Going Round In Circles - More South Island Adventures

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So somehow, since I last wrote from Bonny Invercargill, 18 days have passed and once more my feeble attempts to be disciplined in writing this account are given a severe working over by the realities of travelling. Let's get on with it shall we...


We left Invercargill early, intent on reaching Dunedin by nightfall, taking a day to pass through the famously rugged southern coastline known as the Catlins. Taking the scenic highway from Invercargill to Balclutha, it is possible to visit a number of beautiful remote beaches, rocky clifftops and other natural features. On our way through, we picked up a grateful young German hitchiker, who was just wandering his way through the area. It took a couple of our quick-fire tourist stops to convince him that he actually was looking for a different kind of lift, more suited to his speed. However, he stayed with us for long enough to take a photgraph of myself and Andy at New Zealand's southernmost point, a visit worth making if only for the world-shaking realisation that NZ is still many thousand of kilometres from the Antarctic, contrary to my long-held belief that is was a mere stone's throw from the place. Other than this, we were agreed that the highlight of our time in the Catlins was wandering onto a beach only to see some wild male sea-lions frolicking and rolling in the sand. Utterly infringing the recommended 10m proximity to take photos, we were struck by how fantastic it was to see these brutes so close in their natural environment, with no one else around. On our way back, we met some locals who filled us in on a little of the local history and a little about the habits of the creatures we'd just seen. Then, striding away, flush with the joy of a unique travel experience, we crested a hill to see a Stray backpacker bus turning out its inhabitants onto the beach.

After a day well spent in the Catlins, we rolled into Dunedin to find a bed for the night. We ended up in a place called Hogwartz, though I failed to find any connection with Harry Potter. Perhaps someone could fill me in. Dunedin proved a pleasant place to spend some time. And I hope to spend more, should time allow. We visited NZ's Cadburys World, which was a diverting way to score some free chocolate. The tour-guide offered us a bowl of Crunchies and said "Take a couple". We took three. When she returned with the Dairy Milks, she looked me dead in the eye and said "Take two". We took two. Dunedin is quite charming to look at, with architectural highlights being the train station and the Octogon, a kind of central plaza area, though there were many pleasant little buildings scattered amongst the more modern blocks. Also exciting for tourists is Baldwin Street, the World's Steepest Residential Street (if anyone knows the location of the World's Steepest Commercial and Non-Urban Streets, I would appreciate a heads up). Like flies we made our way to it and undertook the gruelling climb. By chance, we turned up on the day that some bright spark had commissioned the installation of a Coke machine mid-way up. It'll do a roaring trade.

Dunedin sits on the coast and extending East from it is the stunning Otago Peninsula. The most famous sight is the Royal Albatross colony at the tip. I'm no dedicated ornithologist (I even struggled to spell it) but it was still amazing to see these massive birds swirling around the cliff tops on the air currents. There is a tour you can do but I say save your $20 and just watch them from the car park. From here, we made our way to Sandfly Beach, which must be one of the highlights of my time here so far, though I can't really explain why. We were lucky here to see 7 or 8 sea lions just hanging around and we spent quite a time just admiring the view. We only spent a few hours on the peninsula but I'm sure you could spend more exploring it and it's at least as deserving of a visit as the Catlins. From here we set off to undertake a mammoth drive to Mt Cook, which neither of us had visited yet. We arrived late in the night, with no clue of our surroundings. The plan was to spend half a day taking in the views and maybe doing a walk for a few hours in the surrounds.

We awoke in the morning to find that a number of vast mountains and hills had emerged around us but that they were unfortunately swathed in fog and cloud. If this didn't put us off going for a walk, perhaps the weather forecast should have - "Heavy Rain. Very, very, windy" it said. Still, we thought, we're here, so we may as well do the Hooker Valley walk. In some ways it was worthwhile, the views were still spectacular back down the valley and the mountains still looked impressive under the rain clouds; the swing bridges were fun to cross as they were buffeted by the winds; the water in the rivers and lakes was a beautiful shade of turqoise. As we made our way further into the mountains, it became increasingly cold and the lack of waterproof clothing saw us soaked through. The winds at times almost lifted us physically off our feet and served to freeze the water in our bones still further. Then after much effort and indecisiveness about continuing further, we finally reached the lookout at the end of the track. The combination of wind, rain and hail made it impossible for us to even look in the direction we were supposed to, for fear of damaging facial lacerations. We headed back tail behind legs and left for Kaikoura. Lesson learned, wear waterproof trousers.

Kaikoura is famous for whale-watching and swimming with dolphins, of which I did neither. Andy swum with the Dusky Dolphins and came back suitably aglow, having swum with as many as 10 at a time. I took the time to stroll around and admire the coastal scenery. The view is particularly spectacular because of the Seaward Kaikoura moutain range which seems to run almost into the sea. After this brief stop, we returned finally to Christchurch, which Andy had yet to see. I only intended to stay for one night and head to Akaroa, while Andy was to meet a relative who lived in town. However, I missed the bus due to a scheduling error, so I was invited along to meet her and her hilarious lodger. She was very kind, taking us for lunch, showing us some of Christchurch's sights and driving us over to Lyttleton to see the beautiful harbour on the other side of the hills around the town. The next day, Andy and I parted ways, him heading to Australia and I to Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula, 2 hours from Christchurch. It was an emotional parting.

Akaroa is a beautiful town and I greatly enjoyed my three days there. It is NZ's only French colonial settlement and has some wonderful little wooden houses, a stunning harbour and a quiet atmosphere. In my hostel I met a lovely old Kiwi couple, who visited the place a couple of times a year. They took me on a walk in the hills and also to see the nearby Maori meeting house, which is one of the most important in the country, so I'm told. I also managed to do a little dolphin swimming of my own here, though I doubt it was anywhere near as spectacular as Andy's experience. What Akaroa does have is the Hector's Dolphins, which as the smallest of the dolphin family and extremely cute to see. Though I saw relatively few, I did have a couple of breathtaking fly-bys by three dolphins at a time, which made the trip pretty much worthwhile, though part of me wishses I'd joined Andy on that day. Leaving Akaroa, I returned to Christchurch for a third time to pick up some cheap gear for my intended tramps in the future and also to sort out my Intercity bus pass. $498 bought me 50 hours of flexible bus travel, which doesn't seem too bad, given that I can use it as I like and am not tied to an itinerary. I also managed to watch a complete series of Alan Partridge in my hostel which was a welcome taste of home!

I left Christchurch early in the morning for Greymouth on the West Coast, travelling through Arthur's Pass, a famously beatiful route through the Southern Alps. On the bus, I met an English couple, Brian and Caroline, who were going the same way as me. Also, I was delighted to find that Brian would join me on the Kepler Track hike when we eventually made it down there. This made up for the rain and fog that covered Arthur's Pass, ruining the views and also appropriately cloaked Greymouth. There is not really much to do in Greymouth but it should be visited if only to stay at the Global Village hostel, which is the best I've been to so far. The facilities are good, the decor is beautiful, the atmosphere is relaxed. They had a guitar that worked, a piano and handed out free muffins. They had a pet goat, John. They put on a fireworks display. The owners were extremely helpful and friendly. You simply must visit. I stayed two nights and didn't really leave the hostel. I only eventually left because I wanted to get to the glaciers for my birthday.

Hopping on a bus running down south down the coast, I arrived at Fox Glacier. Many people head to the more famous Franz Josef glacier but I chose Fox because it is essentially the same thing - a large block of ice - and it is also $60 cheaper to do the heli-hike. I had a few options to do the trip but I'm glad I chose the helicopter over the half-day or full-day hikes. A 5 minute helicopter ride carries you over the heads of all the walkers, depositing you 2km further up the ice than anyone else gets. Our pilot was a lunatic and took pleasure in pitching his steed all over the place and giving us a stomach challening plunge down the face of a waterfall. The heli-hike also gets you up amongst the walls of ice and beautifully coloured caves and arches that you can't see any other way, so for me the $260 was well spent and anyway, it was my birthday present to myself! We were lucky as well to have a clear day which afforded us great views out to the nearby Tasman Sea and right up to the top of the glacier face. It is certainly one of the coolest things I've done so far. In my hostel, I met a Canadian, Alana who was getting a car ride south to Wanaka and Queenstown, so I asked to come along for the ride, missing the flexibility of a car to hop out where you like. Alana, Amy (our driver) and I headed south for an hour or so, before stopping off to camp on a beach, which I still don't know the name of. It wasn't, how shall we say, official camping grounds but we pitched up anyway. We were treated to an absolutely stunning evening, with a gorgeous sunset, enormous waves breaking over the sand and a great view to the hills inland. Shame the ground was so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep a jot and got up at 5:45am. I spent 3 hours wandering around fighting off hordes of biting sandflies and skimming rocks until the others awoke and we headed on to Wanaka. En route, we stopped to take a dip in Lake Hawea, which was damn freezing and posing for a photo was a genuine challenge.

Having been to Queenstown, I can agree with the description of Wanaka as a mini-Queenstown. The view is arguably prettier, with Lake Wanaka being an attractively framed view from the main street and the vibe is more relaxed, with less tourists and more real people around. Wanaka is also home to the Puzzling World, a place which showcases optical illusions and contains a throughly frustrating maze, which is a beast to complete. I managed to do the difficult route in 50 minutes or so, which I think is about average. Other than this, Wanaka doesn't have reams of sights to see, so I spent some time relaxing in my hostel, chatting with the guests, breaking for an occassional walk up a hill (the climb up Mt Iron is pretty easy and gives you stunning views across Mt Aspiring National Park). Meeting Alana and Amy again, we headed on our way to Queenstown, only a couple of hours away.

We stopped en route in Arrowtown, a tiny town which is home to a bizzare historical Chinese Village, formerly occupied by gold diggers. The huts are rickety and tiny but were interesting enough for me to recommend stopping off. Arrowtown is also a pleasant place which you should see on its own merit. On the instructions of a local, we camped the night again on some wonderfully soft grass, which on reflection was precariously close to water as rain started to fall. Waking comparitively refreshed, we headed on to Queenstown, where I would just be passing through to Te Anau and the start of the Kepler track. 3 days later, I'm still here on account of meeting a good group of people in my dormitory but now I must move on, given that someone has booked my bed ahead of me. I have done little in Queenstown, having done all that I wanted to last time here. I met again with Brian and Caroline and we booked ourselves onto the Kepler track for Friday, so I'm now preparing myself mentally for a 67km stroll over 4 days, with baggage. Interesting to see how that turns out.

So, almost 4 weeks into my time in New Zealand, I am unstintingly impressed by the country and its people, who are very friendly, helpful and laid back. I can recommend two things for any imminent visitors:

1) If you're here for 1 month or more, get a BBH card, most decent hostels are members, so you'll save money no questions.

2) Rent a car for your stay. Rent in Christchurch where it's cheaper. It gives you the freedom to jump out wherever and go for a wander. This is the only time I rue not taking my driving test back in England!

I think I'll have Tolstoy's lawyers knocking on my door given the length of this recent opus so I'll give it a rest for now. Safe travels.

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Photos

Southward Ho'
Slope Point - NZ's most southerly. South Pole 4803km??!! Never!

The best of friends...
Spotted on the Catlins... it still makes me laugh

Baldwin Street, Dunedin
Where's the Coke machine??

Sandfly Beach
They said Sandflies? What the hell are these then?

Hooker Valley, Mt Cook National Park
My god it was cold...

Welcoming Hosts
(L to R) - Ross, Pam, Andy

John the Goat
How I miss him...

Fox Glacier
That's one there, in case you were wondering

Unamed Beach, West Coast
(L to R) - Amy, Me, Alana

Comments

[Andy]

You have made we wish i kept a diary, such is your attention to detail. It seems these 8 days spent with you will be my most memorable as I always have this to turn to! I am enjoying your insights into Japan as I sit here in Osaka trying for the love of god to figure out an itinerary with a railpass, christmas closures all round and increased festive season train passengers, its not proving easy! Look forward to reading how the tramps (no, i will never learn to use this word - hikes) went.