This episode includes landings at a couple of mountain airstrips. They were lots of fun and challenging but less challenging than the agricultural strips strips that Matt pointed out to us along the way to Mandeville. Stormy was very impressed with the workshop at Mandeville where we got to watch craftsmen create wooden spars, ribs and propellers following the original aircraft plans (well copies of those plans – the originals are in safe keeping there). Stewart Island was a delight. We were served a dinner that included huge oysters and green-lipped mussels (yummy). After a good night’s sleep at a lovely inn on the island, we headed out to fish for cod to take home with us for Jo to prepare for dinner that night. Unfortunately I was so distracted by the intense glare of the albatross, that I hardly added to our catch. I was grateful when our boat guide, Matt (no relation to Matt of Flyinn) put the rods away and served us tea with a delicious bread that his wife had cooked that morning. After a tour of several islands, we headed back to meet Matt, Kylie and Nick. The weather was so low that Matt sent us back across the bay in a ferry just in case they got stuck with the pkanes on the Island. Miraculously, the weather cleared as we steamed off in the ferry and they beat us back across the bay, picked us up at the airport in Invercargill and we all flew home together.
RV Travels and Other Assorted Adventures of Sunny and Stormy Weathers
