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Published: December 24th 2009
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The drive from Te Anau towards Lake Hauroko. We want to start out our blog by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a safe and blessed time. Take care and God Bless! Thanks for all the little e-mails and comments you’ve been sending us on our Blog site. They are great to read and we enjoy taking the time to read about what is going on back home while we’ve been away so please keep the messages coming.
She’s A Born Killer - The things I have learned about Rhea on this trip have been enlightening and … scary. She’s a born killer when it comes to going after Sand Flies. Her plans - as I’ve been told regularly - are to decimate the Sand Fly population in New Zealand to the point that they cannot ever recover. In fact some days while we’re camping, she’ll keep an account of how many she’s killed - “You’re dead number 452 - Pow.” She’ll just be quietly reading her book while sitting in the camp chair drinking a beer and then - Pow! Gotcha - Ha! She’s says its revenge for the times they’ve bitten her and
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The drive from Te Anau towards Lake Hauroko. caused her to scratch the bite mark for several hours. So that’s the way it goes around the campsite when we’re at a DOC campground or other location with Sand Flys. We’ll at least it keeps her from popping me for some unknown and certainly undeserved reason.
New Zealand Holiday Parks - We have been generally staying at either holiday parks or DOC campgrounds on our trek around both islands. Just to give you an idea about the features you generally find at these Holiday Parks here’s what you’ll get. A place to pull up your car or campervan and tie into electricity or in our case a plot of ground to throw up our tent. Then there is a community kitchen with numerous hot plates for cooking, microwave(s), oven(s), 4 to 6 sinks, several refrigerators for campers to store their food (bagged with you name and dated); dining area; showers and toilets for men and women; laundry area and clothes line; TV Room/Lounge and Internet Access. There are generally two major Holiday Park companies - Kiwi and Top 10. The Top 10 is generally fancier, well equipped and higher price but sometimes the Kiwi Holiday Park is better
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The drive from Te Anau towards Lake Hauroko. just depending on what your needs and likes are. We generally find ourselves in either an indepentent holiday park or the Kiwi Holiday Park just because we don’t like to spend extra money on small benefits.
Down to One Camera - Well our very good Canon camera has totally stopped working. Not a battery problem not sure what has happened so we'll send it off to Canon when we return and hopefully they can discover the problem. "No Worries" as they say here in New Zealand - meaning everything will be alright and work out fine. So if our photos seem to be different now, it is because we are using our smaller waterproof camera which doesn't zoom in close on distant objects.
Some People Should Just Not Go Camping - We were at a small DOC Campground in the Catlins at the bottom of the South Island when we saw this unfolding. A couple in the distance is cooking, he leaves to go walking on the nearby beach. Minutes later a small ball of flame arises from her camp area near the vehicle. She calls for some assistance from a nearby camper. We see towels swinging trying
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The drive from Te Anau towards Lake Hauroko. to put out this flame. I'm a fair distance away thinking someone should move the vehicle from the danger of the flames. Then she jumps in the vehicle and drives it forward out of trouble, all the while the other people are trying to get the flames out. Then attention moves towards where she had just moved the vehicle. Downhilll towards the beach on wet grass. Yep - she had just gotten the vehicle stuck in wet and now muddy grass. Next thing we see is them running down to the car pushing it around and finally onto the beach - with high tide coming in. Then husband jumps into the car they speed down the beach area, turn around and fly back up the hill making all kinds of noisy. Luckily making it to the top of the road and they fly out of the campground never to be seen again. About 30 minutes later the flames die down and everything is back to normal. Some people should just never go camping and stay home.
12-9-09 - Wednesday found us departing the Lakeview (Kiwi) Motor Camp in Te Anau to head further south on our journey to the
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A cable bridge off the highway. bottom of the South Island. This campground will be hard to beat when it comes to cleanliness, kitchen area, showers and toilets. Just a well designed and functional facility. Before leaving Te Anau we dropped into the library to do some e-mailing and to update the travelblog at their free WiFi location.
Once we left Te Anau, we headed south to Manapouri again then onto Lake Hauroko in Fiordland National Park. As you’re getting the idea, Fiordland National Park is very large. It is the 6th largest national park in the world and the largest one in New Zealand. You could spend months solely in this park tramping, boating and just exploring the mountains, fiords and rivers in this park and then probably not see it all. Just make sure you carry plenty of food, water and insect repellent.
We arrived mid-afternoon at Lake Hauroko which is the deepest lake in New Zealand at 462 meters. This is another glacially carved lake and portions of the area is below sea level. The drive in off the main highway is about 30 kilometers of which 21 is on unsealed gravel road. We set up camp at a DOC campground
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A cable bridge off the highway. about 6 kilomters from the lake and then headed to the lake for some hiking to stretch our legs. The hike was only a short one of about 25 minutes but gave us a sense of the area and the richness of the diversity around this lake. They have some jet boating on one of the rivers that feeds the lake but I don’t think it was anything like what we encountered in Queenstown on the Shotover River. Once we got back to camp, we did some quick cooking, heated water for hot tea and then hit the sleeping bags early for a well deserved rest plus got us out of the line of fire of the sand flies. We only had one other vehicle at this campground - two German females in a campervan.
12-10-09 - Thursday we awoke to a tent soaked from the heavy due overnight so we packed it up wet - I hate packing up a wet tent! We cooked a quick breakfast of cereal and oatmeal and of course hot tea and coffee. Our plans were to travel to the south coastal area between Tuatapere and Colac Bay. We had all day to
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Another Wicked Van. cover a short distance so we pulled off at several lookouts, walked out to and climbed Monkey Island - not really much here and definitely no monkeys.
We checked out the small town of Tuatapere, bought some groceries, filled all of our water bottles, and checked out their Information Center on area activities. The biggest thing going here is the Humpback Track which is a three day and two night - about 54 kilomters - track that climbs into the southern edges of Fiordland National Park and then returns by way of some private property along the coastal area. A privately developed track which - as we were told - had nice lodges for the hikers to spend the night in and breakfast provided. About $90/person is the cost for this hike. Since we are hoping to spend some of our excess time on Stewart Island, we continued on to Colac Bay.
Colac Bay is a nice place to stop and just relax. We had read in the Lonely Planet guide about the campground and bar so we figured - this is our kind of campground. Dusty, owner of Dustez Bak Paka’s & Camping Ground welcomed us and
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Lake Hauroko checked us in (registration in the bar area of course). He then recommended to Rhea to check out the women’s toilet in the bar as it would by far be different than any she had seen before. Yep - a toilet that was a tribute to dolphins. In fact the toilet seat was a clear acrylic seat with dolphins on it. Very unique - yes Rhea gave me a tour as well.
Staying in Colac Bay would not be complete without a visit to the very nice beach area plus seeing the surfing area that is on the eastern end of the bay. We also visited a Weaving Shop that used - well of course New Zealand wools. Rhea purchased a nice scarf to keep warm on those mornings and nights where the air was a bit nippy and that has been numerous thus far - but we’re not complaining!
We decided to treat ourselves to a seafood meal at the Dusty’s Bar as we were told it was a good deal and tasty. We got a pitcher of beer, got on the Internet (free to campers) and awaited our meal. I can’t say the meal was outstanding
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Lake Hauroko nor down right auful. It was all fried and we really were not expecting all fried and it was just so so but it hit the spot.
12-11-09 - Friday we awoke to a really nice morning with sunshine to dry off our tent. It was also our 16th Anniversary. Yeah!! We cooked breakfast, got cleaned up and loaded up for another travel day, but another short one.
Our destination was Invercargill with a population of about 50,000. We made a few stops along the way in Riverton to do some really nice hikes prior to getting to Invercargill. Once in Invercargill, we checked out the Information Center, fixed a picnic lunch, and then found a nearby tire shop to take our car to for some new tires. After 7,500 kilometers, we finally had three tires that were screaming to be replaced. We told them nothing expensive since we’ll only have this car for another five weeks. While the tires were being replaced, we took walked through the Invercargill Museum about 6 blocks away. This was a very nice museum - not anywhere as good as the one in Wellington, but one that is worth seeing as they
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A nature walk at Lake Hauroko. had several really nice exhibits of the early settlers and the struggles in this land.
We retrieved our car, paid them $465.00 for the three tires and the alignment and then took off to find a campground just to the southeast of town. We got all setup, and cooked a Mexican dinner followed by a movie - Trapped in Paradise.
12-12-09 - Saturday started off with rain showers so we started off the day with a visit to The Bluff. This area is due south of Invercargill and the port area. Do come to this area if you want to do several hikes as the trails carry you out to some really nice lookouts towards Stewart Island and other coastal islands. We came back into Invercargill and did a walk around the Queen’s Garden which is behind the Information Center. Good walk and some interesting views of numerous gardens and a aviary. We finished up the day going to a couple of other well advertised walks just west of the city. OK - let’s be honest here, if you came to Invercargill for the nature walks, you’re absolutely wasting your time. The only walk that I would recommend
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A nature walk at Lake Hauroko. would be one at The Bluff or Queen’s Garden. Other than that, don’t waste your time in Invercargill unless you’re needing to stay there in order to charter a boat over to Stewart Island. There, I said it, don’t bother with Invercargill there is nothing much here.
12-13-09 - Sunday we flew out of Invercargill on four wheels and didn’t look back. We saw what we needed but really nothing much to see here. Our destination this day was Curio Bay, we made a number of stops along the way for several hikes. Included in our stops were Waipapa Point Lighthouse. Great stop although the wind was tearing across the strip of land where the lighthouse was located and it was everything we could do to stand. The views from the lighthouse and history of the area, which included a tragic ship wreck, was very interesting. We also checked out Slope Point which is the most southerly point of the South Island. OMG was the wind blowing here as well and believe it or not - even harder. We were laughing that this must be what it’s like to be in a hurricane force wind. Again, the views from
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A nature walk at Lake Hauroko. this point were incredible and very well worth the 15 minute walk from the car park to Slope Point. We finally ended up at Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay - both side by side with only a small strip of land in between the two bays. Both bays offered different things to do. Curio Bay is known for the petrified forest that is laying in the bottom of the bay plus a small colony of endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguins. Porpoise Bay which is absolutely beautiful is known for the dolphins that come into the bay each day. We stayed at a small campground between the two bays partially protected from the wind by windbreaks established. Monday night we found ourselves hanging out at Curio Bay at the Penguin Watch area waiting for the penguins to return after their long day of fishing. We stayed for about 2.5 hours waiting for these little guys to come home to feed the kids hanging out somewhere in the cliffs and vegetation. We were able to see 4 penguins and it was worth the wait. See photos.
12-14-09 - Monday we headed out to Purakaunui Bay which has a DOC campground plus located in
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A nature walk at Lake Hauroko. a beautiful bay. Along the way we stopped off at several locations. The first stop was a mid-morning break for some food and drink at the Niagara Falls Café and Gallery. Don’t miss this little stop along the way as they sell some really good food and at a reasonable price. Photos of the neighborhood sheep were easy at this location as well. We stopped off at a couple of waterfalls along the way including McLean Falls, Purakaunui Falls, and Tautuku Estuary Boardwalk - very nice!
One of the best stops we’ve made here in New Zealand was on this day and was not related to a one of New Zealands many natural wonders. It was in the small town of Papatowai. The location was the Lost Gypsy Gallery. This is a must stop!!! He has created this small park full of crack toys and fun things. See photos - plus we have some wonderful video as well. You had to be there to see all the stuff that he has created out of things that you would toss out. Worth a visit to the Catlins just to visit this spot.
We ended up at the DOC Campground
at Purakaunui Bay with off and on rain (and sleet) most of the afternoon and night. We would definitely recommend this campground if you don’t mind driving in a fair distance on gravel roads and boil your water for drinking. They did have toilets and trash bins. Just an absolute beautiful setting and sheep come with the campground.
12-15-09 - Tuesday we then headed out to our next location - unknown to us at the time but not quite to Dunedin. On the way out of the DOC campground we herded a lone sheep up the road. He had gotten out onto the gravel road and then frightened by our car continued up the road. We stopped several times, pulled well off the road to try to get him to come back around to his flock. We then finally started driving out and he got into a gallop going up the road and further away from home. Finally we just flew by him and he turned off the side by a fence happy that we were gone. The problem is the next several cars that will be leaving the DOC campground will probably herd him even further up the
road. Hopefully he’ll get back to home.
We continued our drive along the coast road and journeyed to Surat Bay, Cannibal Bay, Nugget Point and Kaka Point. At all of these locations we did some walks, took photos of wildlife including seals, etc. The scenery along this area and the Catlins region in general is outstanding - the reason we decided to spend 2.5 days in the Catlins area. Ultimately we ended up in Balclutha about an hour west of Dunedin. We quickly discovered that everything closes down early in the town because at 7:00pm the grocery store was closed along with all other stores, etc. So we spent our time at the campground relaxing and getting caught up on some reading.
12-16-09 to 12-18-09 - Wednesday to Friday we headed for Dunedin for a three night stay. Dunedin is the most Scottish type town in all of New Zealand. Beautiful architecture, part of the city is surrounded by some mountains and then surrounded by the Pacific on the other sides. We immediately went out onto the Otago Peninsula and to the end to view some wildlife areas. The peninsula extends out from Dunedin for about 25 or
so kilometers. Really nice drive along the protected harbor to the point. The rest of our time in Dunedin was spent at several locations including the Botanic Gardens, Dunedin Art Gallery (didn’t really care for this art gallery), Dunedin Railway Station (toured this historic facility), Tour of the Speight’s Brewery (including a nice long beer tasting at the end of the tour), Cadbury Chocolate Factory Tour (OK- but not really a great tour - should have spent the money from the cost of the tour instead on chocolate bars at the Factory Store), Baldwin Street (world’s steepest residential street) where we walked to the top and back down again, and finally ventured to several cafes, pubs and sushi bars in the downtown area. Looking back on this stay, we highly recommend the tour of the Speight’s Brewery and the trip out onto the Otago Peninsula. The walk around the downtown area and the Octagon was really fun and enjoyable. The city is generally well laid out and fairly easy to get around.
12-19-09 - Saturday we packed up our tent and gear and headed over to the Dunedin Railway Station for their Saturday morning market. That was probably the
second best market we’ve been to in NZ (Nelson by far the best yet). After purchasing some food items at the outdoor market, we headed north out of the city to Oamaru about 2 hours away.
Along the way we stopped off at the Moeraki Boulders (see photos) which are a collection of large spherical boulders in the sand along the ocean. They are visible at low tide and not a long walk from the small car park off the highway. We spent about an hour walking this beach and checking out the boulders.
We pulled into Oamaru early afternoon, setup camp and then headed into the small town to see the sites. We visited the Whitestone Cheese Factory & Café. Their cheese in the only cheese eaten by the actors during production on the show Scrubs. Several photos of the Scrubs actors with special “Thank You” were hanging on the wall in the café area. The cheese was indeed good here. We also checked out the historic downtown area on Tyne’s Street where numerous retail areas have developed in the old commercial building and in the narrow streets. We took the opportunity here to check out the New
Zealand Mal Whisky Company and take one of their taste tests (four snifters). This was extremely enjoyable and a first for both of us. We ended the day driving out to see the two penguin colonies (Blue Peguin Colony and Yellow-Eyed Penguin Colony. These little guys are soooo cute!
12-20-09 & 12-21-09 - Sunday and Monday - We started off the day with really nice weather and had reports that Mt. Cook where we were ultimately going in the next day or two was going to be blue skies for several days (sometimes a rare event). With this report in mind, we headed directly to Mt. Cook with only a few stops along the way. One stop included the giant Elephant Rocks, and another at the Maori Rock Paintings (dating back several centuries). We arrived at Mt. Cook mid-afternoon with beautiful weather. During the two days we were at Mt. Cook we did several day trips/hikes including the Hooker Valley hike that ended at Hooker Lake and great views of Mt. Cook. We also did the Kea Track for great views of the Mueller Glacier and Sealy Tarns Track which provided outstanding views of the entire area. That climb
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Our campground setting at Colac Bay. was another serious alpine climb with some difficult and steep climbs. The views though were worth the effort. The campground at Mt. Cook - White Horse Hill Campground - was well laid out and an enjoyable place to spend two night with great views of the snow covered moutains. Wow!!
12-21-09 - Tuesday we headed out of Mt. Cook NP towards Christchurch with plans to overnight in Ashburton about an hour southwest of Christchurch. We spent the day taking photos of the lakes in the region and the Mackenzie Country. The area is quite dry although with a number of snow melt lakes (Lake Tekapo, and Lake Pukaki).
Our next blog will be of the Christchurch area and areas to the north along the east coast of the South Island.
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Bill Buhner
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Merry Christmas!
A very Merry Christmas to you both--and a blessed New Year, which y'all will celebrate WAY before the rest of us!