The routine of the previous day was repeated when Chris and I headed again to the bakery for brunch. Afterwards we headed up to Derek’s hostel to see if he was about. We discovered him in his room, debriefed about our goings on since last seeing him and came to the conclusion that there wasn’t yet a plan for the group meetup that evening, the last where all the Stray bus would be together. Chris and I headed back to the hostel where I spent a couple of hours ...

I was awoken by Chris banging on the door at 11 and we headed to a bakery in town for a couple of meat pies. Suitably nourished we decided to give Frisbee golf a go, a free activity in the park. We found the first tee and flung our bits of plastic in turn, with decidedly inconsistent results. The rules are pretty much the same as regular golf except the target is either a particular segment of a tree trunk or a metal basket. As we journeyed around the park, often...

We prised ourselves from our beds before ten to check out (except Chris, who stayed in bed until the rooms were being cleaned then snuck the key in behind reception before anyone could notice) and most of the group headed to the Cadbury factory for a tour. I stayed with the few non-chocophiles and chatted in the kitchen while awaiting their return. We headed off with a depleted bus (a few are staying to work or stay longer in Dunedin) and demanded that Ariel show...

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...

We were all up and out of the hostel by half 6 and on our way down to Invercargill. We had time for a brief stop at a beach to watch the sunrise and then grab a bit of breakfast before going and boarding the ferry. The bus wasn’t coming with us so we’d all packed overnight bags and headed on to the ferry with packed lunches. We arrived on the island a little after 10.30am and split up to head to our respective accommodation. Half the group headed to the host...