Wager brings pair south

A wager over a cup of tea brought two colourful characters to Dunedin yesterday. Patrina Lawes and Gaeleen Scholes-Daysh, of Cambridge, bet one another they could not travel from the North Island to Stewart Island for less than $100.

''We're just two old farts, who wanted to go on a trip down through the South Island,'' Mrs Scholes-Daysh (49) said yesterday.

The pair left Cambridge on January 23 and they hopeto return home by February 10.

''We've never been this far down the South Island before. It's beautiful,'' Mrs Lawes (51) said.

''Why are we doing it? Because we're stupid.''

Along the way, they have been raising money for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.

The intrepid explorers visited Larnach Castle, Speight's Brewery and Cadbury World after arriving in Dunedin yesterday.

They will have a last look around Dunedin today, before leaving for Invercargill tomorrow. They hope to reach their Stewart Island goal on Saturday.