bonnet (noun): hood of the car.
boot (noun): trunk of a car.
"oh my giddy aunt!" (expression) pronounced "oh my gidday ah nt" : similar to "oh my gosh!" or "I can't believe that happened!" or "holy cow!".
"no worries" (expression): meaning many things, from "you're welcome" to "no big deal", to "no problem".
wanker (noun): a derogatory word for a person who is a jerk.
bloody (adjective): a popular swear word, used to express frustration, anger, or annoyance.
Person 1: The boot and the bonnet of our car won't shut, so I've tied them with rope.
Person 2: Aw yeah, how'd that happen?
Person 1: Another car crashed into us and then floored off before we could get it's bloody license plate!
Person 2: Oh my giddy aunt! What a wanker!
Person 1: Luckily though, I'm insured; so, no worries.
* * *
Before Simon and I headed out Sunday night for Balclutha to visit Simon's parents, we went to LoneStar. LoneStar is an Elvis-themed, "South of the [American] border" restaurant. It's always funny to see American themed restaurants in NZ, especially when they're not totally aware of the theme. After a huge dinner of chicken burritos and vegetarian nachos, we hopped in Anthony (my car) and rode to Balclutha.
Simon's parents were excited to see us, and after spending a night hanging out with their golden retriever puppy, Amber (that name is way too close to "Abi"), and having a few glasses of wine, we were ready to get on the road again. Simon drove us into the Catlins where we stopped at "Jack's Blowhole". This was a little tramp through paddocks with incredible views of the east coast (think: major cliffs, huge waves, idyllic scene). After walking for awhile we saw it: this enormous crevice/precipice where water tunneled through 300 meters of rock- actually it was still pummeling through. Pretty incredible.
Afterward, Simon and I walked back through the rain and hail (it had been a beautiful day) with our coats over our heads. We drove a bit farther until we came to Surat Bay, once again the weather had turned beautiful for a moment. We managed to hike through beautiful dunes until we got to a beach boasting sea lions. Although we didn't see any sea lions, we did catch the beginning and end of a major storm. To get to the beach you have to race between huge waves (tide coming in), and these massive, vertical dunes. Unluckily for Simon and I an enormous storm came in over the ocean. We managed to keep beach walking until the storm passed, but it was definitely intense being in the "eye" of the storm on the beach.
Si and I then decided we wanted to camp in Central Otago (we were in the Catlins- Southland), a few hours away. The weather is normally really warm in Central Otago because it's not on the coast. After about a half hour of driving, we were passing huge sheep paddocks with tiny lambs. One of these tiny lambs had somehow gotten out of the barbed fenced paddock and was searching, and crying, for a way back in to it's mom. Simon and I parked the car and attempted to corner this little, crazed lamb. After about three failed attempts (this was one athletic and stubborn lamb!), Simon somehow managed to corner the lamb, pick it up, and drop it in the paddock. The lamb ran willy-nilly across the field and the child-parent reunion was complete! Very cute. I definitely had images of returning home for Christmas going through my mind!
After high-fiving for about ten minutes, Simon and I were back on the road. The Post Office at Clyde (Emily you'll remember this) was turned into a beautiful cafe that we ate dinner at. Completely full of local veggies, and berry cobbler, Simon and I sat on a bench outside and enjoyed the setting sun. Finally, realizing that we needed to find a campground before complete sunset, we drove around the edge of the mountains surrounding Clyde. Beginning to panic (a lot of paddocks were private property), we were about to give up hope and camp by the side of the road, when we actually stumbled upon a legitimate camping ground. A very, very "dodgy" camping ground mainly filled with broken down trailers. We ended up camping by a stream nearby, away from the creepy rusting, smoking trailers. After a night of Simon's symphonic snoring, we were ready to go at eight AM (Simon was ready at 5:30, but I gave him a death glare, so he took a walk instead).
It was a beautiful morning, about 65 degrees F. After a quick bite to eat in Alexandra, we drove all the way back to Dunedin, feeling really good about our trip. I took a huge nap when we got back, and then made enchiladas for the flat. It's been a good "weekend" for me, and I'm (sort of, kind of, okay not really, but trying to be) ready to go back to work tomorrow.
Anyway, happy days to all of you! Hope that everything is well in the States and otherwise!
Cheers,
Abi
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