Day 7: Papatowai

Rainy most of the day, with occasional dry spells, so I drove in a loop around the Catlins, starting along the coast and coming back across the inland. There were a few stops on the way for waterfalls and the like, and some nice lakes and rivers. The 'towns' along the coast are more like villages, really, with tourist cabins and the occasional sad-looking food shop. Inland the towns are bigger, but equally depressing, laid out with wide streets and derelict shops. Oh, for a simple supermarket! Luckily I stocked up on food in Dunedin.

Spent some time at Curio Bay, which is a popular tourist spot. They teach scuba diving and have a penguin viewing experience. But no penguins, seals or dolphins were on view today.

It was dryer coming back, but there were no walks or viewpoints to stop at except a couple of cemeteries and memorials. I turned off the highway on to a long gravel road that took me through forests for about 40k, and saw exactly two vehicles on the whole trip. Most of the time I have had roads to myself. 

Somehow I have lost a USB charger cord. I thought in the morning: 'I should pack one of these for the car', so I put it in my raincoat pocket. At Curio Bay I thought 'I wish I had packed a USB cable for the car', and then I looked in my pocket and there it was. But when I got back to the car after looking around it had vanished. And there's no indication that such an exotic thing can be bought anywhere between Dunedin and Invercargill.

More rain overnight and in the morning. Today I will head in the other direction and hope it clears up, however briefly.

--

Jon Jermey
Indexer and database consultant
042 535 0422
webindexing.com.au

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