The weather gods have continued to smile on us. It was sunny and warm (not hot, just nicely warm) as we left Dunedin this morning. Two nights, and one day, simply wasn’t enough time. More on that later, but for now, here was the view from our room just before departure.

We spent most of today driving (4 1/2 hours), with a stop for lunch at the Zest Restaurant in Timaru. We ate outside (Lamb salad and Moroccan Chicken salad) and were treated to live music for the second half of our lunch (Susan Be. – include the “.” if you look for her music) with a mix of original and cover folk songs. It was an unexpected find that added to the day.

I don’t have many scenery pictures today, so I’m going to bore you with food pictures. Specifically, New Zealand specialty food. A friend told us they had New Zealand butter over the holidays and it was almost a religious experience. They said we absolutely had to try it. I’m not sure it was religious, but it was very very good, on new crop potatoes and on toast with local Apricot jam.

On our trip to Milford Sound, the bus driver told about the amazing properties of Manuka honey. It aroused my curiosity – about what the tree looks like, how to pronounce Manuka, and of course, the taste. So I treated myself to a small jar of pure Manuka honey to try with New Zealand butter on toast tomorrow morning.

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that we really should have spent more time in Dunedin. But we said the same thing at the cottage. We have yet to find anywhere we don’t want to return to. Our first 3-week trip to New Zealand in 2023 led to a second 5-week trip this year, and it is already clear that we will be back for more.