What has Become of the Penguins?

At this point of time I have both an apology and an explanation for the lack of daily updates for this trip. In fact there were two reasons for the apparent lack of activity. The first problem I was confronted with was very poor Internet connectivity. On several occasions I really tried to upload photos, but was met by an endless hourglass. It was just impossible.

The second, and more serious , issue was that at about day 3 Maggie started to feel quite unwell. A RAT test showed that she had succumbed to the dreaded Covid. We suspect that it happened during our time at Melbourne Airport. Wherever it occurred, it really was not a good result.

Maggie's condition actually worsened over the next few days, and by the time we reached Queenstown, there was no way she was going to be in any condition to ride a bike. This meant that she was confined to the bus for the entire duration of the riding sections. This was a huge disappointment for her, as she had played a huge part in putting this trip together.

By Sunday 16th March, she was so unwell that we decided to take her to the modern new clinic in Alexandra. Being a Sunday, there was no waiting and the attention she received was quite amazing, She was thoroughly examined and tested, and found to be very dehydrated. So much so that they put her on an intravenous drip for an hour. The improvement over that time was nothing short of amazing. With 48 hours she was eating again and starting to feel much better. By Monday evening the RAT test showed she was no longer infected and was finally able to stop wearing a mask and rejoin the rest of the group.

Overnight the weather in Dunedin underwent a dramatic transformation. Whereas yesterday had been hot and dry, with a top temperature around 30C, we awoke to a completely different world, The temperature had plummeted to less than 10C, the wind was blowing a gale and rain was falling steadily,

This morning was supposed to be our final ride of the trip, but the awful conditions quickly persuaded the majority of the group to stay in the bus instead. Only 4 riders were brave (ie silly) enough to climb on the bikes for the ride around Dunedin Harbour. By this time the wind was ferocious, and the rain was still sleeting down. We could only feel sympathy for the riders in Group 3 who were doing their first ride today.

After the freezing ride, we all climbed into a small motor launch for a cruise across to the other side of the harbour. The wind made sure that the cruise was probably more exciting than it usually would be.

After morning tea in a delightful pub across the harbour, we all climbed back into the bus for the long, long drive to Christchurch. Our lunch stop was at the fascinating, and somewhat whimsical town of Oamaru, This place has a rich history and is full of an eclectic mix of second hand shops and art and craft businesses,
It continued to rain heavily for the entire 5 hour drive and was still raining heavily when we arrived at our hotel in Christchurch. It was a relief to finally reach somewhere warm and dry, It was also a very fortuitous discovery when we found that each room had a washing machine and dryer,

Tomorrow is our free day in Christchurch, and a great way to relax after the busy schedule of the past week,Read more