Hampden and Oamaru, New Zealand

The stunning view along the beach where we walked every day

We spent a wonderful ten days in Hampden, just David and me. I took this opportunity to go on a three day detox, followed by a strict 1500 calories a day diet – and it worked! I have lost some of the excess weight I have gained through far too good dining and imbibing during our travels! We also walked on the beach every day to the Moeraki boulders. It felt wonderful to walk for 2 km there and back on a great expanse of beach and barely see one other person (except for when we reached the boulders which are visited by myriads of tourists every day). For two days there was a hurricane out at sea and the waves crashed over the road at high tide, quite spectacular. We did very little else, except for one foray into Oamaru to add to our depleting stocks of fresh fruit and vegetables (the mainstay of my diet).

Oamaru is a very interesting city and has an authentic Victorian Harbour and Historic Precinct which boasts one of the finest examples of 19th century neo-classical and Victorian Italianate streetscapes in New Zealand. They are all being beautifully restored under the auspices of the Oamaru Historical Society. While we were there, a film crew were filming scenes against the backdrop of these old buildings, a not unusual sight – according to the lady in the antique bookshop. We found it quite fascinating to wander around and in and out of the buildings. There is also a vintage steam train that takes visitors on a round trip to the harbour.

We are now back in Invercargill until Tuesday 22nd February, when we fly to Wellington for the start of our North Island experience. We have loved seeing much that South Island has to offer and hope that we can return in the not-too-distant future to explore the rest. We've had a great time here and we will always be grateful to our friends Avis, Brian, Raewyn and Wayne for having put us up AND having put up with us for so long!.