Lignite pit to Lorneville 35kms.

Southland museum Invercargill

We had a late start today after yesterday's long and rather stressful day! It was pretty wet so we abandoned thoughts of another walk round the garden which was a shame as it is so beautiful I walked up to the cafe/reception area and ordered a coffee from Maria which turned out to be one of best cups of coffee I have had in NZ. Even better when, much later in the day, I realised that I had forgotten to pay for it! Nigel came over and we looked at all the literature and albums that they have about the place. We were sorry to say good-bye as we would definitely have stayed another day had the weather been better. A short drive and we were in Invercargill and we parked up by the museum and visitor centre. We spent quite a lot of time in the art gallery and museum http://www.southlandmuseum.com/before walking the short distance into the town centre. Invercargill is South Islands southernmost town and it felt like going back in time! The streets are very wide, no problems with space for building in this part of the world! We had lunch at an Irish pub, very friendly and good, reasonably priced food. Then we went to the Hammer Hardware Store where there was a display of motor bikes and memorabilia relating to Bert Munro "The Worlds Fastest Indian" http://www.indianmotorbikes.com/features/munro/munro.htmThis was certainly one of the highlights of our trip as far as Nigel was concerned. My pre-occupation with should we or shouldn't we go to Milford Sound was nothing compared to his determination to see the Bert Munro memorabilia both in Hammer Hardware and the museum!
We went back to the van through the park and gardens surrounding the museum and after doing some shopping went to find a camp site for the night. We went to the Amble On In holiday park on the outskirts of town but soon decided not to stay, too expensive and not at all welcoming. So we drove back through town and a few miles north to the Lorneville camp site. Going back through town I realised that I had forgotten to pick up a bottle of wine when I had shopped, not like me!! So, we stopped at a liquor store and I went in and got a bottle. As I went to the cash desk I noticed that the tv was on and showing signs of disaster somewhere. Of course it was the Christchurch earthquake which had happened a couple of hours previously. I paid for the wine and chatted with the cashier who told me that this time the earthquake was much worse than the one last September and that this time it was feared that there were many casualties. Even then it was not apparent what a devastating blow this was not just for Christchurch but the whole Canterbury region.
We parked up at the Lorneville camp site which turned out to be one of the nicest sites we stayed on. What a difference it makes when the proprietors are friendly and helpful.Although it was dry when we got there it soon started to rain and by the time we had eaten it was raining pretty heavily. There was a large shabby but comfortable room on the site used as a games room/tv lounge and I went in there to watch coverage, which of course was continuous, of the earthquake.This was to become a regular occurrence over the next few days, people sitting in tv rooms on camp sites watching the horror unfold and wearing stunned expressions.It was reported that the tremor had been felt in Invercargill but no-one we spoke to had felt it and we certainly hadn't. I managed to get online and e mail family that we were in Invercargill and thankfully not affected by the quake.