Cliche II (with ducks)

Full of good intentions about getting to Mount John observatory tonight but have only managed to get about an hour of pure driving past Arrowtown!! Why? Well, I started off spending some time on the shores of Lake Hayes shooting (again, cliche'd) shots of the lake/moutains/autumn trees. I then wended my way ever-so-slowly along the road a bit to the Kawerau Bridge to watch the fear on the faces of people who paid a lot of money to scare themselves half to death doing a Bungy jump. Great entertainment :) (I would have done a jump myself of course but a Bungy is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and, given that I did one a few years ago, I didn't see the need to do another . . . . (well - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

On to the gold fields for a bit of a look around, in to Cromwell to catch up on a few domestics (shopping, van care, mailing) then dropped in on a friend. It was good to see M & T again and whilst M is still dealing with the events in her life it was good to hear her talking about plans for the future. Left Cromwell and decided to overnight just out of town, nowhere near where I'd thought I might be tonight!

Another stunning day in Paradise :)

PS I just stepped outside the van. It's pitch black - blackness like I've rarely witnessed before. There's no moon. The stars are growing in numbers. I think I'm probably too close to Cromwell to get a great night sky, but if tonight's sky hangs on for another night I should be in for a much anticipated treat tomorrow night :)