Sleeping Around

Please, get your minds out of the gutter! After staying in Oamaru for the night, I was successful in my search for penguins (and seals!) then next day. I ended up driving through Dunedin, not stopping for a combination of fear and disinterest of big cities despite my GPS (whom I named Sophia), and headed south. I have resloved to not worry about finding places to stay along the way, and simply stop in where I please. As I entered into Papatowi (sp again), "Where the river meets the ocean", I decided that this was where I definitely wanted to stay the night. Unfortunately, the first two spots were not for camping, and the second one, a breathtaking view of the ocean below, seemed a little too conspicuous. I proceeded down and came upon a turn-off to a beach. After discovering other campers here (and truly upsetting Sophia for being off course to the point of her finally giving up on telling me that my "vehicle was going the wrong way" and just telling me that I had reached my destination), I parked my little orange van and made my way to the beach.

What did I find? Absolute paradise! I could have lived happily in a 400 square foot shack for the rest of my life. It was vast, beautiful beach with a little stream of freshwater trickling into the ocean from a source that I eventually investigated. I tested out my ankle and knees with a brief run on the solid shoreline--something only I would do to see if they were better--and found that it didn't aggravate my knees (so evidently I should simply run all the time rather than walk). Anyhow, I stayed here the night, but some chilly morning rains deterred me from my initial plans of going for a swim in the crashing surf first thing in the morning. Instead, I made breakfast and headed off again but didn't get very far. Just a few minutes down the road, I came to an inviting sign for the Cathedral Caves listing the tide times and track availibility. Seeing that I wouldn't necessarily get the opportunity to explore it again, I pulled over and hopped out. NZ$5 got me on the track, and it was about a 20 minute stroll down a declining forest path to the beach where I was directed to the caves 300 meters down the beach. Entering the first cave, it is clear why they are called the Cathedral Caves as it was very tall and wide with vaulted "ceilings". Absolutely magnificent! I wandered through it, and moved on to the next one which was extremely narrow and let in such little light that I used my camera just to find my way around. It was a little too reminiscent of Tom Sawyer and Becky in the cave, so I went against my natural inclinations to continue, and turned before I regretted my curiosity. I continued on, cave after cave for about six or seven caves.
After about an hour of exploring, I turned back to set off again. Walking along the shoreline in my Columbia pants and orange fleece vest, I notice a group of four bundled individuals looking my direction who then shouted "Lisa!" and came running in my direction, greeting me with a friendly hug that nearly toppled me over. It was the two James's (Catherine's gonna hate my grammar here, I know it!), Jodie, and Kate, the three Kiwis and the Brit, respectively, from the camp ground and Puzzling Place. After catching up and discovering that they were only a few minutes down the road the night before, I headed back off, but first stopped at Curio Bay to view the dolphins and seals (actually, one territorial seal who held up traffic) at the suggestion of my new mates. The Catlins were an absolutely spectacular drive, filled with little walks and plenty of scenery. From here, I headed into Invercargill where I signed up for my kayaking tour in Milford Sounds, which Sophia told me was a 10 hour drive but turned out to be only about five or so, thank God! I truly upset her as I took multiple detours on the way, and her little map often showed me driving off the road, but alongside it as she prompted me to "turn around" as my vehicle was "going the wrong direction".
Once at Milford Lodge, I checked to see if there were any spaces available, but they were absoltuely booked, so I headed back down the winding road when I was approached by a girl who needed a ride. A German hitch hiker who had waaay more luggage than I, including an admitted 5 kg of books and her guitar, had found herself stranded as she wanted to go to the glaciers, but her ride was going to the lodge. I told her that I could give her a short ride, but I was camping in Milford so that I could kayak in the morning. Once she got in the car it began to rain, so I felt obligated to offer her to spend the night in the back of the car. I try to be nice, people, I really do. But can I tell you how annoyed I was that she was already acquainted with my type of vehicle, knew that there was a gas stove (inconveniently buried) and wanted her hot soup and tea? And when I was ready to go to sleep at 10 pm since I had to be up the mountain, a 45 minute drive, by 7:45 the next morning, she said she couldn't fall asleep without reading first. And let's not leave out that she was insistent on not killing the moths and flies that were attracted to the light because they didn't know any better. Above all was her snoring that kept me up most the night--probably why you are getting a taste of grumpy Lisa right now. I have decided to be more discerning with strays, or not take them at all. However, what made all that better was the absolutely amazing kayaking tour that I took through the sounds this morning! Totally worth the fuss, and boasting some awesome scenery. Of course I get to the best part of the last 24 hours and my clock has but a minute left after contributing $7! Well, I'm off to who knows where, except that it's north somewhere. Til next time!