3 February:  We left Feilding around 9:15 this morning heading south to Wellington to get the ferry to the South Island. The trip takes about two and a half hours if you drive straight through. It took us six hours. We had to stop at every interesting place along the way! We checked in for the ferry and by 4:30 we were parked with a few hundred others on the vehicle deck and made our way to the lounge to enjoy the three and a half hour trip across Cook Strait. The waters were, as they say in NZ, dead flat, making the crossing very pleasant. We met a retired couple from Whitianga who are traveling in their motor home and had a good chat with them about places to visit. I had hoped for a beautiful sunset at sea photo, but when we docked in Picton, it was still light. The announcement was made to return to the vehicle deck, and, as we started down the stairs, an announcement was made that a camera had been found. I instinctively checked for mine, and it wasn't in my bag. I turned around, fought the tide of passengers descending, climbed the stairs back up to the bar deck, and found the steward. After I described my camera, he handed it to me and wished me a good holiday. Whew! Not sure how I would have coped with the loss of my camera. There was a glitch unloading the ship, and we sat in our cars on the vehicle deck for 45 minutes. Usually the cars are off as soon as docking is complete. We found our way to the Broadway Motel, had a drink and ended another day in paradise.

 4 February:  Rob Cameron met us at our motel at 10:30 this morning, and after a 15 minute drive along Queen Charlotte Drive, we had been transported to the magical Kaireperepe Bay where Merodee's family owns a home and half the bay. The house is large and comfortable and just a minute's walk to the water. Merodee's grandfather bought the bay in 1914. He subsequently sold half of the bay, and the descendants share the property through a company that is family managed. We were greeted by Merodee, and daughters Fiona and Jenny and Jenny's six week old daughter. Ava. Rob's sister and brother-in-law arrived soon after we did. In the afternoon, Buzz and John went out at low tide to look for shell fish. They came back with a bucket of mussels the size of which I had never seen before. A delicious roast lamb dinner, reading, conversation, and a jigsaw puzzle completed the day.

5 February: I got up during the night. When I looked outside, I was treated to a magnificent display of stars. It is amazing what you can see when there are no exterior lights around! This morning Buzz, Rob, and John went out in John's boat to set some fishing lines in hopes of fish for dinner. They set out two lines with about fifty hooks each, and left them there for a few hours. The catch was one huge elephant fish for eating and some dogfish for bait for tomorrow's fishing!
  We had mussel fritters for lunch and dinner as well as the elephant fish.

6 February: We said our reluctant good- byes to the Cameron family and began our drive south along the east coast of The South Island. We stopped n Blenheim for groceries and continued on to Kaikoura. The coast in this area is very rugged, and there are several seal colonies to be seen sunning themselves on the rocks.  

In Kaikoura, we stopped at the i site which is the local info center to be found in almost every community. You can get information on local activities,book tours, and accommodation. We are staying at a Lyell Creek Lodge, a backpackers lodge, which has a communal kitchen and living room, but our room has its own bathroom. The rate is $75/night...significantly less than most motels.

7 February: We left Kaikoura and turned off the main highway to drive an inland scenic loop through Mt. Lyford and Waiau before returning to the main road. Everything was fine until we hit some rocks in the road just outside Waiau. We weren't even on an unpaved road. Anyway, we had a flat tire. We put all the contents of the boot (trunk) on the side of the road, and Buzz changed the tire. We limped into Cheviot at 2:30pm with the mini spare tire provided and found a garage where we bought a new tire. We checked into the Cheviot Hotel, walked around the town for a while, checked email at the library hot spot, and, at five pm had a new tire on the car. I did the laundry, we ate dinner at the hotel, and settled in for the night.

8 February: Today we headed south to Christchurch. This beautiful city sustained an horrendous earthquake and thousands of aftershocks in 2011. When we were here in 2012, it was difficult to get into the center of the city. Now, traffic is allowed in the center, but the destruction is evident everywhere. One of the most iconic buildings destroyed was the Cathedral. A transitional building, known as The Cardboard Cathedral for the huge cardboard tubes used in the construction, has been built nearby. It is said to have at least a the year life while the Anglican community decides what to do going forward. It is the Festival of Flowers in Christchurch this week. The contrast between beautiful floral displays and empty, damaged buildings, is poignant. Leaving Christchurch we drove out onto the Banks Peninsula to Hilltop where we took in one of our favorite vistas in all of NZ: Akaroa. Back onto the mainland, we have stopped in Lincoln for the night.

9 February: The Famous Grouse hotel in Lincoln was very nice, but we hadn't figured on the rock band that played in the bar until 1am just below our room. We drove from Lincoln To Waimate today stopping first in Leeston to bring a gift from home to a young woman who found and returned our backpack the last time we were here. We took an inland drive to around ell and Geraldine! and we're confronted with the huge dairy operations and irrigation systems we had been hearing about. It is great controversy here. On through Temuka, and Timaru to a nice, quiet motel in Waimate. A steak, sweet potato, and salad dinner cooked by yours truly, and tomorrow we will be off to meet Anne and. Michael Goldman in Oamaru.