Blogs from Canterbury Plains, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

ARTHURS PASS TO CHRISTCHURCH VIA LAKE LYNDON & LAKE COLERIDGE We awoke after a great sleep to a wet morning, our fellow hostelers had planned to do some day trips in the National Park, but it looked as though the weather was going to put an end to that. We headed East towards Christchurch and when we reached Lake Lyndon, remembered that there were several 4WD tracks in the area, out with our 4WD bibles and soon we were off the main road and skirting he edge of Lake Lyndon heading towards Lake Coleridge. The road was not that long and before too long we arrived at the Lake Coleridge village and power station, a stop here for lunch and a quick look around the power station and we were back on Tar seal heading ... read more

Ian taking over blogging for a bit… We stopped for fish and chips in Akaroa where we had Hoki (a fish that is a bit like cod only smaller). We had to buy the vinegar separately which we put down to cultural differences - a bit like those in Germany where they look at you like you’ve gone mad when you ask to have your fish without remoulade sauce but with essig instead - and that is at the place that advertises “English Fish & Chips”! After the meal, I promptly fell asleep overlooking the bay as I had been up all night, so I can confidently say that Akaroa is a very relaxing town. Once we got back to Christchurch, we had planned to have a quick sandwich back at the B&B and then pack ... read more

We left Banks on 31st and headed back to Rangiora as another girl that helped out at wedding was still there and it was her birthday so we went to celebrate with her. Left on 2nd and headed to Twizel and stayed in hostel there for the night.... read more

Having passed the morning watching playful dolphins frolicking in Le Bons Bay, we spend a couple of hours in Akaroa, the largest town on the Banks Peninsula and located at the end of a deep inlet that extends all the way to the centre of the peninsula. Akaroa is a gentrified kind of place, all cafés and estate agents - not too different from your average West London high street then, except for the stunning location. After the rugged and rather more isolated beauty of Le Bons Bay, we don't hang around too long as there's a long drive ahead. After a quick lunch by the water back in Barry's Bay, we wave goodbye to the wondrous and glorious Half Moon Cottage, entertaining fanciful thoughts of one day running a hostel in this beautiful part of ... read more

It is the day after Christmas, and Robyn and I are heading south to Stewart Island, the lesser of New Zealand's three main islands, in search of birds. It is our first time there. The plan for day one (Tuesday) is travel from Christchurch to Dunedin, then on to Stewart Island the next day, and back up to Christchurch on Sunday. The first stop on the road trip was the mighty metropolis of Timaru. There is an aviary at Caroline Bay (a big round one with common parroty birds) and another at the Botanic Gardens (a much smaller one with even commoner birds). That's about all there is to say about Timaru so...um, we headed on towards Oamaru. Oamaru's claim to fame is penguins. There are two species resident there, the little blue and the yellow-eyed. ... read more