The Catlins & Invercargil Saturday 22nd - Sunday 23rd April 2006 We arise early once again to go see some 'hookers'. No, Amy hasn't finally found out about where all those STD's have come from 'hookers' are actually Nz sea lions and boy are they big scary mothers. We take a bit of a walk and see 10 or so that we think are just foolin around. At this time in the morning it's just us and them on a huge beach. We have been really impressed by the abundance of wildlife in NZ and have really enjoyed being able to see it up close and personal without having to resort to going to the nearest zoo or wildlife park. We can see the sea lions have there own little 'cliques' going on with some of them just happy to cuddle up and others making a big deal of protecting their 'honies'. We sit and watch them for a while before carrying on our journey towards Invercargil. We pass several lovely waterfalls on the way and the drive along the sea front is great once again. We finally get to Invercargil and man what a sh** hole that place is! We check into our hotel ready for the big Spurs vs Arsenal game and next we need to go out and get some booze. So we walk around for ages. What is it with this place? Why do all the supermarkets not have ANY booze in? Is it because Invercargil is so damn depressing that the entire population would end up drinking themselves to death in a jiffy? Probably, definitely, yes. Back in the hotel and by an act of God, somehow the hotel has learned that we are going to the Oyster and Seafood festival down in Bluff tomorrow (maybe we told them I just can't remember). So, on our doorstep turns up a flustered hotel receptionist who starts to recite a well prepared speech about how it's so great to have us here for the festival which is all fine except that Stu 'accidentally' let's the door close in this guys face and guess what? He's still reciting his little speech behind the closed door, what professionalism man! Stu quickly re-opens the door and grabs the bottle of vino from this guys hand (the receptionist is looking even more flustered than ever, can't imagine why?) and we alcoholics are saved once again. We also scrape out the last of the booze from secret cubby-holes in the van and settle in for a night of footy and fush and chups. Great. Spurs draw 1-1 and we literally can't wait to get out of Invercargil. The next morning feeling more than a tad hung over we drive even further south (how far does this country go on dude?) to (and I can't quite believe that I'm writing this) and even BIGGER dump than Invercargil, Bluff. Basically picture Dartford with huge aluminum smelter in the background and you're somewhere close. We take a tour to the southern tip of NZ. Bluff point or something taking the standard tourist photo of just how far away from everywhere you actually are. I think it was 19000km to London. b*****. Bluff's one redeeming feature is that it is reportedly home to the best Oysters in the world, so we had to try some. Having never tried oysters before Stu needed some encouragement and when the guy behind the counter recommended the vinegar sauce, Stu very nearly dipped the bloody shell in the sauce! Dipstick. With the guy trying to contain his laughter, Stu eventually worked out the oysters arse from its' elbow and scoffed a couple down. Definitely an acquired taste. We stayed on for a few hours tasting seafood curry and some decidedly dodgy pancakes. In the background the Oyster eating competition was going full steam and we had to laugh when the NZ guy got beaten by some small dude from Korea. We are pleased to drive away from Bluff and Invercargil and stay overnight at Colac bay before heading off the Te-anau and one of the highlights of the tour, Doubtful and Milford Sounds. Keep the messages coming. Love Stu & Amy