Is this New Zealand...or Scotland?

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With the sun retreating and the grandeur of the alpine mountains sliding away behind us we drove into the very pleasant rolling hills of the Central Otago Region. Yellowed grasses waved in the breeze and sheep covered every hill. It is beautiful countryside and as we meandered along the small back roads in search of a campsite we came across the so called 'Elephant Rocks'. Tucked into a valley these huge boulders do look as if they are crouching animals huddled together. It was used as a setting for the recent Chronicles of Narnia film, and its easy to see why. No houses in sight for miles and miles, only acres of green green pastures speckled with amazing rock formations, the perfect setting for a fanatsy film.

After a few wrong turns where we found ourselves at a dead end or entering a cattle farm we arrived at the campsite, and set up our tent in the rain. This was no fantasy, just reality. The freshness of the air was great though and happily the tent didnt leak and we awoke in the morning none the wetter.

The drizzle persisted as we drove into Dunedin; what with the names and the weather it really lived up to its scottish roots. However it wasnt just this that made it feel gaelic, there was something about the people and the no nonsense manner in which they conducted their daily tasks. Something about the gorgeous countryside we'd driven through to reach this compariatively urban sprawl. Something about the cold wind that blew in from the sea, straight from the icy lands across the water. Just something in the air.

It was a nice city, and its remote location made it a social hub. We joined the sunday morning cafe go-ers for a coffee at 'The Fix' an aptly named coffee shop where the delicious hit of caffiene seems to keep a lot of people going. Back into the rain and to the library, where in a happy continuation of our Australian days the New Zealand government are also advocates of free internet for all. Brilliant!

It was now time to seek out the wildlife for which this coastal area is famed, which involved taking a drive out onto the Otago Peninsula, another East-Anglia shaped bump on the east of New Zealand. As we chugged over the plentiful hills the rain mercifully stopped and by the time we swooped down to the car park at Sandfly bay the sky was looking much brighter. The dark ocean streched out before us and with a fierce wind in our faces we began what turned out to be a mammoth walk. We were wrapped warmly in our woollen nepalese hats and so were surprised to pass so many people looking hot and flustered in various states of undress on their way back to the carpark. It all became clear soon after. A steep sand dune stood between us and the beach walkway over 20metres below, this was great fun to run down but on the way back up...oh my goodness. Out of breath doesnt begin to describe it!

However, once the downhill speed race was complete, we reached the beach and had our eyes peeled. Not for the sandflies which this place is named for (thankfully there weren't too many), but for sealions and the rare yellow eyed penguins who use this beach and its sheltered dunes as a breeding ground. We were aiming for the bird hide at the opposite end of the beach where we hoped to be less conspicuous, but before we got there we almost tripped over a huge sleeping sealion. As we approached, we realised that this lump was not a giant clump of seaweed but an exhausted sealion who barely noticed our presence as we tiptoed past. It turned out to be a great day for watching the inelegant sealions waddle across the beach but not so successful for penguin spotting. An hour of our hiding away did not convince the shy creatures to come ashore, but it did make us rather hungry for tea! Time to head back.

It was a fairly long drive from Dunedin to the Catlins National Park, made longer still by the never ending gravel track that led to the Purakaunui Beach D.O.C (Department of Conservation) campsite. The D.O.C has bought up a lot of private land nationwide, in an effort to protect some of the beautiful natural resources that abound here, and they also provide many campsites all across NZ at very reasonable/free cost! The composting toilets stink but never mind, we've certainly experienced worse.

Sadly miserable dreary weather meant that we didnt fancy doing any of the gorgeous walks along this, on any other day, stunning coastline. As we continued our journey on the self proffessed 'Southern Scenic Route' we caught glimpses of the expansive beaches and bright blue waters that reflected the pockets of blue sky above. The forest that we were coasting through on ever windier roads was dense and at times rather dark, so when we came to a small village we stopped to take a look at the intriguing 'Lost Gypsies Gallery'.

The gallery itself was as big a part of the display as the myriad of unusual organic-motion objects it housed. A former wooden caravan of truck-sized proportions, the artfully decorated and quirkily restored vehicle was in it's final resting place amongst ferns and flowers. Stepping inside the door was overwhelming, there was so much going on; a million switches worked as many hidden lightbulbs and toys; wind-up musical boxes and wooden games sat beside witty drawings and books of quotes. It was a crazy place where you could have spent hours and still not have pressed every button or read every poster. It was the perfect way to while away a rainy morning, and we browsed until my feet turned to ice blocks.

It was funny to have to think of indoor things to do as we are so used to the weather being condiusive to outdoor living, but with the clouds still hanging around we headed for Invercargill. Here in another distinctly Scottish sounding town we found a museum full of New Zealand treasures, which included, Burt Munro's famous landspeed racing bike ("Worlds Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkin's tells his tale), wonderful Maori artwork, and of course the Tuatara's. These lizard-like creatures are unique, found only in New Zealand and related directly to dinosaurs, its believed that they have inhabited this earth for 220million years, which is astonishing.

The only thing left for us to do in Invercargill was to visit their excellent mircobrewery, where a very chatty young lady poured us huge free tastings of all their on-site brews. It was brilliant, although the girl's kiwi accent was so strong that we struggled to understand her at times! Quite amusingly, New Zealanders tend to flatten all their vowels which makes words like "fish and chips" sound like "fush und chups", add to this the "eh?" that they put at the end of every sentence and you have an idea of how endearingly funny it can be to listen to. I'm sure they find our "posh" English accents just as comical.

That evening we looped along the western edge of the 'Southern Scenic Route', taking in dramatic vistas of endless ocean battering ruggedly beautiful beaches hoping to catch sight of the apparently numerous whales and dolphins that frequent these waters. With the wind reaching gale force we called it a night and pulled of the main road to the pretty fishing village of Colac Bay. A statue of a surfing dude greated us in the centre of this small hamlet, but the only other creatures to greet us were seagulls. It was such a quaint little village, and I imagine that its, tonight wind-whipped, harbour waters play muse to many a local artist. Such a beautiful setting in which to set up camp for the evening. We were very thankful that the freecamp site had a rundown shelter for us to cook in, as the cheap little gas stove would never have cooked our rice in all that wind!

So the weather conditions may not have been perfect, however i feel that when you have travelled to the extremities of a country so precariously placed in the southern ocean, you must prepare for the ruggedness of its landscape to perhaps be mirrored in its climate. And in truth the mists and storms, the violent winds and the patches of bright sunshine only added to the rough beauty of the place. It was definately a scenic journey in the south.

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Photos

Always chopping onions...
this time at the pretty Colac Bay