I now affectionately call New Zealand flat. New Zealand flat is that type of land profile that appears on Google Maps as devoted of any gradient but that when cycled is a rapid succession of short sharp hills.

All this being so I went through the hills with less effort that I thought I would and in less than an hour I was at the bottom of the first and taller one. While coming down the hill I did set up the GoPro camera but, I realised tonight, I misaligned it and the shots are fairly poor. I’ll try again the next steep descent I do.

The route today only took me briefly to the seaside and the only real views of the sea I got when I arrived at my destination, the small fishing village of Moeraki.

This place is famous for two things and tonight I’ll be part taking of none of them. The first is Penguin watching, apparently you’ve got to get a car down to the light house and they are active at 10PM so, well, I don’t think so. The second is the Moeraki boulders, strange rock formations that can be seen on the beach along from the village, I will look at them in the morning as I only have 28 miles to go tomorrow and they are a fair walk from the camping.

I have however part taken of two other extracurricular activities with great gusto: I have gone for a walk on the millennium walkway, a path that goes along the coast to the top of the promontory, and discovered that there is a seal colony with a whole lot of seals on the shore. I had a great time at taking pictures, if this is not the first, it’s probably only the second time in my life that I sea seals.

I am saying these are seals but to be honest I’m not really sure they are. They do not look big enough to be sea lions like the one that chased me the other night. On the subject I have discovered that the sea lion can run to up to 18 miles an hour and that is way faster than me.

I am also, on Shirley and Andy’s advice having a fush meal at Fleurs, the pub/restaurant in the marina. I am gutted they had run out of Bluff Oysters but perhaps the fact that there is an R in this month does not carry in the southern hemisphere. I am just about to be seated so I’ll cut this short and turn my head to more important business, I’ll let you know how it was tomorrow.

UPDATE: 20:25 It’s ok if they did not have Oyster, I know someone that would be pleased about that, the meal was superb. Fish was perfect, the capers and lime sauce to die for, the vegetable were steamed to perfection and the potatoes delicious.

All accompanied by two pints of Speight’s Triple Hop Pilsner to which I am becoming rather partial to.