Invercargill was hit by a big storm last night - lots of rain and wind. It was still very windy this morning so we were advised to change our plans to take the ferry to Stewart Island.

We stopped at a Woolworths grocery store for some serious shopping, and then went to a local hardware store which had THE REAL BURT MONRO motorcycle on display. Apparently the owner's Dad had sponsored Burt, who had virtually no money to build his bikes and go to the US for the races. When Burt had a stroke, he sold the bike to Mr. Hayes.

Then we went to the "Rural Heritage Day Festival." It featured "the Way We Were in the 1950s" and kids and adults were dressed in 50s fashions. They had a rock and roll dance contest, a Marilyn Monroe and an Elvis Presley look alike/sound alike contest, and many displays. It was great. Unfortunately the field was a muddy mess and we were the only ones not wearing wellies.

We decided to get a start on our journey back up to central Otago. After a couple of hours, we reached the same roadway that we traveled last week when we went to Fiordland. Bob thought the grapes had grown some since then.

We stopped for coffee and pumpkin soup in Kingston, home of the Kingston Flyer. We won't need to cook dinner, so we decided to "freedom camp" alongside Dunstan Lake near Cromwell. Fortunately I can still use my computer since we have the router and we're in cell phone range.