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Published: November 27th 2011
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Danseys Pass
A view of the mountains as we drove across Danseys Pass on the Gravel Road Sunday 20
thNovember – Doubtful Sound tour – this starts with a one hour boat trip across lake Manapouri followed by a visit to the hydro electric plant built into the mountain – a great feat of engineering – we have visited a similar set up in Snowdonia Wales that was more spectacular (you saw more) but this was built with no roads to it (all equipment, men etc. had to be shipped in), it was built using dynamite and picks not drilling machines plus it rains so much they had flooding problems – so you understand the scale of the project.
After the hydro tour a one hour bus trip on gravel roads to pick up the boat at doubtful sound. It had rained all night and continued to rain throughout the day – so you could not get the same sense of size as at Milford Sound (tops of mountains hidden by cloud) but the waterfalls that were the result of the rain and the wildlife made up for this. We saw crested penguins, fur seals and Bottlenose Dolphins – these were the highlight of the tour – they came close to the boat and even swam
Mount Cook
anne and I with Mount Cook in the background ahead of the boat – I managed to get some good videos of the Dolphins alongside and in front of the boat.
It was a long trip – we set off at 8:15 am and got back approx 18:15 – so it was straight to the restaurant for a pizza and drink. Overall we preferred Doubtful Sound to Milford Sound but that maybe due the dolphins..
Monday 21
st – Glow worms
The trip to the Glow Worm caves starts with a trip across Lake Te Anau – with the heavy rain we have had the stream in the cave was very high with wonderful waterfalls – the Glow Worms are like the stars at night (the way they fool the insects into flying into their lines), it was deafening in the caves with the water cascading down.
Tuesday 22
nd – Travel to Dunedin
The trip to Dunedin leaves the Fiords and mountains and enters countryside resembling Scotland. The accommodation was up a gravel track – and first impressions were of a small holding with some animals that did B&B as a
Mount Cook
Mount Cook from the visitor centre side line. Dunedin is a University town - so lots of students and varying restaurants/eateries.
Wednesday 23
rd – Taieri railway + Otago museum
The Taieri railway uses carriages from the 20s to take us up the mountains with cast iron bridges across gorges. It is a narrow gauge railway (as are all trains in New Zealand); we had a diesel engine rather than steam. The person carrying out the commentary was excellent and really made the journey worthwhile – telling us about the line, its history and little anecdotes about various areas and people.
In the afternoon we visited the Otago Museum – well laid out and very informative. We did have a disappointment when we got back to the B&B – the bed had not been made nor the room serviced – we put this down to their being busy.
Thursday 24
th – Lanarch Castle
We drove into the Otago Peninsula to see the only castle in New Zealand – Lanarch castle – well worth a visit – it is quite small when compared to castles
Waitaki Dam
the dam showing the colour of the water in the UK but the history is intriguing – the man who had it built committed suicide in the Parliament building with rumours about debt and his third wife having an affair with his son from a previous marriage. The drive into the peninsula was quite challenging with narrow roads on the hillside – plus excellent views of the harbour. In the afternoon we drove up to Oamaru – we arrived quite late – just time to watch the video on the town at the I-Site – it seems it was quite a wild place previously but had a number of large stone built buildings so it must have been quite wealthy. There is an art studio called Steam punk – they produce art that results from watching Mad Max films too much – very disturbing – see photo.
Back at the B&B – no bed made no towels changed – Anne was very disappointed but like good English people – we did not complain!!!
Friday 25
th – Travel to Omarama
We were planning to go via the Lindis pass (as this had been recommended by a Kiwi workmate in UK but the B&B owner suggested we go via Danseys pass as this was shorter (by about 200 Kilometres) and far more picturesque- so that is the way we went – what he failed to tell us was the road was a gravel track that was single file in places and climbed a very steep path with steep drops from the mountain – it was quite hair raising and Anne was extremely nervous (with just cause) – luckily we did not meet any other traffic so it was just case of staying in the middle of the track and keeping low gear on the descents – for me this a highlight of the holiday. The lakes and hydro dams we have passed all have a wonderful colour to the water – sky blue – see pic.
Omarama is a small town with a couple of gas stations and a few motels. But in a wonderful location
Saturday 26
th Mount Cook
We drove to Mount Cook – well worth the drive – the Mount Cook village is below Mount Cook with wonderful views of the mountains – the weather has been clear and sunny plus very warm – which made the drive and visit well worthwhile. Excellent visitor centre and the Edmund Hillary Centre well worth visiting.
At night we drove into the Lindis Pass to look at the stars – it was a clear night with no moon – absolutely fantastic – we saw the milky way, the two ‘clouds’ that are other galaxies – something I thought we would have to go to the Sahara to see but we managed it in New Zealand.
Sunday 27
th – Travel to Christchurch
The end if nigh to the trip and we have arrived in Christchurch – the hotel took some finding as lots of the streets in Christchurch have been closed due to the earthquake. When found we dropped off the bags and returned the car – this hotel (the George) is fantastic – expensive but fantastic – an ideal end to our New Zealand holiday.
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