I mentioned that the coast road to Portobello was slightly scary - and that is because there is 18 inches between you and the Ocean with no kind of barrier. It was easier on the way back because you're on the inside.
We carried on to the end of Harrington Point to visit the Royal Albatross Centre. This is the only mainland Royal Albatross breeding ground in the world so definitely worth seeing. If I have given the impression that we've had bad weather then that is wrong - we have actually had perfect weather for whatever we wanted to do. In order to see the Albatross fly we needed strong cold southerly winds - and that's exactly what we had this morning. This is because these birds are primarily gliders and they need steep slopes to take off and strong winds to stay in the air. They spend 90% of their lives out at sea and only come on shore to breed. At this time of year the females are keeping their chicks warm.
The Royal Albatross has a wingspan around 3 metres plus and watching them fly around was truly wonderful.
The site of the Albatross Centre was built over a military installation. The Russians developed a naval base at Vladivostok in the 1870s and sailed into Wellington which put the wind up the naval authorities here. So they staffed up the peninsula and installed an amazing disappearing gun that popped up and fired and then retracted - made in Newcastle. The only trace of the barracks is the cells cut into the hillside. This made us think of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and we felt a live album coming on.
Jane Chapman says we need to smile more on our album covers but this is ridiculous. We suffer for our Art. What does she think we are - a bunch of tourists?
On our way back to Dunedin we called in at Larnach Castle which is billed as the only castle in New Zealand. Actually it's not really a castle - just a smallish Victorian mansion with a few crenellations.
But nevertheless - it has a fascinating history which you can check out on their website. Also, the view from the top was awesome!
We then resumed our journey northward back to Christchurch. Since we left Gore the day before we had been sharing the route with the railway. Most of the way it is just a few yards from the road. It's single track and not electrified. Unlike railways in the UK there are no protective fences. The railways were built in the 1860-1880 period - but these days they are little used. Freight trains still travel between Dunedin and Christchurch but road transport has almost totally taken over. The railways are narrow gauge (3ft 6in compared to the standard gauge used in the UK of 4ft 8 1/2 in) because that lowered the cost of construction over the various mountain passes etc.
This shot was taken at a place called Rakaia - the site of New Zealand's longest bridge. After crossing, we turned off the main road towards the sea - hoping to find a nice place beside the river. In the end we went all the way to the coast and stopped here - though it was a bit crowded....
We enjoyed our last night in the van with the help of some tasty NZ reds - Syrah from CJ Pask and Cabernet Sauvignon from Mission Estates. Sadly we began to pack up - and so encountered Camper van mystery no.3....
I suppose the obvious answer is that they were skulking in a dryer we used at one of the camp sites but that, dear reader, is a dull explanation is it not? Alas on this occasion the thargs must be exonerated as these knickers had the conventional two leg holes, whereas thargs hav three legs "as any fule kno".
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