I'd forgotten the dubious pleasure of damp gloves and so had forgotten to put them in front of the heater. Amazing how quickly this all comes back to you.

Anyway a fantastic cloudless day with a very cold southerly. Hard to believe that less than two weeks ago the temperature was 15-20 C warmer. All day three layers of merino icebreakers under the DriRider and heated grips full on!

Second impressions of Oamaru were much better than the first. They still do nothing with he waterfront but the towns cafes and restaurants that I tried were very nice and the people friendly, smiles and chat were readily forthcoming. There is a penguin colony at the harbour but the penguins are only at home late in the day


The Waimate river road around the dams to Omarama is almost as good as the Mackenzie Country road through Burkes Pass. Stunning views of Mt Cook over the lakes and the colours have to be seen to be believed. The photos will have to come later as it's too late now.

Unmemorable stops at Twizel and Geraldine then the delightful inland scenic route to Christchurch. Little or no traffic all day, dry roads and great fun. It's hard to remember to keep the speed reasonable when you hardy see a single police car but of course I did officer (except when overtaking). Honest.