A beautiful day. Rowan took me up a well known canyoning spot. We went up as far as we could easily get. The water was absolutely freezing. I was being a wimp but I pushed through because it is incredibly beautiful.

The weather started to pack it in the closer we got to Jackson Bay. By the time we got to the Craypot for lunch it was light rain but the one that soaks you through in a matter of minutes. A nice lunch and a hot drink to warm up we went back to the Arawhata River to camp up. the weather cleared about 6pm. I spent the afternoon in the camper reading and Rowan went down to the river in the rain to look at rocks. You can get Pounamu in the rivers here but you can only take from the beaches not the river.

What a stunning day! I want to go to the beach to look for rocks and driftwood. Down at Neil’s Beach with my head down searching, my eyes noticed something black in the water. I stop to see what it is thinking a shag. Turns out it is Hector Dolphins. Well off come my clothes and I jump in.

A large wave comes at me and I dive under without thinking about my glasses. After being battered and standing back up, I realise I can’t see anymore. Well there go a few dollars. Hashtag well worth it!

Rowan jumps in too and they come up so close on nudges into him. A few hours in and out of the water, they follow us right down the beach and back again. We decide we will come back at low tide to see if the ocean gives back my glasses. Luckily I am not so blind I can’t see a dolphin.

Amazingly on our way back getting close to where I jumped in Rowan says keep an eye out for my specs and not 10 steps later he found them. They are a bit battered from the sand and rocks. It is great being able to see again! I wasn’t really worried as I do have two others in the camper I could have used.

We came across some guys on the beach and told them to get in. Rowan took lots of photos for them and got their number to share them. His dog Rimu is a bit scared of the waves but just waited while he had a swim.

After our epic swim we walked out to Ocean Beach. A very easy walk. I am glad we did it but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Unfortunately on the way back there was a couple on the track with a dog on the lead. There are literally huge signs as you enter the track no dogs as there are penguins nesting here. I told them to go back. They argued that they wouldn’t go to the beach and I said the penguins come into the forest too. So go back. I think they slowly did. I don’t know why people can’t just abide the rules. I told the DOC worker and he said there isn’t anything they can do, but thanked us for telling them to leave.

A walk out on the pier showed us a lot of small fish which means the big fish are not around at the moment.

Up river for the night opposite Lake Ellery. We stayed right on the riverbank as we knew what the weather was doing. Out here there is no signal! What bliss. A swim in the river washed off all the sand and salt from this mornings swim. We had a fantastic day.

I left Rowan on the river and walked up to Lake Ellery, following the Ellery Creek. The track was a great mix of what NZ bush walking can be. A little bit of mud, some wooden bridges, a few stairs and a few rocky steep bits. All doable in a pair of crocs. I really enjoyed the walk. The lake is quite sizeable. May need to come back with the raft one day.

In the afternoon we went out to get some reception to check our messages. Bette, Rowan’s grandma has osteoporosis and is in a lot of pain. But she is on the mend. We also wanted to check the weather.

Jarmie day! That’s right we spent the whole day in the camper going nowhere! It was great. I finally finished my trilogy of His Dark Materials. I have been reading off and on, with other books in between. I can’t say I loved them but I did enjoy the story.

Saturday it is time to start heading home. We decided to break up the drive rather than do it all in one day. It also means we get back at a reasonable time. We met with an expanding container home company in Queenstown. We have looked at these before but found them not being able to get compliance. This company is working closely with a client to get them legally on some land down Gore way. It will be interesting to see if they can make it happen. It will fulfil a big gap in the market.

Last night we stayed on Lake Dunstan but not in our usual spot. Heading off home today and plan an early lunch at the Waipiata Pub. Well Camele had other plans, the radiator is stuffed. Normally very good at keeping her temperature she began to overheat. Rowan noticed it warmer than usual. We stopped, let the engine cool down and put more water in. From there we were about 20min from the pub. We happily got her there and found a lot of admirers outside the pub. A group of cyclists who just thought she was fantastically retro! Well after lunch we put about 250ml into the radiator. So not too bad. Then we timed 15min stopped and checked. Then did 40min stopped and checked. By then we had made it to Palmerston which is only 30min from Herbert. We are definitely making it home.

A bit later than we wanted. Let’s worry about fixing the radiator tomorrow.

It is like everyone knew I was going away for the week and decided to call or email. It took all Monday to catch up on paperwork and call everyone back. Can I go back on holiday now please?

A local lady did our cushions for us with some wool blankets we got from the local tip shop. $25 a cushion what a bargain. The material was falling apart when we got the camper but we hoped to not have to do anything. Well a year of constant use degraded them into rags. Now they are snazzy!