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Published: December 7th 2005
Well, Te Anau was a wonderful place to stay for three days and do some relaxing. I know it's going to sound silly, but I was a little tired from the pace I was trying to keep. After spending two days out in the rain forest and cold and then more rain, I have found myself a very nice cold - stuffy nose/ears and all. I'm sure all the fish and chips and bad food I have been eating hasn't helped either. If it's cheap, I eat it. Oh well...back to the jouney...
Te Anau sits on the fourth largest lake in the country. It's 60 KM long and beautiful. Right now, it's calm and sunny so the mountains are reflecting off of it. I'm going to try and get a picture of that. My hostel sits across the street from the lake with a view of the mountains beginning on the other side. When I arrived, I quickly checked in thinking that I could lay back down for a little more sleep....it was 9 a.m. But, they were planning on cleaning rooms until 1:30 p.m. and I had to wait. I decided to find the shower and just took all of my stuff in with me. Then, it was off to find a place serving some sort of greasy breakfast. Mission accomplished, although Kiwi's do not know what it means when you ask for eggs easyover. Then I was off to the grocery store. I knew that my activities here were going to be expensive, so I decided to cook my dinners/lunch while I was here. Most activities are all day and do not include lunch. I have been buying pre-made sandwiches to take with me. Then I headed back to the hostel. I made lunch and sat out in the front yard on one of the picnic tables. It was so nice to have time to just soak it all in. I missed out on one of the activities in the NOrth Island that I was looking forward to, so I decided to take advantage of it here instead. I signed up for the 5 p.m. Glow Worm experience. Now, many of you might have had the impression that I did...some mystical creature that lives in caves and for whatever reason happens to glow...yeah...that's not it. So, I headed down to the dock in town to catch the boat over to the glow worm caves. The boat ride was great! Beautiful scenary along the lake. The one side had rolling farm hills while the other was the mountains, right down to the water! We arrived about 30 minutes later at a dock and were unloaded into a visitor center type building. Here we watched a video about the history of the caves and the glow worms. The caves have existied in Maori legand for years and years, but weren't discovered until the 40s. Inside, there are caverns with rushing water and pools. And of course, the glow worms. The video explained that glow worms are really fly larva and that they glow because of a chemical in their digestive system and the more hungry they are, the brighter they glow. Gross! I paid to look at larva. Gross! From here we departed into the caves. This part was really cool. You had to duck down under parts of the rock and the waterfalls were neat. It was interesting to see how water rushing over the years can shape and change the rock. We had to ride in two boats that were pulled along by a wire by our guide. One was from dock to dock, the other was into the glow worm cave. It was pitch black and they really did glow. For a moment it was intriguing, but then it was just larva and it grossed me out. I was happy to unload from the boat and exit the cave. They had hot tea and coffee for you at the end and there was also a short nature walk that was really interesting. Then the back onto the boat, back across the lake and back to the hostel for dinner and then bed.
On Saturday, I had a big day. I signed up to do a one day tramp on the Milford Track which is considered to be the greatest walk in the world. I was picked up at 9 a.m. and after collecting a few other folks, we went to the visitors center to pick up some extra gear and a few more people. Our guide for the day, Chris, went over some of the important points of the day, talked about safety and the clothing we would need. He gave us some history on the track. He has been working on the track and in the area since he was 17. He loves hiking and the mountains and the outdoors. Another passionate Kiwi!!! We set out in his VW like van for Te Anau Downs. This is the starting point for anyone doing the track. We boarded a boat - you can only access the track by boat - and cruised the lake. I have now seen just about the entire lake. Doing a boat cruise on the lake would be worth it! There were about 40 other people on the boat. Most of them independant backpackers doing the 4 day tramp. I wanted to be them! The scenary became better and better as we drew closer to the track. There were now mountains on both sides with steep snow covered ones in the background. I am so happy that I'm here at the beginning of summer because everything is so green! The day was overcast and raining on and off. Not too hard though. I was all set in my hiking shoes and had all my rain gear with me. Once at the starting point I was really excited. I bound off the boat and took a picture of the sign. Chris pulled our group together which consisted of, an older couple from Australia - the lady was a trip, she had on a perfectly matching outdoors outfit, full make-up including bright red lipstick - an older couple from Pt. Townsend, WA - they were a ton of fun! - four Chinese women from San Fransisco - they were great fun as well - and three other women that I know nothing about. We let most of the others go ahead of us and then we started off on the tramp. About 20 minutes into it, Chris said that we would be making a side tour and see some of the other areas the forest had to offer. We were in a rain forest and the trees where a towering canopy above us. We hiked along a narrow trail for a little while and then came to a dry river bed. Chris was pointing out birds and trees along the way. The rain really picked up here and we all put on the rain gear. It was a pretty steep hike up the rocky river bed, but the sites were worth it. At one point, you could look back and see the lake where we started. We were surrounded by mountain peaks, many with snow still at the top. We finally came apon the river itself and the rocks became much bigger. After navigating over a few, we settled in for lunch. It was a bring your own and I ate quickly in order to get some pictures of our view. After the quick break, the rain had stopped and the rain gear came back off. We headed back into the forest on another narrow path. This was some of my favorite scenary thus far. Since it's a rain forest, everything is covered in moss and ferns. The floor is just one big mass of green. The trunks of the trees are all covered in different shades of green moss most of it very soft and fuzzy. Some of it would hang off the branches. This stuff was almost a pale yellow color and held bubbles of water at the tips. This stuff was the softest by far. On the dead trees were these mushroom type fungus growing. Chris explained that they only grow on the dead trees using all the remaining nutrients for themselves. He continued to say that in Japan, this is used to help fight cancer and believed to be very useful and is therefore very expensive. The Chinese women quickly corrected him. They said that the Japanese steal everything from the Chinese and that this originated in China and has been used for centuries. It's called Ling Chi. These women just cracked me up! The trees in the forest all have shallow roots and therefore grow in groups. We saw a couple that had fallen down. Their roots were sticking up from the ground...it must have been 12 feet in diameter. It was cool to see. As we walked along Chris told us how they used to use horses to carry up supplies and whatnot to the area. We saw the remains of an old horse resting station that still had some horseshoes laying around. I can't even begin to remember the names of all the trees we saw. All I know is that to look at the tops, you would have to fall down. Our little side path finally met back up with the main Milford Track near the swing bridge. This was fun! The bridge crossed a wide river and at the moment was quite shallow. It was crystal clear and going over on the bridge was a bit challenging. Because it moved so much, it was hard to walk and look down into the river without falling over. In the river you could see trout and eels. Once on the other side, the track followed the river for the rest of our day. There were moments of rushing rapids and calm pools, areas where trees had fallen in and whatnot. It was nature at it's best. There were several great look out points and so many birds. We saw all different types, nothing you see in the US. They were all singing throughout the day. It was constant music. Birds are one of the few animals that were in NZ before humans. Most creatures were introduced by the English, this includes deer, sheep, horses, possums, rats, ect. Quite interesting. Chris directed us off on a side walk while he went ahead up to the lodge to make tea and coffee. This little walk took us along a great little path out to a wetlands area. There were some great little white flowers with red centers and beautiful views of the mountains! I really enjoyed this part. I just soaked up the sites! The rest of the trek up to the lodge was just as impressive. We saw an all green parrot like bird flying by. A highlight of the day. At the lodge, we got to see the accomodations the 4 day trekkers get...it has flushing toilets, but that's about it. Two large bunk houses, plastic mattresses, no showers and a very basic kitchen. Chris had hot tea and coffee ready with some cookies as well. I sat with the couple from Pt. Townsend and the woman has been visiting Boulder Junction, WI since she was a little girl. Her aunt still lives there and they still visit. For those that don't understand the significance of this, my parents have a house in Boulder Junction and I have been camping in that area my entire life. We had a great time discussing the growth and beauty of the north woods. They were such a great couple. So many travels together, so many interesting stories!!! After our break, Chris instructed us that we had 45 minutes to get back down the hill to the swing bridge. He was letting us walk on our own. I decided to take this time for myself. I had taken a roll and a half of film on the way up, this time, I walked by myself and just enjoyed the sites. On the way down, I ran into three fisherman, one was in the river fly fishing with the other two on shore shouting commands. I stopped for awhile to watch. Fly fishing really is an art. I want to learn how!!! After a very pleasant walk, I arrived at the swing bridge and took my time going across. Really looking into the water. It was calmer now since the rain was long gone and you could see the reflections of the clouds and sky and mountains. Quite impressive!!! We gathered on the other side of the bridge and Chris has more than caught up with us. I guess when you walk this everyday, you can move pretty quick! We continued down the track to where we began. The boat was there waiting for us and we all climbed aboard. As we pulled away I was so happy that I took the time to do just that one little part! It was beautiful scenary that has been almost untouched from the beginning of time. It was truly special to experience the raw nature of it. The boat ride back oftered clearer skies and better picture opportunities. We piled back into the van at Te Anau Downs and once back in town, Chris made some dinner suggestions and dropped us off. I had to hit the grocery store to buy lunch for the next day, then headed back to the hostel. I cooked dinner, wrote in my journal and went to bed! I forgot, the other cool thing going on in Te Anau today was the Kepler Challenge. This is a 67 KM run on the Kepler track which is rough and uneven and up and down the mountain. This year, the winner broke the record and did it in 4 hours, 45 minutes. Very impressive. I was out of town trekking the whole day and missed it all, but how exciting.
On Sunday, I was up really early. I was being picked up at 6:30 a.m. to go sea kayaking in Milford Sound! Again, this is one of the must see places on my list of to dos. I wanted to see it from a natural standpoint and thought that kayaking was the best way to go. I was just hoping it would not turn out like my day in Abel Tasman. In the middle of the night, I was awoken by a nasty stuffy nose. I only ended up sleeping about 5 hours and when I had to get dressed for the kayaking, I was not to enthused. I had the chills and it was raining, har, outside. They picked me up and I quietly loaded into the van. I had been told that the drive to Milford from Te Anau is one of the best in the country. So even though I just wanted to fall back to sleep, I stayed awake to take it all in. We made several stops to pick up others going on the journey and then we were off. Our guides for the day were Sam and Josh. I don't know much about the others in the van because since I was feeling ill, I was not up for talking. Just hoping I wouldn't get car sick. With it being such a heavy rain, we were able to see some unusual things. The sides of the mountains had waterfalls everywhere!!! They were just dripping down the sides. It was really incredible. Since the mountains are solid rock, not much of the water is absorbed, so when it rains for a couple of days, or really hard, it creates all of these other waterfalls. Magnificent! We stopped for a morning hot tea and coffee break at the Divide. This is where the water in the country either flows to the Tasman Sea or the Pacific Ocean. I thought that was quite cool. The guides were nice, but also a little annoying. Now, I don't know if they were annoying because I was tired and sick, but nonetheless, I really just wanted them to stop talking. Too much joking about how they didn't know how to drive or kayak. Things like that. As it turns out, Sam really was a green kayaking guide. I made sure not to travel in his group. He had to climb up the mountains and go through the pass. This was beautiful. Before we could go, you have to pass a sign that tells you whether the road is open or not. This area is prone to tree and rock slides as well as earthquakes, so road closures happen often. Once at the top of the pass, there weren't to many trees...just huge rock sides with water sliding down them. We had to go through a long tunnel that was dug out from the mountain. Now, this is not a modern tunnel, it's raw. Literally. It's not re-enforced with concrete or anything, they literally dug a hole through the mountain. It's one lane and you could see the bare rock all around. There was water dripping down the walls as well onto the roof of the car. Very cool, extremely errie!!! In the middle, it was very dark, you couldn't see the other side. I was glad there was only one tunnel. On the other side, it was an epic scene. The road twisted and turned in sharp corners through the steep valley. We decended very quickly along the way. At the bottom, we were in the town of Milford. In the summer, it has about 200 residents. In the winter, there are 50. The entire town is run on a generator and in the winter they turn the generator off at 10 p.m. What a completely different way to live. You are nearly completely isolated. It was crazy! We picked up a couple of more people at the lodge and then headed over to the kayaking start. I was expecting an office and some sort of official structure...nope. They had all the equipment in the back of the van, the kayaks were on two trailers sitting my the boat launch and our changing room/meeting house was a large communal building. Hey, at least teh toilet flushed! We were given several layers of clothing to put on. I felt like the kid from A Christmas Story at the end only I had on a spray skirt to go with it. We even had on these ridiculous hats. If I had been feeling funny at the time, I would have taken a picture of myself. But really, I was just happy to be warm! I was in a group with Josh, the very experienced kayaker and some other people. Again, not in the chatty mood, I buddied up with the only other single traveler...Janet a physio (physical therapist) from Australia. She had just finished the 3 day trek along Routeburn. I was feeling like much the wuss. I climbed into the boat sniffling and coughing and she took the back seat to steer. Thank god...I could not have done two things at once today. We had two other boats in our group and both were very inexperienced. Janet and I were at about the same level and got along very well the entire day. It was raining pretty hard when Josh pushed us out into the water. We waited in the harbor for the other two boats and him, then we were off. I put in a request to see seals, Janet wanted to see dolphins. Josh really had his work cut out for him. We began to paddle up the coast of one of the walls. Now, I say wall because it was straight up. That is the magnificance of Milford Sound. The mountain walls are straight up. There is just the slightest grade, and from the kayak, you could not look up to the top without capsizing. WIth the clouds and rain, it made for an even more dramatic view. The clouds were low and passing through the mountains so that you couldn't see the middle, but could see the snow at the top. Again, there were just waterfalls everywhere! The area is great for fishing, especially crawfish and we saw some of the holding net areas that the fishing boats use. We continued to cruise up the coast and look at a couple of the permmant waterfalls. The one we were quite close to and able to take pictures, from there, Josh asked us what the distance was to the next waterfall. I guesed 4 miles and only said that because it looked alot closer, but with the steepness of the walls, I knew it had to be far. It is actually 7 KM. I felt like I could have paddled there in 20 minutes. Your sense of distance it completely gone when sitting in this little boat. There are several tree slides in this area because the trees are trying to grow into rock. There roots are very shallow and it one tree breaks free, it takes the whole path down to the water. The coastline was really just rocky sharp edges and walls. There weren't places to pull over in the kayak and take a break on land. The wind was blowing and the water was rough, but not swells, so I was doing a-Ok. We continued a little bit further out into the water and once we were away from the coast we started spotting dolphins. There were several of them playing in the water. Janet and I were paddling towards them as if we would catch up! At one point, there were two swimming about 50 feet to the side of out kayak. It was really special to see them so, so close and in the wild. After some hard paddling up wind, we rafted up and put up the sail. This was the part of the day that I found extremely pointless. I was there to paddle a little, look at the scenery, paddle some more, see some wildlife. I had no interest in trying to make the group sail. If I wanted to sail I would have booked myself on a sailboat tour. But there we were trying to sail. The whole set up process took for too long and the boat in the middle was suppose to hang onto the boats on the outside. Well, out middle girl really didn't grasp this concept. Our boats kept banging together and I was getting waterlogged. I had so much water in my lap that it began seeping through my spray skirt (that's suppose to keep you dry) and was forming a puddle under my bum. We would get the sail up and then it would fall, then up and then fall. We did this more times than I care to remember. By the time my entire body was soaking wet under my layers that were not suppose to allow that to happen, I asked if we could just simply paddle again. Really, I just wanted to stop paying attention to the wind and the sail and just look at the mountains, bluffs, cliffs and dolphins. From here, we paddled over to a rocky shore and pulled up for lunch. There were tons and tons of sandflies and I had left my bug stuff in my bag in the van. AT this point it had stopped raining and they were hungry. While I was eating, one bit my on my lower lip. Again, with the sniffles, I had little patience for this today. Our break was short, thank god, and we climbed back into out kayaks. Once I was all in and sealed up, I realized that there were sandflies inside the boat and they just kept eating away at my legs. These bites are much, much worse than anything at home. All in all, I ended up with seven bits on my face and four on my feet/ankles. Josh led us up the river that flows into Milford Sound. This was nice and peaceful and we had better views of the surroundings. We also saw the dock where the Milford Track ends. You have to be picked up by boat here too. We paddled under a walkway and into a quiet bay. This was the most pristine area I have ever seen. It had been completely untouched by man. It was incredible to look at the fauna here. I was amazing...jaw dropped and all. After our little paddle around, we headed back to shore and finished up our trip. Once there, we had to help load the boats onto the trailers and then strip off most of our layers onto a large tarp. Then we took out bags out of the van and went back into the communal building to change. That was interesting! I of course, in my fogging morning head, forgot to pack underwear and had to go commando for the rest of the day. Thank god I had brought so many layers with me! We then had to sit and wait while the others came ashore and did the same, then while Sam and Josh packed everything back up and then while everyone paid. I was a little disappointed that we did not spend more time on the water. I was gone 12 hours, 4 were spent traveling, but we only kayaked for about 3 of them. I really felt like there was so much more to see on the sound and if I were to do it over again, I would take the overnight cruise. There are no lights there and the stars have to just blow your mind. Oh, well, next time. Cuz there is definitely a next time in the future! We finally loaded into the van and then had to make a quick stop at the lodge again. I jumped out because Janet informed me that there was a small store inside and I could buy medicine. I was in there in a flash. Now, you would think this would be easy, but everything is different here and I couldn't decide which one to buy. The guy behind the counter was very impatient and pretty much made my decision for me. Thank god! I went back out to the van armed with medicine and a packet of tissues. The weather was a little better now, so on the trip back, we stopped several times for pictures. I have some great ones. Up at the pass, there was still snow on the ground and now there were waterfalls flowing into it. We also stopped at a huge waterfall that ran into a river. This was a great picture site. Through the pass, I couldn't get my ear to pop and it only got worse and worse. By the time we were back in town, it was disrupting my balance. Like I need any more trouble when it comes to walking! For the most of the ride home, the guides gave us more information about the area and we played a quiz game. The first question was name 3 NZ beers. I shouted them out like no other. Apparantly I was the only backpacker on the bus that was also drinking on this trip! Hence, could be why I was the only one sick as well. Back to the story...being the competitive person that I am, I won the game which was shocking because I really didn't pay too much attention to the information of the day. The prize was a date that night with Sam. Well, this was not appealing in any way shape or form, so I politefully declinded and was dropped off at my hostel. I made myself dinner, then went into the TV room where they were watching the Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring. It was great to see it again now that I have been here and seen so much of the country. It really does look that way in the movie. I really want to watch the other two when I get home.
Of all the things I have seen along the way, here or anywhere, Fiordland is completely unique and the most incredible. It is unlike anything else and if you come to NZ, this can not be missed. It was by far the most impressive part of the trip and I don't see that changing at this point.
On Monday morning, I was up early again and boarded the bus for Dunedin. I was looking forward to this for the rest and relaxation. No big adventures planned for this stop. The drive over was great there. We went through some of the rolling hills and my ear finally popped. It felt so good! We of course were passing farms of sheep and finally, after driving through half the country...there it was. A black sheep eating along with all the other white sheep. And I giggled quietly to myself. Then, about 30 minutes later, I saw another one. This must be black sheep country. Coming into Dunedin was pretty. It sits on the Pacific and in the hills which gives it a beautiful look. It was overcast here and rainy, and I was really tired and still feeling like crap, so when we pulled in, I walked to the nearest hostel. It was called Next Stop Backpackers and on one of the steepest streets I have ever seen. I had already walked 15 minutes will all my stuff, that keeps growing, and I just stood at the bottom of the hill and looked up in horror. I began to walk up slowly and by the time I was in the front door, I was completely out of breath. Damn cold. The very nice man, John checked me in and put me in the all girls dorm. This was nice. After spending three nights in Te Anau with the guy from Milan that smelled really, really bad, I was ready for just girls. AFter dropping off my stuff, I decided to have an easy afternoon and John signed me up for the Speights Brewery Tour. This is the beer that has been brewed in the south island for a very long time. It's one of the oldest breweries in the country. I like beer, I've been drinking this beer and I decided it was high time that I was educated in the ways of brewing beer. I mean, you can't really be a beer drinker without understanding it and it's a shame that I have been drinking (legally) for 7 years and have not educated myself. Really, this was my duty! The tour was great. Our guide kept telling jokes about his beer belly and how he was helping keep the business alive. Everytime we went through another section he asked us we were getting thirsty. The process was very cool and there was a ton of history involved. Their brewery is very unique and has set standards for brewerys around the world. They have also won several beer awards. I think the best part was the intro video they showed us with was pretty much music playing and building up while they kept showing a bottle of beer and the bubbles in it and then, at the trumpiets sounded, they popped off the bottle cap and showed the beer smoking. It made me thirsty! By the time we go the tasting room, I was actually very interested to taste the hops and malts in the beers. Most of their beer is really good, but I really like their Old Dark. We watched a series of their Southern Man commericals that were really funny. Then, off to the gift shop where I couldn't help but buy a shirt. I mean, honestly, I am tired of wearing the clothes I brought and frankly, two of them need to be thrown out, so this was in need, not out of the want for another beer shirt! After the tasting, I headed back to the hostel. I was way behind in my journal and really didn't feel well. I had dinner at a fantastic and cheap Chinese restaurant around the corner and called it an early night. The Brewery Tour is going towards the top of the list of great adventures in NZ.
On Tuesday, I scheduled a couple of things, but still kept it light. I woke up and read my book and finished it. Then headed out for hot tea and a walk around Dunedin. This is a big city and the center of town is in the shape of an octagon. There is a big statue and park in the center and then government buildings, a beautiful church and other shops and buildings surrounding it. The buildings are great here, a little Victorian, a little art deco and then modern. It's a great mix. I went into the Public Art Gallery, it was free and they had some really unique displays. One was from a NZ artist that did paintings of woman throughout the history of NZ. Other things were more modern, one was just disturbing, others were thought provoking and beautiful. My favorite was the ceramic tile wall hanging that was a bunch of small tiles all put together to create this piece. It took you through just about every emotion and spanned generations of history, thoughts and feelings. It was to intellegent. From here, I just walked around town. NZ in general has a very cool fashion scene and I enjoy going into the boutiques and jewelry shops. Then I had a quick lunch at a great Japanese restaurant - vegetable teryiaki and it was fantastic. Huge chuncks of veggies...I'm tring to eat better. Also drinking OJ. Then off to my first tour of the day. It was a tour of the Cadbury Factory. That's right. The factory that makes all the Cadbury candy for the part of the world. The smells....I wish I could have bottled the smell. It's a working factory, so we had to wear hairnets...I did not take any pictures of myself. Then we marched through the different floors and watched the machines spit out the chocolat bars and then we saw them wrapped and checked by quality control. We even saw them making the cream eggs!!! I was in heaven. The only disappointing moment came when I found out that Cadbury can't compete in the US market and Hershey's is the company that makes the cream eggs for the US. I'm going to have to write someone and have this corrected. This chocolat is amazing!!! We were taught about the entire making process and given plenty of free samples. I was on sugar overload! Then, at the end, they have some of there antique cars and things you can take pictures of. And don't you worry, they had the Cadbury Bunny. That's right...I have a picture of it! Then it was on to the store where you can buy things at a discounted price. I could have gone broke in here. I just picked up a few things and then move on. This was another great highlight of the trip!!!
My next stop of the day was the train station. They have an antique style train that goes up a gorge into the mountains and Lonely Planet compares it to the Colorado Durango/Silverton line. Since I have done that one, I decided to see what this one was like. The cars were from the 1920s and really neat. The original windows still in them. It was packed on the train and another rainy day in the city. The announcer came on and said that it's usually sunny in the hills. We were off. Within 10 minutes, the weather was getting better. Just outside of the city, we passed a horse racing track and in the center field there were sheep grazing. Cuz why wouldn't there be! Too funny. Then we continued up the hills. We passed a couple of horse farms and several more sheep farms. The whole trip follows the Taieri River Gorge. As we climbed the hills and got into the mountains, things were higher and steeper. The river bed was further and further away. We crossed 12 viaducts including the longest wrought iron viaduct in Australaisa. Some were made of stone columns. I thought these were more impressive than the iron ones. The entire rail line was built in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Really is an engineering feat. They had to blast through lots of rock in order to make this work. The tunnels were so tiny. The train car had inches of clearance. There were several manic tourists on this trip trying to get pcitures. Really, there were some nice shots to get, but one lady kept clicking her camera every 5 seconds. We weren't moving that fast and the scenary didn't change that much. Then this other woman, her digital camera would bark like a dog everytime she took a picture. Well she only took about a 100. I wanted to throw her camera over the side. The scenary was stunning. We followed this river and watched waterfalls and saw the landscape go from farms to forest to rock bluffs. We took a couple of stops for some pictures and one time, when we started again, the train hit a rock slide. It was pretty funny. The engineers where off the train trying to clear the track and making sure that the train wasn't sitting on anything. After about 30 minutes, we were moving again and they left a guy behind to make sure this didn't happen on the way home. Once at the top, we could see the next set of mountains which were in the direction of Queenstown. Several people got off the train here and took a bus to Queenstown. This included our two crazy photographer ladies...thank god! On the return trip, I got some great pictures including looking straight down into the gorge from a viaduct. By the time we returned, I was very happy with my day. Chocolat and a relaxing train ride...what a way to spend the day. The only thing I didn't like about the train was that they used updated desiel engines. I was hoping for steam. Oh well...still a great adventure. On the walk back to the hostel I stopped for lunch at a cafe. It was ok. Then, once at the hostel, I decided to go back to the Chinese place and got an order of the spring rolls to go because they were so good. Then, back at the hostel, I had a glass of wine and wrote in my journal. All in all, Dunedin has been on of my favorite stops and I would definitely go back here again.
Today, it's Wednesday, December 7th. I have exactly a week left and I'm sitting in Oamaru. It's a small town that I wanted to stop in to see the Blue Penguins and Yellow Eyed Penguins. Well, I didn't realize it, but you can't see them during the day. They are only around at night. So, my big plan to take the early bus out of Dunedin, stop for half the day in Oamaru and then take the 3 p.m. bus on to Christchurch was not such a good plan. I did take a great costal walk, walked around town and saw another great little town and have caught up on this blog. I am sorry that this one is so long. Tonight I will be in Chrristchurch. Now sure what I'm going to do there, but it's suppose to be another nice city. I'm still loving this adventure. It has been just one great party after another!
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Jenny
non-member comment
Chocolate AND Beer??
...I am so coming with you next time! =) Enjoy your last week in this amazing place, although when you look at everything you've done, it seems like you've been there for almost a year, not a month! And I'm glad to hear you're taking more pictures than you thought you would! Can't wait to see you in Los Angeles in a week!