4th Dec:

Catherine and I had to get up at 6:30am after only a few hours sleep. We then waited outside the hostel to be collected to do the southern loop of the south island. The bus was completely full so I sat next to Huw. Also on the bus was the Englis group that had got on our bus at Abel Tasman and also the lovely Scottish couple Johnny and Kalda who I met in Greymouth.

We stopped at Bluff to pay for our Milford Sound Cruise trip that we were going on the next day and then about half the bus got off to get the ferry over to Stewart Island. We then stopped at a place that had signs pointing to world cities and giving the distances and then Catherine and I posed for a photo on a giant chain that runs under the sea to Stewart Island.

We arrived in Invercargill at lunchtime and checked into a 1960's style hostel. After having lunch Catherine and I went for a lie down partly because there was nothing else to do there and also because of the lack of sleep we'd had the night before. I woke up after an hour or so and told Catherine that I was going for a wander. I went down the main streets in search of some shops but because it was a Sunday afternoon there wasn't much open, so I went in those I could find.

I went and found the cinema to see if there were any good films showing but the latest ones were 6pm so that wasn't going to be an option for entertainment that evening. I then decided that because it was a really nice day that I would go and find a park to chill out in. After walking for sometime I eventually found a green space to lie down in and write my journal. After a quick nap in the sun Catherine texted asking where I was so I headed back to the hostel and we cooked dinner. We then headed next door to Speights Ale House as Digger, our driver, had said that he would be announcing the results of a scavenger hunt that he had put together for that afternoon - even though we hadn't participated we thought it might be fun to go along. In the bar there was only Sophie and Alice, the English girls, who had participated. We joined them for a drink and then they headed off to have dinner and Digger, Catherine and I stayed there till closing time.