Woke up to a chilly day but high overcast and no rain. We packed up early and went to the Dunedin Motorhome Company to get a new power cord to replace the one I broke in Invercargill. I bet no one has paid $147 for a power cord in Canada! Unfortunately, I had to do it because they are very sticky about having proper equipment. They will ask you to leave the campground if everything is not kosher. We headed north onto the south Canterbury Plain driving through very scenic fertile farmland. We eventually came to Moeraki and stopped to see the Moeraki Boulders which are large spherical boulders, most 2 metres in size or larger. They were once embedded in the mudstone cliffs but have since become exposed. Some have broken apart to expose honeycomb centers. We then continued on to Oamaru which I had thought was very beautiful when I was last there. It didn't disappoint this time either! Most of the commercial buildings are constructed from Oamaru white rock which is easy to work with when it is first harvested from the rock quarry but, with exposure to the elements hardens almost to a quartz hardness. Last time I visited, I went into a big building that was a wool grading site. The owner, upon finding out where I was from, took me upstairs to show me the Douglas Fir beams that had been imported in 1862 and which held up the roof. When we walked past the buildings this time, they have all been converted to boutiques and cafés. I suppose that is a sign of the times. While we were there, we walked past the hospital, just as a rescue helicopter landed to pick up a patient so we watched until it took off. Very modern and efficient and landed in a tree lined very small field. I couldn't help but think about the recent decision not to allow landings in the school ground next to the hospital, which is probably 6 times larger than what this helicopter landed in. We had lunch at a lovely beach front restaurant and watched the waves pound over the breakwater in front. There was a cairn near there commemorating the arrival of the ship bearing news of Scott's death in the Antarctic. After lunch we continued north to Timaru where we will spend the night before making the move to our final destination here on the South Island. Only 2 more days before we fly from Christchurch to Auckland and then onto the Cook Islands. I was sitting there doing my planning for our campsite in Christchurch and Jean walked up with a couple from Christchurch who were able to give us information about campsites and lo and behold, they recommended the one I had picked. He talked about their experiences during the big quake. They had over $80,000 damage done to their house so ended up buying a new one. He said they experienced over 13,000 quakes over the year after the first one. Yikes!! He said the worst thing about it all was the total feeling of helplessness while the quake occurred.