Banded Dotterel

Ahhhhh......a lovely sleep and waking to see snow over the mountains just a stones throw away was a great way to start the day.........as was the heater!  Leisurely breakfast then tootled into Kaikoura where a wonderful few hours was spent [once again] marvelling at the impact Mother Nature made on the area when the November 2016 earthquake struck the region (see here and here for images from a visit 2 months after the quake and see extras for a 'today' view).  Amazingly, by the time I returned to the van for some lunch it was 23 degrees!  A beautiful summer feel for sure.

Tootled round to the South Bay where I was fortunate to see a couple of Banded Dotterels - one was minding the nest and the other (this one) was making sure nothing or no-one got too close.  Such cute wee things though I discovered after downloading the images that there was a heat haze that had played havoc with my images.  Ah well.....

On then to the 'main drive' to Ashburton.  Once past the beautiful south Kaikoura coast where the road turns inland at Oaru it was head down, bum up, straight driving.  Did take time out for a half hour nap and a quick fuel-up but otherwise it was pretty uneventful.  Oddly, the weather declined the further away from Kaikoura I got and by the time I arrived in Ashburton it was raining and cold.  

Up early to get the van to the man for around 8.00am.

IN COVID news, a record we didn't want to reach - 94 cases today, our highest single day case total since the pandemic first hit our shores in 2020.  I mentioned 'plateau' yesterday - I was wrong :(