The Beautiful South - Dunedin to Christchurch

---

Hugging the shoreline of Otago Harbour we weaved our way along the 35km finger of land to the very tip at Taiaroa Head. In howling wind we got out and got blown a little way down to a viewpoint overlooking the Pacific and onto a rugged cliff face where scores of nesting seabirds such as Oystercatchers, Spotted Shags and gulls battled with the wind. Although we were not lucky enough to see any as they were sporadically returning from around the globe, Taiaroa Head is the only mainland nesting site of the majestic Royal Albatross. By way of consolation we entered the excellent Royal Albatross Centre which had a wide array of informative displays on the remarkable habits of this fabulous bird.

With a wingspan of up to 3.5 metres and a life span of 45 years, the Royal Albatross spends most of its life on the wing at sea, only returning biennially only a day or two apart to the same breeding grounds having circumnavigated the earth in opposite directions to its lifelong partner. By using a technique known as Dynamic Soaring, the Albatross is capable of travelling 190,000km in a year at speeds of up to 120kph without ever flapping its wings.

Back in the wind rocked Chief and after rustling us some beans on toast, we returned along the bay to "The Penguin Place", an award winning conservation project and home to a colony of the most ancient and most endangered Yellow Eyed Penguins. Unlike any other breed of penguin the yellow eye prefers a solitary inland nesting site rather than the normal safety in numbers favoured by most. Sadly, due to massive deforestation for farming and the introduction of mammalian predators, the penguins habitat around their only home has now been fatally reduced and their numbers are down to a mere 4,000.

Thankfully, the staff at "The Penguin Place" know their habitat well enough to have created a brand new environment for yellow eyes to breed in comfort by constructing nesting boxes and a series of discreet tunnels & trenches for visitors to wander unseen. Before entering the tunnel maze however, we walked along the higher bank of the beach where we were lucky enough to see an untagged juvenile waddling along a path just 10 metres from us and then after a brief spell in a viewing box we crept up to a noisy pair of yellow eyes who turned out to be mating just a few feet away. It was however a cruel reminder that the future of the yellow eye penguin doesn't entirely rest with the help of the conservation park as the male penguin was trying to stick it in her armpit!

From there we left the embarrassed penguin to deal with his shame in private and entered the labyrinth of camouflaged tunnels to try and meet the path of an adult yellow eye that we had seen coming ashore. Amazingly, our guide took us to a viewing area only to find that the penguin has passed us and we had to backtrack at a fast jog to catch up with him! At the viewing trench we could see the newly returned male lovingly grooming his lifelong partner in their shady box and also a male just a few metres away guarding his nestbox. Curiously, as we silently stood and admired an animal so precariously on the brink of extinction, three Koreans in our group spent the entire time taking photos of each other in stupid poses, flicking peace signs and generally showing no respect for... well anything. Hopefully with the help of "The Penguin place", their penguin hospital and the frantic planting of new trees for yellow eye breeding this unique penguin will once again thrive on the coast South Island.

After wishing the luck, we set off in the fading sun back to Dunedin and up the coast toward Oamaru where we found an incredible camping spot just 15 metres from the sea at Shag Point. After an incredible starry night sky, we awoke in our little sheltered bay facing East to a fine sunrise and leisurely knocked up some scrambled eggs and picked pau pau shells from the sand. Driving north a short distance we arrived in Moeraki to marvel at the "Moeraki Boulders", huge otherworldly spheres of rock which sit half submerged on the tide line of the beach. The massive smooth boulders, some 2m in diameter were revealed by the eroding mudstone cliffs and were formed as much as 60 millions years ago when a core of carbonate of lime crystals attracted other minerals on the sea floor sediment. In several shattered examples, the interior of these fascinating rock formations was a web of cells much like enlarged honeycomb with fudge coloured crystals acting as the cell walls.

Despite this being a unique phenomena found nowhere else on the planet, this didn't stop several other tourists from adding to the ancient weathering process with one old guy picking up a nearby stone to permanently scratch the fragile surface and yet another Korean chap who climbed on top of one of the larger stones to have his peace fingers and oblivious grin photographed. Claire soon got him off though with a swift tongue lashing about showing a little respect!

Moving on again we journeyed north through Omaru and turned inland on 83 on a loop road toward Mount Cook as we were keen to once again be among the mountains. The virtually dead straight road passed several huge dams as it gently climbed into the comparatively baron landscape around Omarama. A short way after the intersection toward Mount Cook we peeled off to visit the very worthwhile Clay Cliffs, an incredible weathered cliff face created by a huge 100m uplift in land on the Ostler Fault line. Having been thrust into the air during the tectonic upheaval, the exposed sandstone has gradually eroded away leaving towering pinnacles and shards of golden sandstone. Having dropped a $5 donation into the honesty pot tied to a gate and driven onto private land to get there, we were able to walk between the huge pillars and into the eerie canyons the erosion had created. Up close, the angular shards were loaded with pebbles and boulders which lay cracked all around our feet and the face itself was rippled through rain erosion.

Re-joining route 8 we continued through the baron tussock landscape toward the snowy peaks of the Alps. Wanting to save the Mount Cook road for the following day we pulled unto a free camping spot on the southern shores of the brilliant blue Lake Pukaki and spent the afternoon watching the peak of Mount Cook occasionally piercing the clouds while I removed and gave ceremony to a sparrow which was wedged in the front grill of the van.

He Kapua Kei runga i Aoraki, whakarewa whakarewa; The cloud that floats aloft Aoraki, forever fly, stay aloft. Maori legend has it that Aoraki (Mount Cook) is not always on show through the cloud that often cloaks its peak. Just as a great chief is not always giving audience, Aoraki chooses when to emerge and exert its power. After an incredible starry night we awoke to a crisp blue skies and pulling the curtains of our very own chief revealed the stunning cloudless peak of Mount Cook.

Named in 1851 in honour of Captain James Cook by captain Stokes of HMS Acheron as he sailed past the west coast, Mount Cook is New Zealand's tallest mountain at 3754m and is one of 22 peaks over 3000m in the 700 square kilometre National Park. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this spectacular section of the Southern Alps is predominantly made of Greywacke which would have been laid in an ocean trench 250-300 million years ago. Having been steadily pushed higher due to the Alpine Fault for the last 2 million years, the 10mm per annum uplift is presently kept in check by the forces of erosion and the shattering of rock in cold temperatures.

Driving along the shores of Lake Pukaki we drew nearer to the immense mountain and its equally impressive neighbour Mount Sefton and wanting to do a short trek we rolled into Mount Cook village, a smattering of gun metal grey buildings at the base of the valley and at the DOC information office decided to walk the "Red tarns track" up Mount Sebastopol.

Supposedly a short ascent it turned out to be a belting 1285 (yep we counted) steep steps which had us shedding layers and swearing then reversely, adding layers and swearing as the icy wind battered up on the exposed ridge. The view however was spectacular with uninterrupted views of Mount Cook, Sefton and the many glacial fingers which streamed down the near vertical slopes. At the very top, a small plateau help two Alpine pools clear water and Red tarn pondweed which although not particularly red is very unusual at this altitude. After savouring the ultra clean mountain air and watching the wind send waves of sparkles through the pools we began our descent down the same steps.

As a build up of cloud finally enshrouded Sefton and Cook we began our drive away from the mountains and north toward Lake Tekapo and the bleak tussock hills around (which for those who are interested were clearly the location of Rohan in LOTR). Near Geraldine we passed through the aptly named "Beautiful Valley" and its pine forests and on past field after field of frolicking lambs. This being the penultimate night with our motorhome we found our last free camp near the Mount Hutt ski resort and mourned the closing stages of our time in New Zealand.

In the morning Claire drove the chief for the first time through the 50km to Christchurch before I took over to drive into the city and go round in circles trying to find free parking. After an hour without success but with an excellent knowledge of the city centre we decided to drive out to our final camp at Amber Park motorpark and get the bus back in. After a now worldwide staple Starbucks Chai Latte and a wander round the streets, we grabbed a bottle of wine from a shop where the cashier clearly had age misconception and out of the blue asked us to guess how old she was. We were of course polite but we both walked away and muttered that she looked double that.

In the morning we drove the chief back to the depot and said goodbye to the vehicle which had taken us 3872km around this beautiful country. After a shuttle bus back to town we checked into Base Backpackers and headed out to walk around the streets of Christchurch and along its willow fringed river where boats punt the odd tourist up and down.

We found Christchurch to very pleasant city and the quietness of its streets for such a large city made it a fitting place to end our stay in New Zealand. Both Islands and particularly the South have given us an incredible journey but despite its outstanding natural beauty and the enviable lifestyle it brings there's just... well ... nobody here! Having spoken to many a kiwi on our trip I know that is just the way they want it to stay but if you'll promise to keep it quiet... you've just got to come here, its incredible.

---

Photos

Red Tarn Pools
This is the view we were rewarded with at the end of the Red Tarns track. Uninterrupted views of Mount Cook, Sefton and the many glacial fingers which streamed down the near vertical slopes.

Moeraki Boulders
Some of the boulders and a raised honeycomb pattern on the otherwise smooth exterior

Clay Cliffs
Sandstone pinnacles protruding into the sky

Clay Cliffs
Up close, the angular shards were loaded with pebbles and boulders which lay cracked all around our feet and the face itself was rippled through rain erosion.

Crisp mountain views across Lake Pukaki
Not a bad place to camp for the night!

Sculpture in the main square in Christchurch
Completed on 11th September 2001, and became a focal point for messages of support.

Comments

[Laura]

Funny about that Penguin- what a wally....That did make me laugh. Fab pics- NZ is a truly beautiful country and looks like you took in the best bits... All good with us, will speak soon. Laura xxx