Sunrise, Scenery & Good Samaritan Kinda Day

Saturday 12 April

A rather epic day!

Set my alarm early(ish) to catch the sunrise over the inlet - and I was fully rewarded by stunning skies 🧡🩷💜

We packed up and followed some very dubious map directions round in a few circles and eventually found our way to Treehouse Retreat In Kaiapoi which was a lovely spot!

Packed a quick picnic for me and then we hit the road again, heading towards Arthur’s Pass.

Back in January we almost failed to pull Banjo up Porter’s Pass on the way up to Arthur’s Pass so this time we were looking to check out the Lake Lyndon side road as an alternative route into the area. Heading towards the mountains, the roads were straight as a die for 20+ kilometres - so much so that there was a sign warning you ahead of a bit of a bend! We crossed the Rakaia around 50km inland from the estuary where we had stayed the night before - it was looking very majestic.

Obligatory stop at Sheffield for a pie for Louis for lunch (a supreme - steak, bacon, cheese & onion) then onwards & upwards.

Porters Pass seemed much easier a) without a caravan, b) when you knew what to expect and c) the engine had been tuned up! However we did pass a sad traveller van that had ground to a halt about 100m the summit!

At Lake Lyndon - after a sneaky expensive coffee stop - we headed off to explore the gravel road through to Lake Coleridge and the Rakaia Gorge.

The scenery was magnificent and we felt quietly confident we could pull Banjo through here. Branching off up towards Lake Coleridge we were waved down by a lady so pulled over to find a big people carrier on its side & all the passengers sitting out on the bank.

After some back & forth because we were out of signal range and could not call for help, 3 of us agreed to drive the family back home to CHC - we took Ngafa and her daughter Grace. Let’s hope they can sort out the insurance on the vehicle and get it recovered.

On the way back to Banjo I took a little detour on foot to get some steps and found a lovely lake in the gathering twilight - populated with Canada geese, black swans and lovely papango.

Back at Banjo for dinner and more Traitors excitement - nail biting!