After having a great time in Invercargill, it was time to continue on my journey, so I headed off for Riverton, hometown for my sister-in-law. It was a nice drive, and a relatively short trip, but contrary to what my brother told me there was not a statue of my sister-in-law in Riverton, although I did look.

The next morning, I went to the Te Hikoi museum and was really happy that I did. There was a very informative video that outlined the history of the area, both Māori and the settlers that followed soon after James Cook in the late 1700’s. It was quite horrific and unsettling hearing about the decimation of the fur seals that over a period of around 20 years nearly drove the fur seals into extinction. It is heartening to know that levels have continued to recover but are still small compared to when Cook first noted them in his journals.

I then left Riverton and set my sights on getting to Tuatapere. Firstly, I drove around the Rocks Highway to Howells Point Reserve, where I stopped and had a cup-of-tea. Then I stopped at Colac Bay and enjoyed some time on the beach.

By this stage the southerly wind was increasing to almost gale force so my planned visits to Monkey Island and Gemstone Beach did not happen. The wind continued to intensify, and the Motor Home was becoming quite a handful. But I got through to Tuatapere and booked into the lovely Tui Base campground.

It was the coldest night so far this year and I found myself reaching for another blanket during the middle of the night when it dropped to 5degrees. After such a busy weekend in Invercargill, it finally caught up with me so, apart from cleaning the interior of the Motor Home, I did nothing. Then, and because Tuatapere is known as the Sausage Capital of New Zealand I had a sausage meal in the restaurant. Now this meal provides a platter of four (4) different sausages sitting on a huge plateful of chips. Normally I am, at the most a two (2) sausage man but I manned up and ate them all. Not sure I could differentiate them all, but they were very tasty. I then waddled back to my Motor Home and spent the night listening to my stomach rumble.

I set off the next morning, very excited, on my way to Manapouri. It is a beautiful drive from Tuatapere through to Manapouri and I also stopped at the Clifton Suspension Bridge and then at the Weir Road Scenic Lookout. My photo of the lookout does not do the scenery justice - it was awe inspiring.

I duly arrived in Manapouri, parked up in the NZMCA site, rode my bike a few km’s into Manapouri, went to the Real NZ office, had absolutely great service and booked tickets for Manapouri/Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound (Sunday). Having a NZMCA membership is financially of great benefit and the discount on my trips paid for my annual membership (which is currently due).

This trip of mine has exceeded all expectations so far and I think it’s going to get even better.