Saturday 12 March 2011
There was an aftershock in the night, it woke me. So either i slept lightly or it was a big shock!
Anyway Keith suggested that we go to Dunedin and Queenstown etc. We left intending to do Dunedin, unsure about the second part. I was kitted to the max with technology, a very posh tom tom, and loads of maps and of course tantine navigating. Keith kindly drove us out of town about 10 miles where he filled us with fuel and directed us on, now the beast drinks fuel as i found out. It was a miserable day to be fair, sadly not being able to see the alps but we stopped in a few lovely places on the way.
First stop was Timaru where we lunched, it’s an interesting town, hard to describe, and somewhat shut on a Saturday, anyway lunch was had and the journey continued. Next stop was Oamuru where we again were advised to stop and enjoy the historic part, granted its’ history is nothing like the UK, but still very nice to see the old buildings and visit a classic old sweet shop. The beast also needed a rest occasionally from my erratic driving style, albeit slower than the UK.
Final stop was Dunedin, now correct me if i’m wrong but I read Dunedin means on the hill of Edinburgh, probably not completely right but its a very Scottish town. It has a one way system i went round a few times actually, great fun just trying to find the car park. We eventually did, but it’s tighter than a wet t-shirt to get in, but hey missed on the left, didn’t scrap the hire car so all is good. I always say keep going until you hear a crunch. Anyway i digress, we parked, got to the room, unpacked (well i didn’t) then went for a walk. Dunedin is pretty much the same as Birmingham, it has roads and a Cadbury’s factory, there are slight differences but it’s all minor detail.
I had read in this New Zealand guide book that someone kindly gave me for my birthday (thanks Cath), that there was a splendid eatery called Speight’s. It is a brewery with food, OK I wasn’t drooling like David would at the thought of brewery but the idea excited me. It was packed, so instead of waiting an hour for a table we went elsewhere, to a pizza/pub/bar which was nice, not quite what Speight’s would have been but hey, they served good beer so it was good. Oh plus for anyone (maybe no one) reading from WTMS/WPP the waitress looked like America Lopez, had that little cheeky look too, was perhaps a kiwi relative? The beer, i thought it was a lager, actually an ale, clearly i’m moving on up in my tastes was good. I chose it as the name was something i felt i had in common with my work throughout my life and my class of person, it was called “Distinction”. I got many in my later years, manly at Sparsholt, and the answer is no, i would not have chosen ‘Detention’ if there was such a beer.
Well it was so good I had 4, and thought Big Dave would be proud, i have to admit it was a rather strong one and i slept well but hey that’s all part of the fun i guess. I don’t binge drink like my brother so i think i’m fine, that said when i’m in York fancy a trip to the cocktail bar Dave?