As cited in the title, it really did feel like an escape from Peel Forest. This was due to the non-stop rain that buffeted our tent (lightly) and completely obscured the view (we were in a light cloud).
Either way, we did not in fact drown, and instead managed to be up and out of there by around 9:15am (the earliest departure yet!
On the search for mobile signal, we stopped off at Geraldine Farmshop and Cafe, rescuing ourselves with local bacon, eggs, and toast. From here, we made our next decision - let's go wherever the rain isn't. Strangely enough, you can't exactly search by weather, but after looking at some weather fronts moving in, as well as the forecast for the rest of this week, we decided that following the coast was our best option.
This is where we decided we needed to treat ourselves again at another Top10 campsite - this time in Timaru. We stocked up on some supplies at the farmshop itself, before continuing on our way back toward the coast.
At some point, we may have been distracted by the stunning scenery emerging from the thinning clouds, as we ended up taking about 20 minutes longer than our original arrival time and taking a small detour down a long gravel track.
Surprisingly enough, this led us straight past an old lime kiln - something we're super familiar with having lived little more than 20 minutes walk away from one back in North Yorkshire and we just had to stop and take a few photos (see Matt's post - I believe he's uploaded the ones he took there!).
We arrived in Timaru just before 12pm, meaning that we had a few hours to kill before we could 'check-in' to our camping site. I'd seen that there was a lighthouse nearby, so made Matt drive up to it. We'd barely turned the corner before we burst out laughing.
It's absolutely tiny!
What is it with us and tiny, disappointing lighthouses?
One of these days we'll find one that could actually function as one, not just give us a good laugh for the day!
After this, we wandered around Timaru for a while before finding our way down to Caroline Bay - an apparently very popular and well-known region of the country and one that we massively enjoyed looking around (despite the fact that most of the attractions were closed midweek - including the tiny train, again!).
We could then check-in to our campsite at 2pm and set up our tent for the third time of the holiday, realising that it had broken after the last time we set it up. It's not a big break, and it's still possible to put up, but it's annoying nonetheless.
I then spent the afternoon taking advantage of the hot showers provided while Matt popped to the liquor store. We chilled out for the rest of the evening, cooking our meal in the communal kitchen and having a chat with a British guy who now lives in Wellington (an ex-runner who wants to take it up again but now has a 3-year-old!).
At around 9pm we decided that we weren't quite full and popped down to the local Maccies, getting a little snackie before heading back up to the tent and watching YouTube for the evening.
A very busy day overall!
At 6am the next day, I woke up because I was too cold. And at 8am I woke up again because I was too hot!
I went to extend our stay another night and get coffee and hot chocolate from the reception (something we've not seen before and haven't seen since!) before we made breakfast while a digger dug up an old tree stump in front of our tent (random - I know).
Late morning, we set off into town again and I spotted a seal down on Caroline Bay Beach itself! He was a very happy seal, sunbathing in the already-hot sun, and it was hard to pick him up on camera as he'd rolled about on the sand so much that he was exactly the same colour!
I bought some new sandals in Timaru as I'd realised that all my shoes require trainer socks, meaning that I have a very attractive tan line around the tops of my feet. This had to be sorted out ASAP.
After lunch, we had to paddle in the sea (avoiding the seal who was still there!) before heading back to the campsite and catching up on blog posts, chilling out, and charging everything and anything we owned over dinner before setting off the next day.
Again, we don't have an exact plan for where we're going, but that's part of the fun!
Timaru has been one of my favourite places to visit so far, though it would be nice to stay a little closer to town, or visit when it's not so baking hot!
Stay tuned for where we went next!
- Abi
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