Blogs from Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

Tuesday 4th The promised bad weather has arrived as we wake to a cold, wet and very windy day. We drive off and stop soon afterwards at Bushy Beach to look at the yellow eyed penquins. Putting on every coat we have we go to the look out. There’s none to be seen and we,re not surprised as the surf crashes onto the beach. We take the “scenic” coastal drive and see great beaches and coast line through the driving rain ! Eventually we reach Moeraki and stop to see the boulders on the beach. They’re strange completely spherical boulders sitting on the sand. Soon afterwards we drive off to Shag Point to see the seals., penguins and shags. There are only seals around, the others have gone off to find calmer spots ! We drive ... read more

12 fév Je me lève du dortoir de la chambre 7 du Top10 de Queenstown et, sans même ouvrir les yeux, je me retrouve sous l'eau tiède de la douche communautaire. C'est que c'est un départ rapide encore une fois ce matin. On prend donc place dans notre Mitsubishi Lancer louée, mes yeux endormis derrière le volant, et on s'accroche au Highway vers Te Anau dans le Fiordland. Notre regard passe des plaines dorées aux collines verdoyantes, et des pâturages herbacés aux montagnes perdues dans les nuages laineux à l'horizon. Les lieux semblent totalement vidés de ses habitants. Il n'y a de vivant que les bêtes qui nous ignorent dans les champs. En Nouvelle-Zélande, il y a 22 moutons pour 1 être humain. Donc, comme il y a au moins 3 personnes aux alentours (nous)... il ... read more

Tuesday 3rd December, 2013. Te Anau Wildlife Centre and Te Anau Glowworm Caves Today we had a lie in. We decided to take a stroll around Te Anau Lake which is the 2nd largest lake in New Zealand. It was a beautiful, sunny and clear day and the lake was like a millpond. We strolled along the waterfront until we reached the Te Anau Visitor Centre. We spent about 45 minutes in the centre looking at the exhibits on Maori Culture and a big exhibit on the efforts to stop the extinction of New Zealand's rarest birds. After leaving the visitor centre we continued strolling along the lake. We saw some Canada Geese and also a Kowhai Plant in flower. The Kowhai is largely recognized as the National Plant of New Zealand. We reached Te Anau ... read more

Good lay in, but back in the dorm room last night so up and around by 8am. Today I have decided to change hostel – my bus to Queenstown leaves outside a hostel which is the other end of town at 7am tomorrow morning, and as I wasn’t going to stay tonight originally, I hadn’t booked into the YHA, and they only have expensive rooms left, so I have booked tonight at the hostel where the bus comes from for ease in the morning. So I check out of the YHA in the morning but make the most of the YHA facilities, having breakfast and using the internet etc until lunch time. I then trudge all my stuff to the other hostel, not as nice as the YHA but still nice. Chat to some of the ... read more

Fiona and Susan want to finish early so they can head off to Queenstown late morning, so it is an early start for us at 6am, and my alarm clock wakes me as I am in such a deep sleep. My bag is packed and ready to go, so again dressing with only a torch is tricky but I am soon downstairs eating my breakfast, with what must be the best breakfast scenery I have ever seen. The hut is above the clouds and the sun is rising with the mountains across the lake (Murcherson mountains) as the back drop – beyond stunning. When the other two are ready we set off, and quite a fast pace to start, I am almost jogging to keep up, ignoring the pain from my feet! We settle into a ... read more