Day 159: Flight of the Conchords

Jamie Abela reporting for duty. Hello Martha you beautiful young thing. So today was all about big scenery. BIG SCENERY. The Stage 6 crew awoke after a special night of celebration to a wonderfully glorious blazing blue sky day and Lake Tekapo was there for the taking. Thanks to the outstanding generosity of Richard Rayward  and the awesome gang at Tekapo Air Safaris the crew were able to take to the sky for a scenic flight over New Zealand’s Southern Alps with magnificent views over Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and the big monster that is Mount Cook (12,316 feet). The scenery made our eyeballs explode and Steve and I needed a dip in the lake to cool off our excitement levels.

We eventually got on the road headed north toward the scheduled overnight destination of Kaikoura on the South Island’s east coast. There was quite a significant distance to cover but thankfully we were treated to some cracking scenery to keep us occupied. I have found that time flies on the fire engine and I’m loving being on board. Steve and Chris in particular have made me feel very welcome by allowing me to absolutely smash them at Risk in the back of the cab. I may have to start throwing a few games to keep it interesting.

It was my turn to navigate which I just assumed meant I got to sit in the front seat and make up stuff about New Zealand which I was meant to know. However, apparently the navigator needs to pick the lunch destination and time. Anyway, to cut a long story short we ended up eating next to a dumpster at 4pm. Massive fail.

We rolled into Kaikoura at sun down to catch a spectacular sunset which made Chris Hallward cry because he found it so beautiful. It was then off to bed as we had an early appointment with the dolphins the next morning, and it had been quite a day.

Jamie

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