Blogs from Saint Arnaud, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Advertisement

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Saint Arnaud October 1st 2020

The day dawned again with a partly overcast sky robbing us again of a full sunrise on the mountains surrounding Lake Rotoiti.There was still a hint of sun gleaming off the melting carpet of snow on the tops but we would be left to wonder what a fully clear sky might have bought by way of dramatic light as the sun rose above the mountains to the east. We joined the Hoofs again in their cottage for breakfast and then they readied themselves to head north to the Marlborough Sounds while we stayed encamped at the Tophouse for a further day and night. After the Hoofs departed we decided to put our feet up and spend the rest of the morning reading and just chilling out admiring the ever changing view of the mountains. Today was ... read more
New Zealand Bellbird just above on the track
View across to West Bay on the Peninsula Walk,St Arnaud
The edge of Mt Robert from a seat beside the lake just off the track

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Saint Arnaud September 30th 2020

It must have been overcast during the night as there was no frost on the ground outside our cottage at Tophouse,near St Arnaud but it was still decidedly chilly. The rising sun on the Mt Robert just across the lake from the DOC office down in the village was stunning and the forecast for the day was promising now that the 'weather bomb' was spinning off to the east far to the south of the country allowing an approaching high pressure to drape itself over New Zealand from the Tasman Sea for a day or two, bringing calm and clear conditions. I felt like I was still recovering after my brush with hypothermia a couple of days ago on the Heaphy Track so I 'booked' myself in for just the morning walk around the Honeydew Track ... read more
Brave woman,no wetsuit just in case she fell in !
Protected eels off the wharf at St Arnaud
Mt Robert

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Saint Arnaud September 29th 2020

The ‘weather bomb’ continued overnight with all three elements,wind,rain and thunder continuing although by the time daylight was making an impact on the day there did appear to be an easing of the conditions. One thing that had changed overnight was the wind direction which had moved from the west/norwest to the south and the air temperature outside had a definite chill to it. The radio news had details of a number of road closures including Highway 63, because of snow ,which we would eventually get to in our drive to St Arnaud today.This put some doubt around us reaching our destination but there was really no option but to head south back to Westport and see what the road closure news by the time we got there around midday. At least at Westport we had ... read more
Seas are still stormy near Granity
Traffic lights in the lower Buller Gorge
Not qute sure how this lookout got its name but it is just after Hawks Crag,Buller Gorge

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Saint Arnaud May 31st 2012

AKAROA This is a town on a peninsula to the south east of Christchurch, so we had to bypass our final destination (Christchurch) to get to it, but It was worth the drive. The village of Akarua at the end of the road was the only French settlement on New Zealand in the 1800s, but the Brits negotiated a treaty with the Maori people and in the future Brits dominated the settlements. Akaroa still has French named streets and one hotelier who flew a French flag to give authenticity, but otherwise it did not seem particularly French (not that I am an expert) It was very very nice though. The Akaro peninsula was formed by three volcanoes, and two of the towns, Akaroa included, are located in the respective craters. Scenery was as close to ... read more
Akaroa Peninsula
Akaroa Peninsula
Akaroa Peninsula

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Saint Arnaud February 18th 2010

It was a purple kind of dawn. The peaks stood out so sharply in the early light they looked as though they had been chiseled from the skyline. The valley was still in darkness, but as my first brew of the morning came to the boil, a hawk (or more properly an Australasian harrier) was trying to make breakfast out of a skylark and then a magpie. But the hawk’s usual aerial grace was missing. It was flying just over the trees outside the hut, but it was clumsy and struggling to stay airborne as it’s prey ducked and dived through the uppermost branches. It soon gave up and moved on, and I took my cup of tea back to my bunk. No Bull, Thanks I was in the DOC hut at Lake Sedgemere, roughly half ... read more
Mist Clearing On Jacks Pass
Lake Tennyson
Looking South East Towards The Clarence River




Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.005s; cc: 8; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0442s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb