This has been one of those days. We had a very early start as we had to be packed and ready for pick up at 7:30am as we were catching the 8am ferry. The day was an awful lot calmer than on the way out but it was still a little rocky. However, nothing says Good Morning quite like a small child's vomit as Elizabeth was ill again. Mrs Pharmacist when you said children under three do not get motion sickness I beg to differ.

We arrived safely into Bluff and drove to Invercargill for breakfast. That done we gradually made our way to Dunedin via the Southern Scenic route. The view from the car was lovely as we made our way through the countryside. Our first stop was at Curio Bay to see the fossilised trees which were amazing. We did not see any penguins there but not really surprising when you are with two small noisemakers. The weather made the stop pretty cold and windy so we did not stay long, but longer than a lot of people who seem to grab a glance and run. We drove on via the Niagara Falls of New Zealand which were a fine example of their type, kiwi humour. They consist of a set of waterfalls about 1 or 2 feet high. We were going to stop at Cathedral caves but unfortunately by the time we reached them they were closed due to the tide. Instead we satisfied ourselves with a lookout from Florence Hill Lookout, just beautiful.

Papatowai provided somewhere to stop and buy lunch opportunity in the form of a motel/petrol station/motorcamp/shop affair and we bought pies. We took these away and parked up at the Mitai Falls carpark. When we had eaten we took the supposedly 30 minute return walk, it always takes us longer than they say with the girls. The path was muddy and at times a little steep but the girls both walked well and enjoyed the truly lovely waterfalls. We then stopped briefly at Owaka to use the toilets and I was struck by how rundown this place was. There were many closed shops and cafes, it was clearly in danger of becoming a ghost town.

After our walk we headed on to Cannibal Bay in the hope of seeing sealions, we failed but the girls had a play in the sand. The bay is very another stunning bay of long golden sands backed by low sand dunes. The road to and from Cannibal bay was a long stretch of unsealed road which in placed was very narrow and perched on the side of hills. By the time we reached the sealed road the tiredness had begun to kick in for all of us and we were all ready to stop for the night. Unfortunately stopping was a good bit away. As we drove tempers became frayed, the girls became louder and squeakier. We then found our motel was not on the map, this really was not good. Just a tetchy end to the day !