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Published: September 7th 2008
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G'day!
Apologies for being a bit behind on our blogging - we've been too busy travelling, working, moving apartments, and admittedly a bit lazy. But don't fret - we're back and we have lots to report! Some exciting news - at the end of July Matt's company decided to officially sponsor him for his long-term work visa. As good as that is, what was even more exciting was that in order to apply for the visa, he had to leave the country. SO, we were "forced" to take a vacation on somewhat short notice - and NZ is the closest international destination with the cheapest tickets. NZ here we come...
It was a relatively short trip, but in 5 days we managed to drive 2,000 km (1,200 miles), see about 3/4 of the south island, and take 800 photos. Because we couldn't narrow them down, we've split the trip into two blogs, and this is part I. Enjoy!
Flying into Christchurch on a Friday night, we spent our first full day in NZ driving south from Christchurch to Dunedin (about 5 hours). We didn't spend any real time in Christchurch except to pick up our rental car and
Beach
heading towards Dunedin get a good night sleep. Leaving bright and early in the morning, we made it to Dunedin by 2pm. We drove directly through Dunedin's town centre and onto the Otago Peninsula. Just south of the downtown, its about 45 minutes (along a winding road scraping the water) to the tip of the peninsula. Sitting right at the tip of the point is the only Royal Albatross breeding ground existing on mainland anywhere in the world. The albatross are seabirds, and live entirely at sea except for when they breed - in all other cases, except for here in Dunedin; their breeding grounds are found on remote islands in the ocean. The breeding ground has been made into a protective reserve and research centre, where you can buy a ticket for a tour and viewing of the albatross. At this time of the year the furry little albatross chicks (relatively old and about 2 weeks away from fledging) where hanging out on the hillside, idly waiting for their parents to come back from the sea to feed them (generally 2 to 3 days between visits). We were lucky enough to not only see 2 chicks, but also see a parent returning
with some dinner. The birds are massive, with a wingspan of about 3 metres (10 feet) and impressive to see in full flight.
After getting our fill with the albatross, we decided to stick around the peninsula and do a little more exploring. We drove around to the south side of the point to a small beach called Allan's beach, in hopes of seeing a few sea lions. Unfortunately the beach was in the shade, and so the sunning lions had moved on for the day. Regardless, it was still a beautiful little beach, and the drive around the peninsula was stunning (and a bit scary for the navigator with dirt and gravel roads running right up along the edge of the coast.) After the beach, we drove back to the Albatross area in search of the little blue penguins. We were told that a small colony nested on the beach, and everyday around dusk the little guys swim back home for the night after a full day of fishing. We got there just at sunset, but after about an hour of waiting, with no little penguins in sight, we gave up for the night. Maybe next time!
We stayed at a fantastic B&B (Grandview B&B) just up the hill from the city centre, and finished up our time in Dunedin by heading into town for the evening. We watched the second of the Australia-New Zealand rugby series on TV (New Zealand won), had some dinner, and took a few pictures. We got on the road the next day around 7 to start our trek across the South Island and over to Te Anau and Milford Sound...
Te Anau is situated at the edge of the Fiordland National Park. It isn't much of a town, and is about a 4 hour drive from Dunedin. The countryside on this part of the drive is hilly and picturesque, with thousands upon thousands of sheep dotting the hillside (there are more sheep in NZ than people...). Although Te Anau isn't much, it is the gateway town to the National Park, and about another 2 hour drive out through the park to the western coast and Milford Sound. Once in Milford sound the best option to take in the scenery is to take a boat tour of the sound. Without doing this you really can't get a good feel for the
beauty and expanse of the landscape. We decided on a 1.5 hour tour (they have full day and overnight tours in the summer). The boat tours take you around the edges of the coast, and just out to the opening of where the sound meets the sea. The fiords are long narrow estuary's with steep sides formed when a glacially carved valley is flooded by the sea. The scenery in this part of New Zealand is breathtaking, and unlike anything we have ever seen before. Huge mountains plummet into the water, with sheer rock walls rising straight up. Swimming around in the bay with us was a bachelor colony of juvenile fur seals, spending their day sunning on the rocks and frolicking in the water. Several huge waterfalls shot out of the mountains into the water, and our captain decided to push the nose of our cruise boat right up into the falls and soak us all with the freezing spray (it is winter this time of year in NZ and here in Australia). The weather was a bit overcast most of the day, but cleared up just in time for our cruise.
We drove back to Te Anau,
Baby Royal Albatross
Little white fluff ball sitting on hillside waiting for mom or dad to come back with some food... usually visits are between 2 and 3 days apart. and to wrap up the long day of driving and sight seeing, we went into town to see a local film called 'Ata Whenua'. Filmed by local helicopter pilot and produced alongside one of the Lord of the Rings filmmakers (also filmed in the area), the short movie is a impressive picture of the Fiordland scenery, and gave us a view of all things we didn't get a chance to see. Definitely worth the $10 if you ever have a chance. The movie is shown in a great little artsy theatre, built and designed specially for the film. It didn't exactly fit in with the local flavour of the town (which was buzzing about the $10 Sunday roast and happy hour at the local hot spot), but was a great stop.
The trip continues in our next blog coming soon - when we'll head up the west coast to Queenstown, Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers, Hokitika, and the Southern Alps...
Bye for now!
Matt & Heidi
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