It was another early start to be at the dock by 8 for the ferry to the mainland but any grumbling died down as we were treated to a lovely sunrise. The ferry was noticeably quieter after the excesses of the night before and the odd snooze was had on the way across. We were reunited with Ariel (the driver) and our tin can on wheels and headed to the end of the biggest motorway in New Zealand (more exciting than it sounds actually!) then breakfast. I chomped down a bacon sarnie and we were off for a mystery tour of some sights on the South-East New Zealand. After a brief stop at a fossilised petrified forest (only seemed mildly surprised to me mind) then a longer sojourn at a lighthouse where a seal treated all of us to a display of seriously dedicated basking on a rock and a sealion hopped up on a beach for the benefit of a chosen few. Sadly at that point I was relieving myself in an extremely smelly public toilet but I was assured by those present that it was very impressive.

Later we bussed into Dunedin (the gaelic name for Edinburgh, the original settlers were reminded of the crisp, cool mornings of home) and checked into our various hostels. I cooked with Kelsie (Kiwi resettled in Derbyshire for her teens about to head to Durham) and Chris (aforementioned Yank) before we headed off for a tour of the Speight’s brewery. We were peppered with propaganda about both their beer and the benefits of the South Island by an affable Kiwi then allowed to sample as much of the produce as we could tip down our necks in an hour. We merrily headed back to the hostel to celebrate Alex’s (about to head to Oxford, serious ambitions of getting a blue in a number of sports) birthday. We had a cake and card ceremony and headed out to the ‘Stock Exchange’ bar, where the prices of drinks go up and down depending on how many are being sold. There were particularly noteworthy karaoke performances by Jen and Lisa (raucous schoolteachers from Jersey and Barnsley respectively), Ariel and the group combined and some serious dancing particularly by Virginia (sultry beauty therapist from Argentina), Chris (he really is a good bloke despite his nationality) and Sinead (perky girl from Galway) and poor Alex was filled to the brim with a heinously poisonous cocktail of, well, cocktails. We staggered home at various intervals and a few of us reconvened for toast and jam in the kitchen before resting our weary heads.