A Very Gusty Journey

The skipper of the boat we took out on the Milford Sound yesterday breezily announced that this was the end of the nice weather, as a storm was predicted to roll in off the west coast. And roll in it did.

Thunder and lighting were to be heard overnight and we awoke to the sound of pattering rain on the camper van roof and a soggy campsite. We delayed our continuation of the Southern Scenic Route until the rain had abated, but even then the coastal route left us rather exposed to the westerly breeze - apparently gusting up to 50kph. The drive was a little hairy because of this and we didn't stop too often, except when reaching Riverton for a cake stop.

+1 for crockery

At Mrs Clark's Café, the tea comes in china cups with saucers and the carrot cake in fat slices with Greek yoghurt. Although very good, I would still head to Reefton's tearooms for the ultimate carrot cake. However, the café does have an excellent small selection of beers from Liberty, Yeastie Boys, as well as my latest find from Bannockburn. Sadly, the hour was too early and the drive too long to sample these.

By lunchtime the sun had come out for our onward journey to Invercargill, but the wind hadn't yet got the message, so it was an exciting driving experience in a large, broad-sided vehicle.

That's the second biggest sign I've ever seen

Our destination was not Invercargill, through which the Scenic Route ironically passes, as it was purported by all we met to be a distinctly missable location. Our brief journey through the city confirmed this - the weather and outlook gave it the appearance of a dreary town in northern England or Scotland - and we stopped only long enough to fuel up.

Instead, we parked up at Lignite Pit Café, just a few kilometres farther east but a world apart. Lignite is the name of the most shallowly buried and, therefore, the lowest quality coal, most of which is found here in Southland. The disused and flooded lignite pit was bought and converted into a beautiful "secret garden" and a café opened on the site.

Lignite Pit garden

On the same site, campers can overnight and enjoy the surroundings. Here we were sheltered slightly from the wind and wandered around the charmingly landscaped gardens and lake. K fed the ducks and was subsequently followed around by the sound of honking. Having slipped them, the whole flock of colourful birds later showed up by our van.

Curious ducks

For dinner, I controversially decided that the apple cucumber we had acquired needed cooking rather than eating raw. As a result, I threw it, some courgettes, red peppers, and garlic into a stir fry with sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce, serving it on rice.

Fried cucumber? Ewww!

Rain settled in again as the light faded, and we settled ourselves in with a film in the camper van.