South Island Trip

Pissing in the wind. This photo really doesn't give you a good idea of how incredibly windy it was that day. I honestly thought I would be able to fly if I unzipped my jacket and held the material out to catch the wind. I tried it.

Unfortunately it was on this beach that I decided that I really needed to take a piss. There was no shelter from the wind let alone a toilet (if there was, you'd be seeing a urinal photo here instead).

I walked myself far enough away for privacy and unzipped. Even standing still was proving to be a problem while being buffeted around by the wind. I really could have done with a senior citizen's urinal bar.

I was clever enough to face away from the wind, but it really didn't help that much. As soon as the first dribble came, the wind vaporised it and splattered every inch of my body. I tried squatting down in a hope that the wind would be less fierce towards the ground but the gap between my legs seemed to create a wind tunnel effect that had an undesirable effect.

The moral of the story? Always bring a catheter with you if you will need to be pissing in a wind storm.

Second last one! "Pretty Photo Number 4"

I heard a hissing from outside my window, and when we stopped to check it out, we found a small piece of gravel stuck in the tyre. You would have thought that tyres would have been designed to drive on gravel. As is the case in every family, the daughter changes the tyre while the son takes photos.

Way down below in the disgustingly opaque green pool, those things that look like little leeches are seals. They were very noisy, splashing and playing in the pool below.

We waited for at least an hour in a camouflaged hut before I got this shot. A real live penguin waddling up the beach.

When all you want is a Subway® sandwich.

A happy seal sunbaking on the grass after a swim.

A sad seal sitting on her dead baby.

Her dead baby seal.

After seeing the dead baby seal, a man had a heart attack near the car park. We had driven almost an hour to get to this spot so there wouldn't have been any emergency services near by. The first to arrive was the fire truck (top left). Then the helicopter came in, flying low directly over our heads as we stood in the car park. You can't even keep your eyes open when you're in the blast of wind directly under an airborne helicopter. It was worse than on the beach where I had my 'pissing in the wind' experience. Finally two ambulances arrived but nobody was able to do anything.

The two ambulances and the fire engine that came to help.

Slightly shaken up by the dead baby seal and people dying around me, I posted a prayer note on a prayer board. Can you spot mine?

I think this is the first photo that I've posted of my family on this site. We're a lot more tanned than we usually are in this photo.

A trip to Dunedin wouldn't be complete without visiting New Zealand's steepest street. Some teenagers died while riding down this street in a garbage bin.

Sorry, I lied when I said the last one was the second last. This is actually the second last one. "Pretty Photo Number 5"

Hehe, 'Shag Point'. In the bottom left photo, someone rubbed out the S so that it read 'hag Point'. I think it was funnier before it was vandalised.

South Island urinal number 5.

I promised big balls and here they are. The scientific explanation of how these boulders came to be was incredibly boring and quickly forgotten. They did look cool though.

A contented seal sleeping at Shag Point.

Trying out my mum's sun glasses.

Cream cheese and jam for breakfast.

The last urinal of the series.

And I leave you with "Pretty Photo Number 6"