Blogs from Otago, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

Geo: -45.0977, 170.971Day 4: Oamaru to DunedinAnother glorious day on the Otago Peninsula as we head further south to Dunedin. First port of call was the Moeraki Boulders. You guessed it.........no it was not closed but it was high tide and all but a handful were underwater. Debi saved herself a walk along the beach and viewed these pre-historic formations from afar. I however took a few photos' close up. We had a magnificent breakfast at the cafe then headed down to the nearby fishing village, the site of one of the best seafood restaurants on the South Island (Fleurs Place). It was packed however we didn't feel like seafood at 9.00am so we headed back to Highway 1, en-route to Dunedin.The country side improved immensely as we weaved our way through the very hilly mountains ... read more

Our exploration of Dunedin started with a walk along George Street from our apartment to The Octagon the focal point in Dunedin. It was just like being in a Scottish city with many familiar street and place names. After a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral it was a short walk down hill to the famous Dunedin Railway Station, opened in 1906. Many of Dunedin’s finest Victorian buildings are attributed to architect Robert Lawson and the First Church is a particularly elegant building reputed to be his finest. In the early evening we had a stroll through the University of Otago site, the University was founded in 1869, New Zealand’s oldest University. After we walked to the Botanic Gardens and found an excellent aviary with many different bird varieties. A nature day followed with a tour around ... read more

Left Melbourne 4.00p.m. 23/1/2013, been sailing day and night for two days. The first day Gloria left her phone on table and someone pinched that in a flash. Have seen a few shows onboard the first couple of days, horse racing etc. Was a pretty rough and windy crossing from Melbourne to NZ. Betty and Muz great company and its great to share meals, drinks etc with lovely friends. Finally arrived at Milford Sound on Australia Day 7.00a.m., we entered Milford Sound (width only 600mts) and sailed the length of this, very scenic and the weather was fantastic 27 degrees, we were very lucky as the last two cruises couldn't enter as the weather was so bad! Saw lots of birdlife and seals along the way. As we exited Mildford Sound to sail south to other ... read more

Rugby rivalries aside, I've always loved travelling in New Zealand. For such a small country, it packs a lot of punch and a massive "wow" factor from a scenery standpoint. So it was with a lot of excitement that I grabbed an opportunity to cycle the historic Otago Rail Trail with World Expeditions/Adventure South. We did the special family itinerary which included a lot of fun activities enjoyed by kids and adults alike. The cycling was fantastic and really safe for the kids - we didn't want the trip to end.... read more

Geo: -44.85, 168.388Everywhere we go we see places that one of the Lord of the Rings movies was filmed in...we exclaim, appreciate and dream of seeing little hobbits or riding horses or something magical. Last night (tonight back home in Canada), the premiere red carpet event of the opening of the Hobbit happened in Wellington - just across the strait from where we are. We could feel the buzz. We will be in Wellington on Saturday and hopefully get to see some of the leftover effect.I read an October 7, 2012 article in the New York Times by Brookes Barnes and Michael Cieply after they visited New Zealand and some of the Hobbit film locations. They describe about NZ:"the hill is perfect - steep, shaggy and as green as a radioactive shamrock, like the matching hills ... read more

Geo: -44.85, 168.388Queenstown is known for its adrenaline-inducing adventures; one can find anything from skydiving to bungy jumping or parabungy to white-water rafting. Not being inclined towards this craziness at this stage of our lives, we drove through Queenstown, north for about an hour, through the sleepy town of Glenorchy and over to Kinloch Lodge. Although the weather was mostly cold and rainy during our 3-day stay, we managed to do a couple of nearby walks. We used the time and location to get laundry done, cook some warm comfort foods, watch movies in the cozy movie room, hang out with other travellers, read, and do other quiet activities. The hot tub was sweet! Sitting in an afternoon rain overlooking the lake with the surrounding mountains casting their shadows down upon us was epic. Not exactly ... read more