The drive to Waiau

I took my time to get ready to leave Havelock. The weather was grey and dreary with splashes of rain. I was sad to go as the Airbnb was a lovely place to stay and my hosts had made me feel most welcome. Tony mended the broken wheel on my suitcase.

For most of my drive to Waiau, it was somber clouds and occasional bursts of rain. It was a long trip due to lots of road works. The work people always smiled and waved. At one stopping point, a young road worker was being harassed by a bumble bee, we laughed and chatted about the weather. It was always a good 5 minutes waiting at the stop signs. There was a campervan not letting people pass on the overtaking lane.
I filled up the car at Kaikoura but when I arrived at hislops, it was closed and I was gutted as its been one of the best places to get gluten free food so far.
I ended up driving to the dolphin encounter cafe and ordered a seafood chowder which was quite too rich and a huge size portion for 20 NZD.

When I finished lunch, I started driving towards Waiau again , which I thought was the correct way to Waiau but Google maps sent me the wrong way on a magical mystery tour for 10 minutes. There were more roadworks, even twisty roads and extremely narrow bridges.

When I finally arrived, I realised that the toilets are a quick 2 minute walk away from the cabin. There was no air con at this place but there is a fan. Unlike Havelock, the weather is very oppressive with a hot breeze.

Fortunately there was an outdoor swimming pool which cost 2 NZD. It was quite refreshing to have a swim. The whole place was extremely clean and well maintained.

I chilled for a bit before walking to the local tavern and started chatting to a local called Lisa. She invited me to sit with the locals whilst a small pool tournament was in play. It was the first time I did not take a photo of my meal as I did not want to embarrass myself in front of the locals. So the photo is of a wild cat that was adopted by the staff at the tavern called, ‘my girl’