Home is where we park it.

The air conditioning in the car had give up during our last few days so we were grateful to be in the van as the temperatures rose during the day. The scenery south of Christchurch is very flat and unexciting so neither of us disagreed when we decided to stop at our first camper-van site of the trip, in Ashburton. Whilst this did not have any views of natural beauty it was a large site that enabled us to lay up for a couple of days, in the heat, and sort the van out. By the time we left Bobby had a semblance of order organised, although this would need to be reorganised a number of times during the trip.

Our next destination was through rain to the Maoreki Boulders (a theme of our time here is how often we get odd day's of rain) which cleared up during a coffee in the ubiquitous site cafe. As with everything during our trip our time there was spoiled by the arrival of groups of eastern travelers. Somehow the Korean's do not seem to understand that by standing in front of you they might get a good

photo but... (gripe over).

Our night was spent at a local site where the space by the side of the beach was empty and waiting for us. On a beautiful sunny evening we ate outside, walked on the beach and then went to sleep to the sound of the ocean. All of the things we had hoped for in our trip, wrapped up in our second stay.

After viewing the weather forecast we decided to make the most of the good weather and head for The Caitlins on the south coast. That coastline is full of bay's, views, waterfalls, sea lions, penguins and holidaymakers. Unfortunately schools don't restart after Xmas until February, so everywhere we went was busy with Kiwi's as well as tourist's. I suppose it is their country but you would have thought they would have read our memo.

We also discovered that knowing what day of the week it was would help, but we were enjoying ourselves and lost track of when it was the end of the week. When even more Kiwi's head for the coast. This was particularly evident when we stayed at Parakaunui Bay and Curio Bay. The former is a DOC site with minimal facilities at the end of an unsealed road where you pitch up where you can beside a beach. We ended up with slightly restricted views, being one row from the beach,

but in a lovely position. Unfortunately we returned later in the holiday and the site was full of students on a last 'hooray' before returning to Uni. Bad choice.

In Curio Bay we also discovered the downside of social media when traveling. The sight was packed. We were advised that this was in large part due to a message being sent on social media that their was a pod of Hector's Dolphin's in the next bay. It appears that any message about a dolphin sighting get's a huge response. Our interest there was the Yellow Eyed Penguins and we spent a couple of hours watching their antics as they came ashore. Luckily penguins are not as popular as dolphins.

NZ humour is evident everywhere, in their sign's, billboards, name places and roadside attractions. Especially Niagara Falls, which is claimed to be the smallest waterfall in the world, so much so it was hard to decide where the fall was.

At Waipapa Point we saw idiot tourist's approach some Bull Seals. Unfortunately even those with long telescopic lenses want a picture

from a distance that is closer than is recommended. For some reason selfie's with a seal or other animal as the background is a must, so you can imagine how close they get for these. People were even taken their dog's on the beach which is forbidden when there are seals on it. It really annoy's both of us that there is so little respect for these creatures. If it continues they will retreat further and further away from accessible locations. And who would blame them.

After a visit to Bluff to gaze outwards to Stewart Island we headed off to Glenorchy via Queenstown. Not much to say about the latter other than how busy it is and that it sits in the middle of Lake Wakatipu around which you drive. The road has the most stunning views over the lake and the surrounding hills which makes ita long journey given the many photo stops enroute. Glenorchy is at the head of the lake and is one of the most beautiful valleys in the South Island. If you watched Top of the Lake you would understand. The site we stayed at was very basic but we were serenaded that evening by a fellow traveler practicing on his guitar. Very enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the next day cloud came down over the hills that had a majestic sunset over them the evening we arrived and walking was

not viable, so we decided to set off the next day to Manapouri and a trip on Doubtful Sound. As much as we regret leaving locations there is so much more to look forward to, that and the fact that we do not have infinite time to visit everywhere.

The site at Manapouri will go down as one of the nicest we have stayed at, where the owners have thought of everything you require. The trip on Doubtful Sound has changed from what it was, with a larger boat to accommodate the burgeoning number of visitors. Part of the journey to the Sound is by coach. Unfortunately the sandflies seem to like the ride as well so the occupants all played the game of eradicating them. The window next to Bobby showed that she was good at this.

Doubtful Sound is a beautiful location which is worth the visit. However to me so much is lost when it is done in such numbers. People are vying for places for photo's, noise levels are high and it is difficult to imagine any wildlife being spotted, other than the sunbathing fur seals, given the speeds the boat travels at.

Anyway next morning we headed back towards Dunedin for one of our pre booked events, with a brief stop off in the Caitlin's again. Previously on our way thru we noticed a poster advertising that Neil Finn and his son, Liam, were playing at the local Coronation Hall in

Milton. So along with a few hundred other brave souls we braved the 40° temp (per Facebook) to enjoy an evening of new and old songs played by talented musicians. Tickets had reminded us that it was not a BYO concert (?) so life saving supplies were purchased from the bar. To see such a high quality musician at equivalent to a Village Hall will be a special memory.

On to the Otago Peninsula, via a visit to St Kilda Beach for our picnic lunch, overlooking the surf. Looked at the Blue Penguin Encounter but were told that it was not before 9.30pm. After two bad nights of sleep due to noisy neighbors we decided to give this a miss. Pity but a wrong parking maneuver proved that this was the correct decision.

Owning up, it was by me. Turned into a parking spot slightly too tightly and brushed the rear wing of a hire car driven by Ukrainians. Initially they were very concerned and hurried off to get a translator so we could discuss the incident. When he arrived 10 minutes later, after photo's were taken, they decided to do nothing. They had enough marks during their time with the car, so one more was neither here nor there. Our feeling of relief was short lived.

Next day we took the Silver Fern Seaside train trip which is a return journey up the coast from Dunedin. A relaxing way to see the countryside and coastline which was only slightly spoiled by the noise from the children on board (still school hols). On returning to our van which was parked outside the station we discovered that someone had smashed our wing mirror. An expensive trip.

Next day was a drive around waiting for the main event. Roger Waters at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. Our seats were on the floor towards the back of the roofed stadium. Problem was that it was still hot and the seats were jam packed together. Pretty unbearable. Up on the side by us there were plenty of unsold seats with better views than ours had and, more importantly, plenty of space around them. So before the concert started we moved and were joined by other smart people during it.

What can I say? It was a rock concert. Noisy. Lots of base. Flashing images,. Fans airguitaring and wearing concert tshirts. Soaring guitar and drum solo's. Brilliant.

Song list included many off the classic Pink Floyd playlist as well as some of Roger Waters more political songs. He definitely doesn't like Trump or nuclear weapons. Bobby and I joined in along with most of the audience. What a concert, more than justified the price of the ticket and traveling halfway round the world.

Perfect highpoint to end this part of our trip and start to head north again.