...I get up and drive to nearby Moeraki beach to see the beautiful round boulders the area is famous for. Despite gale force wind which makes my car wobble on the road, it is quite sunny and the beach is full of tourists. I find it quite commercial but nice.
...I push on to a desolate mountain area, first on narrow country highways then on a bad gravel road for 25 km to see Mt Sunday, which played the location of the city of Edoras in Lord of the Rings movies. Unfortunately it is raining and it's very cloudy so I can see the hill but not the snowy mountains in the background, which make all the dramatic effect. And there is a locked before the track up the hill begins so I can't even climb it. Not talk I'd want to in weather like this.
...I continue to Christchurch, the country's second city, badly destroyed in a huge earthquake several years ago. On the way there I drive on what must be New Zealand's longest continuous stretch of road without any curves - 37 km straight on amidst crop fields!!!
...I learn that the acronym ANZAC used commonly throughout the country in place names means Australia-New Zealand Army Corps, an allied force active in WWII.
...I check into a neat motel again manned by Asian staff.
...I wanna eat at a Mexican restaurant but the ones in Christchurch close early too, it seems. Crazy!