Blogs from Otago, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago October 26th 2022

When we awoke this morning we were making our way toward Port Chalmers, a delightful port town serving Dunedin. The journey into port reminded me so much of the journey into Belfast with small houses scattered along the way at the base of lush green hills. We have decided to do no shore excursions with Celebrity as they are so overpriced. We went up to the cafe for breakfast and were sitting out on deck as we were docking. On the wharf opposite us was a large crowd of Port Authority workers lined up welcoming us in. A group of high school students assembled on our dock and sang cultural songs to the delight of everyone who heard them. After brekky we prepared to go ashore, and then spent about 45 mins in a line up ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Makarora April 28th 2021

Again the weather gods have shone down on us as we pack up and prepare to head away from Fox Glacier for places further south. We hadn’t used a lot of petrol after the last fill in Hokitika so the Fox Glacier price for petrol at NPD at $2.45 per litre didn’t bite into the credit card too much. And with the petrol station being privately owned there were no Gold Card discount. As with most days of travel, the early part of the drive saw little oncoming traffic as the location where that traffic would have started from for the day was a good 75km plus away from where we started and as long as they left at a similar time to us it would take a while before we passed each other. And this ... read more
Living alone at Hunts Beach
Southern Alps scene
Salmon swimming at the Salmon Farm

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Oamaru November 24th 2018

Nov 6 - 8 NOTE (If you missed the last blog about Milford and Queenstown go back through the previous ones as they don’t seem to be in order. And I hope someone is reading these as the emails aren’t going out to my subscribers ...well I have to try and catch up !) Leaving Queenstown we drove along the Cromwell Gorge and aimed to take roads less travelled acros Otago and this we managed to do , as always just stopping whenever we saw a brown tourism sign . There are lots of lakes/ dams along this route and New Zealand makes much of its electricity from hydropower ...we could see why ! Driving over old suspension bridges , and quiet roads ( hardly another car ) into small towns like Clyde and Ophir we ... read more
Dam at Clyde
Little Blue Penguin
what’s this we see ?

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Queenstown June 16th 2018

Cardona opening day. 2000 people on mountain, although it didn't seem like it at all, and the first time in ten years that all lifts have been open for the very first day. The locals have been quite excitable about this, and the best start to a season in many years, not to mention the early opening of some local hills. All skifields here are around 12-14km from the main valley road; while some are tarmacked others are gravel tracks, in part at least. Unsure how far up we would realistically be wise to travel in a motorhome, we aimed for a car park with free shuttle bus at the 6km mark and took the opportunity to pick the brains of the Aussie driver who was kind enough to point out spots that remain icy throughout. ... read more
Cardrona Skifield
Cardrona Skifield
Cardrona Skifield

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Makarora June 13th 2018

Our night in Haast took us to another freedom spot, a little less glamorous than those of late; a gravel car park outside of a row of local shops. A peaceful spot that gave a good nights sleep - once dark falls and the blinds are shut, as long as it's quiet, you could be anywhere. Haast Pass is the lowest of all mountain passes in NZ yet is actually home to some of the most stunning mountain vistas as it heads into Mount Aspiring NP. With plenty a view point along the route, most with a 30-60 minute walk, the drive makes for a gentle and spectacular day. The photos speak for themselves. With clouds coming in around lunchtime hiding the peaks, and having already completed our 'must-do's' for the day, we chose to push ... read more
Haast Pass
Haast Pass
Haast Pass

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Central Otago December 30th 2017

Two very different days - walking the dog Meet Holly my new travelling companion she has a lot more energy than me !!! She is Victoria's housemates dog and she is adorable - she also has me pegged as a soft touch and as she is currently sleeping on the bed next to me, she may well be right !!!! "Bring the silly lady toys and she will throw them - bring her rabbit and she will play tug of war with me - she throw's sticks into the water for me time and time again - she lets me sleep on her bed" Well Holly and I have been on some walks the past two days: Yesterday We, Victoria and I, took Holly on a very steep walk up Queenstown Hill. It is not a ... read more
toria and holly
lake Wakatipu
holly at lake Hayes

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago November 16th 2017

Eine atemberaubende und kurvige Reise hinter uns lassend kommen wir gut an und Bernadette sieht bereits am Parkplatz das erste Exemplar – die Möwen wirken gegen den Koloss mit 3 Meter Spannweite sehr zierlich klein. Die Führung ist sehr interessant und wir können insgesamt sieben Albatrosse sehen – beim Brüten, Schnattern, Schnäbeln und beim beeindruckenden Fliegen! Janice gibt uns viele nützliche und lustige Details und wir unterhalten uns sehr gut mit ihr. Diese Vögel sind schon ein Hammer. Nach ihrer Geburt wiegen sie bald doppelt so viel wie ihre Eltern (12 kg) und mit 8 Monaten stürzen sie sich hinaus aufs Meer Richtung Südamerika (vor Bolivien gibt es sehr viel leckeren Fisch), um dann 5-8 Jahre später das erste Mal wieder Land unter die Watschelfüße zu bekommen – natürlich in Neuseeland, natürlich in Dunedin, wo sonst? ... read more
Küste
Albatros beim Brüten
Albatros

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago November 14th 2017

Nach dem Besuch in Te Anau ist die folgenden Autofahrt weniger anspruchsvoll und auch weniger atemberaubend quer durchs Land. Ein Highlight ist sicher der Pizza-Hut Besuch (mein 2.ter und Bernadettes 1.ter) – sehr lecker der Mozzarella Rand. Bernadette beschwert sich über meinen Musikgeschmack, bzw. über meine melodischen Künste in der Wiedergabe und will mich auf RedBull Entzug stellen – ich lass mich nicht beirren und habe weiterhin Spaß an meinem Kopfkino! Am Abend kommen wir nach der Durchquerung an der Ostküste an und landen beim Nugget-Point. Leider ist gerade hier eine Wolkenstimmung und es ist nicht von funkelnden Gold-Nuggets zu erahnen. Auf dem Rückweg erspäht Bernadette eine Robbe in der Brandung und nach etwas hin und her übernachten wir dann am Campingplatz in Kairo?!? David ist sehr nett und hilfsbereit und borgt uns ein Kabel und ... read more
Golden Nuggets
Stellplatz
Küste

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago September 20th 2017

So many great things happened here in Dunedin! On Tuesday I met the professor Elisabth Slooten. She is a researcher and professor at The Otago University. I came in contact with her due to Dr. Pierre Gallego, a marine biologist in Luxembourg. Liz arranged me a volunteer post at the univerity. I can attend her classes and help in the field work wherever someone is needed. The first day she introduced me to some students and some other professors. We filled out the contract to be a volunteer and went to a little cosy cafe to drink some tea. We looked for some field work for me and found one thanks to other professors. Robert Lewis, a student of the university, is currently doing his PHD about sharks. He needs some help during November. I was ... read more
one of the many sea lions
the sea lions between the dunes
just a quick shot

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago June 7th 2017

Le travail en interim pour lequel nous avons été contacté finalement se passe mal et nous décidons d'écourter la mission au bout de 3 jours. Il y a un couple de voyageur qui a été embauché en même temps: on connaît la fille puisqu'elle a travaillé avec nous à l'usine de moules et même que je partageais mon casier avec elle! Ils partagaient notre avis mais avaient "vraiment besoin de cet argent" et ont préféré fermer les yeux sur les conditions de travail. Pour dire, la différence entre l'esclavage et ce travail c'est qu'on est rémunéré. Le camping à côté, à Omaru, où nous sommes resté n'était pas top non plus, impossible de se réchauffer en prenant une douche (il fallait vraiment être motivé). Au même moment, Flo qu'on a rencontré à Whitianga nous demande de ... read more
ça bosse dur!
Oamaru garden
Oamaru garden




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