Lake Tekapo to Dunedin

Today’s retired travel and lifestyle fun took us from the mountains of Lake Tekapo to the small oceanside city of Dunedin.  I thought you might appreciate a map so you can see where these two places, and subsequent stops, are located.  Find Timaru written on the right of the map about halfway down and move inland to find Lake Tekapo; slide down the coast on the right to see where Dunedin is.

We rushed along to this place, about a four hour drive, as we didn’t want to miss the annual Thieves Street Market event. To be honest it was a bit of a bust. Lots of vendors but not a whole lot of quality. And we ate at a rather lackluster pub where my just okay salad cost $30. I mentioned things can be quite expensive here before I think. Never mind, chocolate bars are cheap so that’s a plus.
Despite the fact that we were wanting to get to Dunedin around noon, we still randomly picked a town to stop in for coffee break mid-morning. And what a lucky choice we made because the Waitiki Braids Café in Kurow was over the top good. First of all, a cozy, welcoming environment greeted us when we pushed open the door. A single room with high ceilings, beautifully decorated with fresh flowers, comfy couches and a smattering of wooden tables and chairs made us sigh with relief. And the baking! We all settled on cinnamon buns (how could we not; they were straight from the oven and smelled heavenly!) but everything looked amazing. I am still regretting just a little that I didn’t buy a cheese stuffed biscuit to go…….
Driving into these rural towns puts me in mind of an old western movie. The highway drives right through the center of the commercial district, though that’s a pretty generous description when in reality what is there is usually just a handful of businesses dotted on either side of the road. The speed limit momentarily drops to 50 before moving right on back to 100. It does feel like a step back in time……. Not hard to imagine that it would have looked quite similar 100 years ago. And I actually saw a sign advertising a Hoedown as we approached one community. And another for a rodeo……
Brenda and Jo have been doing all of the driving; tonight we sent off an email to the car rental company with a copy of my license asking that I be added as a driver. I have never driven on the opposite side of the road and though I have no desire to test my skills in an area with lots of traffic I am okay with the idea of learning how to manage my way on the highway. I think. And as long as my co-pilots are patient with my skills acquisition…….

From the beautifully rugged South Island of New Zealand, xo