I got up briefly at 7.30 to say goodbye to the Strays heading off to Christchurch. After hugs and waving I decided the sensible course of action was to head back to bed for a few hours. At the eminently more civilised hour of half 10 I got up, had a shower and packed a day pack. After refuelling at the bakery with yet another pie I headed to the information centre, picked up a map and headed off to climb Queenstown’s other hill, opposite the gondola. I set a br...

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...