The Weather moves us East

Well, howdy, everyone!
Mt Cook did not happen--boohoo. The morning that we were to leave for Mt Cook the a huge storm rolled in accompanied by torrential rains. We took our time with breakfast and packing, hoping that the weather would turn. We checked various reports and webcams and decided (unhappily) that it was not safe to travel the road up the mountain and if we did so, we would not be able to hike the trails or see the incredible views. It was a hard decision because we were also forfeiting two nights stay at the Lodge. Alex was suddenly without plans, as well, since she had planned on hitching a ride with us. So the three of us poured over maps and it was clear that in order to escape the storm, we would have to head back to the East coast. The Kiwis call a storm like this a "blowover"--and they advised us not to fight it. It will hang on for days and if you arrange a trip around hiking and fishing activities--well, you know the answer to that. We had planned on fishing Lake Ohau and the salmon canals outside of Lake Tekapo, but that was not to be. So, we packed the car and drove out of Wanaka with some sadness because it is such a special place.
We drove back through Tarras and then north through Omarama along the Waikati River and dam systems. The Waikati flow is fed by Lake Wanaka, Lake Tekapo and Lake Ohau. It is dammed in several places and provides most of the energy for NZ. We cleared the mountains and lupine filled valleys and made our way down. The skies turned blue and the sun came out and we were happy as clams. We stopped along the tops of the dams and admired the incredible ingenuity involved in the design and construction of these massive structures. We drove back and forth across the river through a system of one way bridges eyeing fishing areas and finally stopped to have our lunch on the shore while watching terns and oyster catchers dive into the river. The clouds were so amazing with the dark clouds of the West bearing down on the white, lavender, grey and blue clouds from the Pacific Ocean. Once again we jumped into that now very dirty red coach and drove down gravel and stone roads. We finally arrived in Oamaru and stayed in a very old hostel downtown.
All was going fairly well until Joel and I went out to the back parking lot to view some penguins around 11pm. They have nests everywhere! They are in between buildings and in alleys and under pallets in the warehouse district and you find them under cars and in the grass and along the railroad tracks--I kid you not. I had heard them calling and we thought we'd take a quick look. On the way, in the alley we ran into a couple of young Dutch guys who were dairy farmers. They were swigging beers and obviously drunk. They followed us out and we all watched the penguins for a while. When we left them, we explained that they are light sensitive (so no flash photography) and they are afraid of humans (so do not get near them) and that they call one another as a way of finding their nests. I went back to the hostel and looked out a window from the third floor and saw these jerks beating the bushes with a large board and the other guys attempting to pick up the baby penguins. They were also video taping (with light ofcourse) the entire process. We were livid and so we went out in the rain to reason with them. They said they understood. . ..well, it continued after we left and then Joel was really mad and grabbed a young Israeli guy from the hostel and the two of them went down there to confront these idiots. Joel was yelling into their faces. Around midnight these morons came in with several more beers and created quite a ruckus. They were loud and obnoxious--made a big burning mess in the kitchen--and we were all very unhappy. We tried several times to ring the manager, but without success. So, I did not sleep.
When morning came, we packed as quickly as we could. In the breakfast room, our friend Alex read these guys the riot act. Then Joel got into with them again. They never apologized--A-holes. I hope karma catches up with them. We found new accommodations at a motor inn and then planned on fishing for the afternoon. Yesterday, we had gone to the local sporting goods store to get some advice and pick up some new flies. The sea run trout are running up through the mouth of the Waikati and they are huge! We picked up some fish imitation patterns and some larger wooly buggers. (I'd been carrying #10--but evidently these beasts like them in #4 through #8). We got the low down on the roads and gates to pass. . . ..to be continued.