A touch of Deja vu

 8th Feb

Fingers crossed this morning that RP would start. Great feeling when she did and that engine light didn't come on. The feeling of euphoria was short-lived though when suddenly on it came again. Then the juddering started. "It's only firing on three cylinders" moaned Ian and with over 100km to go to reach Christchurch this was going to be one stressful journey.

We arrived at the Rakaia Gorge lookout and stopped for a coffee. Ian wanted a break in the driving as he was constantly 'feathering' his right foot on the accelerator peddle to try and keep RP running smooth. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Ian suddenly shouted that he had a deja vu moment and made a lunge for his laptop. Then a shout of "yes, I knew it, we had been here three years ago on this very day and stopped for the night in the campsite by the river". How surreal was that!! Check out the post of three years ago and scroll down to the end.

 Travelling at 80kph and with that constant juddering was taking its toll on us both. Earlier I had seen Wildlife reserve on the map near to Christchurch and mentioned that maybe it would be a good idea to stop there for an hour or so. Wow, what a great place. Three areas to visit, this exert was taken from their website Willowbank Wildlife reserve

Close encounters of the ‘wildlife kind’ are a Willowbank trademark. Meet New Zealand’s Big 5 with the Kiwi, the cheeky Kea, the ancient Tuatara, our bush parrot the Kaka and the very rare Takahe. Feed the wild eels and make friends with the livestock breeds unique to New Zealand. Listen to the kiwi as it forages by your feet. Embark on a journey through the history of New Zealand. See the impact of introduced species in ‘Wild NZ’ and meet old livestock breeds in ‘Heritage NZ’. Experience native wildlife in ‘Natural NZ’ and share our hope for their future. 

So of course plenty of photos,

Takahe

Morepork Owl

And a Waxeye came to visit.

White-faced Heron

Yea...more Kea.

Sacred Kingfisher

Top, Star Tortoise, Ferret and Bottom Tuatara and Pukeko

Golden Pheasant

Scarlet Macaw

Pukeko and red-tailed black Cockatoo.

Bad feather day?...Sebastapol Goose.

With lots of washing today as well as give RP a wash, we booked ourselves into the South Brighton Holiday Park. 2 nights left and we jet off to Australia. Guess what...the fires are out due to flooding and weather for the next week is for stormy weather with only 20 deg temperatures.

And other wildlife,

Swamp Harrier