We woke late and scrambled out of the campsite and onto the road north towards Timaru. Bob offered to drive, again choosing a day of dead straight plain roads with the only excitement being dodging huge trucks and Japanese motor homes.

We stopped at Speights Ale House in Timaru for coffee and read up on the local area which didn't take long! In a fit of enthusiasm we pushed on along the monotonously straight coast road for another hour, passing many tractor dealerships and cow laiden fields before stopping for lunch in Ashburton. We looked at the map, and the weather and our diary and we changed our minds... We had missed the turning to Mt. Cook and the lakes of central South Island and as time was not pressing we decided to turn around and go back, in all 3 hours of wasted driving...

We'd also manage to run the battery flat...again... But luckily we had done this opposite a garage who lent me a jump pack and we were soon back retracing our steps...

Eventually we turned off the coast road and headed inland. The roads were just as straight but the scenery began to develop and soon we were passing huge crystal clear glacial lakes with a mountainous background. Finally, as a reward for turning around the white summit of Aoraki emerged in the distance, piercing through the clouds and spurring us on. We stopped at Twizel to confirm the guidebooks feelings that it should have been bulldozed and continued to Glentanner. Before we got there we pulled over to enjoy the stillness of lake Pukaki and the near perfect reflections it gave of the foothills of Mt Cooke.

Supper was salmon, courgettes, green beans and cous cous and the night was crystal clear, and chilly!