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Published: March 1st 2008
Milford Sound
Check out the sound on thatWe have had our minds blown by wildlife and the harsh winds hitting the south Island of NZ direct from the Antartic. The Van is still going just about and we are in high spirits. Carrying on from the last entry we gave the new wheels a good old wash down and filled her up with supplies from NZs equivalent to Lidl, PAK N SAVE. On the first day's voyage we didn't get too far from C Church, about 50 KMs to be exact to the Banks Peninsular. It's a mountainous region originally formed from 3 large Volcanoes and makes a marked contrasts to the the super flat land which typifies the region of Canterbury. There are two main settlemets on the penisular. The first Lyttleton is the main port for C Church and was the main entry point for European settlers entering the South Island. The other place is a quaint little place called Akaroa which has strong french influence due to a colony of Frenchis who settled there. We camped of first night for free on the penisulsar on the banks of one of the steep sided sounds and feasted on Huge Mussles harvested from the shoreline.
Our
Dinner
Mmmmmmussels next port of call was Dunedin which is further south down the East Coast. The name is apparently Celtic for Edinburgh and fittingly there are an array of tacky Scottish shops selling Tartan and Shortbread and even the odd bagpipe band!! The real attraction here though is the Wildlife. The Otago Penisular which sits to the North East of the city is teaming with real interesting stuff like Sealions Fur Seals, Albatross, Dolphins and the rare yellow eyed penguin. We managed to see most of these save the Dolphins and sea lions. Its lovely to be able to see this wildlife in their natural environments. The other attraction of Dunedin is the surfing. John got some good days in at a place called Black Head and there was a handy camping spot there too ( A rarety in Dunedin as the whole place is deemed to be a nature reserve which means no camping at all). We also sheltered from the rain one afternoon in Speights brewery and warmed the cockles with a selection of their ales. Not bad but not a patch on Black Sheep. The Porter was very good though.
South of Dunedin we entered a region
called The Catlins which is a national Park made up of dense native rainforest and beaches. More surfing and camp fires etc. the real high here was swimming with an inquisitive pod of endangered Hector's Dolphins. At the aptly named Porpoise Bay all you have to do is knock a couple of pebbles together and the dolphins which are smaller than their more common cousins come to investigate. They are so playful it is untrue and it was real expeince for the both of us. This was on Valetines day so we celebrated with a few vinos. Mystic Ridge is our preffered tipple and the cheapset that PAK N SAVE has to offer. It is so Mystic that on the box it states that the wine is sourced from either S Africa, Australia or Chile or a combination of them all!!
From the Catlins we passed through Invercargill which is at the southern tip of the Island an began to make our way North West. We headed into the Fiordland and to the famous Milford Sound. We took a cruise on a small boat around the sound and expeinced the awesome scenery including a bay named after the Famous
navigator Mr John Harrison!! The Sound is wrongly named as it is actually a Fiord (formed by a glacier as opposed to a River so they say?!?) We even saw a pod of large Bottle nose Dolphins. They apperently grow really large here as the water is colder than normal.
That night we experinced the ferositiy of the West Coasts mosquitoes and sandflies and so the following morning we fled to Queenstown, the so called adventure Capital of the south. Its a bit like Disneyland on Acid with pretty much any activity imaginable available to do. I reckon those dudes just sit around in the off season dreaming up the next "crazy" activity but it is a buzzing place and we enjoyed the atmosphere which was a change from the sleepyness of the other southern towns.
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Mum
non-member comment
pensioner's message
Hi you two. It looks as if you are having a fabulous time out there. I've been looking forward to this new blog. It seems like a brilliant place. I see your HAIR was covered in the waterfall! By the 'sound' of it you are a bit confused. Sound is the English word for the Norwegian, fjord, as in Plymouth Sound. It's a glaciated river valley engulfed by the sea as the seas rose at the end of the last ice age, at least that is what I was taught at school, a long time agooooo! You're having wonderful experiences never to be forgotten keep treasuring it. Loads of love Mum xx