Day 18, Wed, Feb 20: Invercargill – Christchurch

MATT'S

A little cloud, with the sun shining through & reasonably warm

Up at 7.30 for breakfast with Tina & Courtney – muesli, toast (with vegemite) & coffee. Then Tina was off to work and I set about the task of packing all the heavy stuff into the case and some overnight stuff into the rucksack. Worked OK and was able to close the case by just after 9, so I could have slept in.

Watched a bit of Shortland St with Courtney, then she drove me to the i-site. The bus was pretty much on time, and was pretty early into Dunedin. The next bus was also dead on time and the long slog to Christchurch could begin after the short break. Stop in Oamaru where I bought a sandwich for lunch, and some beer. As we drove from Southland through Otago to Canterbury the greens gave way to yellows and in Canterbury itself there were a couple of bush/brush/grass fires underway. A storm seemed to be hovering over the Alps.

Backside of the Bottom: Dunedin Station

We arrived in Christchurch with a delay of about 15 minutes. Recognised Matt's van but he was nowhere to be seen – he had found out about the delay and had taken L. for a walk, but was soon back at his car. On the way home plenty of discussion about the tramp and on turning into his street, he asked whether we could stop at the fish'n'chip shop for a bit, a request I could hardly deny. Had a cheeseburger & ½ chips for $5.30 and he & L. had two fish & chips which were consumed to the antics of L. pretending to be a dog.

Sorted out the shuttle for tomorrow, hope that I now have a receipt.

Still getting back used to being in the sunlight, and with so many people. Will try to have a proper celebration tomorrow.

Debriefing: Stewart Island

• Headlamp batteries were not premium quality and had not been fully charged – only lasted 3 nights;
• Ipod – will work as a radio, battery not fully charged, solar charger not fully charged, ipod cannot be operated simultaneously with the charger;
• Medications: full monty necessary here: 2 aspirin and 2 ibuprofen per day; ½ cetirizin per day, for emergencies;
• DEET: spray can with 60 ml of 40% lasted about 3 days with frequent application;
• Plastic bottles have to be heat-resistant and transparent;
• Lost axis bolt from the tripod; bolts should be checked every night;
• Lost one open side buckle from the pack – better to replace these buckles with θ buckles that cannot detach;
• Crocs are good – and safe – flyswatters.

One with Everything: The North-West Circuit in summary