Now what? Fleur's Place!

Now that the race is over, some might be wondering what where our adventure will be taking us and what the heck we'll be writing about...We ventured out of the mountains toward the East coast on the south island. We still have managed to avoid any real cities on the south island. The last couple nights we have been staying in a holiday park in Oamaru. This looked like a good spot as our next priority was nothing overly ambitious aside from venturing to Fleur's Place for a great meal. Graeme, Zeph's Godfather, gave Sarah the cookbook from Fleur's Place the last time we were here in New Zealand. Fleur's has quite an amazing story as it is known for it's simplicity and fresh fish. They catch their fish everyday about 100 yards off the restaurant and serve it in its brilliant simplicity every day. The meal, without a question, delivered...and then some!


Fleur's is a small restaurant set on the water in a little cove filled with small fishing boats. The proximity to this supply of great seafood makes the catch of the day absolutely the catch of the day. We were able to watch fish come off the boat, into the cleaning station to be filleted, then into the kitchen to be cooked. It doesn't get much better (or fresher) than that!

Sitting by an upstairs window in the boathouse theme (though not in a gaudy way), we ordered a seafood platter consisting of smoked, cured, marinated, and fresh seafood including salmon, flounder, eel, mussles, and cockles (clams), to name a few. We also ordered freshly caught Blue Cod wrapped in bacon and served with fresh veges and cockles in a thin but creamy white wine sauce. The platter was big enough for two, so we did what we usually do and shared everything! It was absolutely fantastic! At this point we could have finished our meal and been completely satisfied, but upon reccommendation from Graeme, we ordered the Eton Pavlova with chantilly creme and fresh berry compote. All I can say is YUM! Fleur's uses fresh, organic berries and we could definitely taste the difference!

Since we had eaten more than our fill, we decided to go for a walk on the beach to help stave off the (sometimes) dreaded food coma. Close to Fleur's is a famous spot called Moeraki Boulders, otherwise nicknamed Giant's Marbles due to the size and shape of the rock. We set off on our 3km round trip and were happy to see the tide was low enough to enjoy the rocks.

Upon arrival there are a number of stones that are set deep in the sand, slowly eroding, it seems, from the inside out. Farther along the beach are a few stones that seem to have developed fissures and collapsed in beautiful sections. Farther along still are the intact boulders. Some high on the beach and others leading down into the breakers.

Fortunately, before the amazing seafood feast, we were able to get out for a nice little road spin (on our mountain bikes) after being off the bike for the past three days. Tomorrow we are heading to Dunedin, which is a University city and also where there is lots of great riding. We will be house-sitting for a new friend while he and his family are out of town and we are really looking forward to staying put for a few days and getting caught up! Thanks for reading!