Advertisement
Published: March 10th 2014
Tuesday 4
th 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 on through the rain and can find nothing else worth getting wet for and more by accident than design arrive at Dunedin.
After finding a site we catch the bus into the city centre. Our first visit is to a patchwork quilt exhibition. A strange thing to visit but we’re desperate to see something. Actually the quilts are excellent
and the craftsmanship superb. We have to vote for a best one which is really difficult.
Next we visit the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and see a collection of 1920 and 1930’s lino cut prints of sport and speed. They’re very good . We then visit another hall showing a modern theme of fluorescent tubes stuck onto various backgrounds. It looks more like an electrician has only half finished a lighting installation.
Finally we look around the shops and get a few bits and pieces.
Back at the van we put the fan heater on, as the van rocks from side to side in the wind. But things could be worse---------- we could be in a tent !
Wednesday 5
th This morning we drive out to the Otago Peninsula outside Dunedin. It’s supposed to be a really beautiful area but we can’t see much of it through the rain and low cloud.
We visit Larnach Castle. The only castle in New Zealand. It’s very small and more like a stately home. It’s been very nicely restored and there are some nice pieces of furniture and wood paneling. The view from the top tower is
over the coast and bays. Unfortunately we can’t see much of it although the mists are clearing.
We then walk around the gardens which have been extremely well restored and have an Alice in Wonderland theme in areas. There’s supposed to be a Cheshire cat somewhere and Christine goes off in search of it in vain. I’m happy to just look at the view which is improving all the time.
Afterwards we set off for the far end of the peninsular drive around all the bays and inlets until we get to Taiaroa Head where there’s the Royal Albatross Centre. We look to go in but at £25 per head it’s a bit steep for us after the castle visit and we have to give it a miss. We do see a couple of albatross flying around.
It’s still only early afternoon and for the first time for months we’re stuck for something to do. Walking is out because it’s just too cold and windy.
So we drive slowly back towards Dunedin and stock up supplies and return to site. We decide to walk down to the beach a few minutes away. The sea’s white with
foam and we spot a chap trying to surf. Just looking at him makes me shiver !
Back on site I go for an early shower. I’m fine using the communal shower blocks but this one’s unheated and a bit testing in this weather !
Thursday 6
th We catch an early morning bus into the city and board the train on the scenic Taieri Gorge railway for a 4 hour return trip to Pukerangi. The first hour we spend looking at a railway bank as all the scenery is on the other side of the carriage but eventually as the train goes into the gorge we start to see the views.
The scenery is pretty attractive and we go over many high tressell bridges. There are viewing platforms on the train which hold about 10 people and are a squeeze for the 20 trying to get on them for photos. However the train stops for us to get off from time to time for photos.
On the way back we get more room and switch from side to side to always get the best view.
As soon as the train returns to Dunedin we
cross the road and go on a guided tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory. We have to put on plastic hats and gloves for hygiene purposes, although I think it’s just to make us look stupid !
The tour’s interesting regarding facts and figures about chocolate production but a bit of a disappointment as we don’t actual see any chocolate being made or poured. We don’t get anywhere near chocolate so we don’t see the point of the hats and gloves. We do however keep being given bars of chocolate as sovenirs, so that’s a bonus !
We finish by having our photo taken in front of the original chocolate delivery lorries from the 1900’s. We also get to buy big bars of chocolate at a discount, so we stock up for a rainy day ---------- which I hope won’t be too soon !
Today’s our 200
th day away and our trip is just passing too quickly. I start to think about arranging another one !
Friday 7
th We leave Dunedin heading south on the scenic route which takes us past many dramatic looking beaches and headlands. We then stop at Lake Waihola for a
coffee. There’s a group of school children swimming in the lake and the teacher tells us that they’re on a 3 day team building camp. They have sailing, hiking and swimming events and team building quizies. It’s seems a good idea.
We continue on for quite a while before pulling off to go and look at McLean Falls. The walk is through a rain forest and the falls are over 20m high. They’re quite impressive. The drive up and out is a bit scary on the gravel road as we skid and slide.
We finally turn off the main road and drive out to Curio Bay. We don’t know anything about the place but find a camp site at the end of the Bay on a small peninsular. There’s sea on three sides of us and the scenery would look good, if it wasn’t for the rain and low cloud.
We park up in a pitch surrounded by tall reeds. The site’s very basic with outside toilets and showers in concrete bunkers. Nobody stays here for the facilities !
We walk out to one of the bays around us and find it’s a petrified forest 170
million years old ! Also the bay is a breeding ground for the yellow eyed penguin. The rarest in the world. There’s one on the beach just standing there and Christine gets many close up shots.
Back in the van I use the on board shower for the first time. It’s like showering in a telephone box only our’s also contains the toilet !
After dinner we go to the beach and wait for the penguins to come ashore. At dusk we see a couple come waddling up the beach in search of their young to feed. There aren’t many of them but we can get really close to see them.
Saturday 8
th As we get ready to leave I take the rubbish to the bins and see dolphins swimming in the bay and jumping through the waves. We watch them for about 15 mins and then leave.
We drive further south and stop on the outskirts of Invercargill for a coffee and then stop in the town for a wander round. There’s not much to see.
We continue and the scenery’s pretty boring, just flat open land with lots of sheep. In fact
there’s sheep every where.
We finally stop for lunch at Colac Bay and pull in on the shore. It’s a great beach but there’s no one in the sea, it’s too cold.
On we go and I’m getting pretty fed up with the scenery. We decide to stop for the night in Tuatapere. It’s a terrible decision as the place is in the middle of no where and looks deserted. As it’s still fairly early we decide to drive another 60 miles to Te Anau.
The scenery quickly changes to huge mountains in the background and is much more dramatic and interesting.
Eventually we arrive and park up on a site opposite Lake Te Anau and get great views over the lake. We take a quick walk around the lake shore and into town and try and sort out some walks and cruises for the next couple of days.
Sunday 9
th The weather’s due to be good today so we go off on a long walk. It’s part of the Kepler Track that’s 67k long. Too long for us ! Our trek is about 15k.
We start off along the lake shore and
soon come to a small bird sanctuary and see a few rescued birds native only to this country. On we go and shortly arrive at the control gates at the end of the lake. These allow water to flow down the river to Lake Manapouri and are part of the hydro electric scheme.
The path then turns inland and we walk for ages within a forest of mainly ferns and moss. It’s attractive but goes on for ages.
Forty five mins or so later we reach Dock Bay and watch some kids water skiing. We get some great views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
On we go and an hour later we get to Brod Bay our final destination. We have our picnic lunch on the beach before setting off for “home”
We start to flag a bit and Christine gets weary so to encourage her I tell her it’s only 10 mins more. After doing so a number of times she pokes me with her walking pole !
Eventually we get back for a well earned cup of tea in the sunshine. It’s been a good walk and generally over flat and easy ground.
Monday 10
th We get up early. The weather forecast is for a nice sunny day so we’ve booked a trip to Milford Sound, one of the best scenic trips in NZ.
Unfortunately the person who did the forecast is no better than I would have been as there’s low cloud everywhere.
We get collected by coach and start our two and a half hour trip to the Sound. We make many stops to see the scenery highlights only we can’t see most of it. We go through the Homer Tunnel and the cloud’s even lower.
We board our boat for the trip along the fjord. The skipper tells us we are looking at the highest mountains in the fjords, expect we can only see the bottom half of them.
The scenery is terrific, at least it would be if the clouds lifted. We do see some huge waterfalls and the tops of some mountains from time to time pocking through the clouds.
An hour and a half later we dock and the trip’s not lived up to all the hype. The fjord is much shorter than expected.
Back on the coach we reach the Homer Tunnel again and as soon as we emerge the other side there’s bright sunshine and clear skies.
The ride back is littered with stops and we see some of the truly amazing and spectactular scenery. I’m sure the boat ride would have been amazing too given the chance.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.224s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0787s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Roger Smith
non-member comment
Get it? Play on words? Doubtful - Milford? Looks like your Russian roulette with the weather didn\'t work too well. The locals told us that the fiords of New Zealand get more rainfall than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, we got a dry day and the waterfalls dried up. We had the weather problem at Mount Cook. First trip 14 years ago it was covered in cloud. This time we got a couple of glimpses but the picture I wanted and that is in the guide books is Mount Cook reflected in Mirror Lake. Dashed down there twice whilst we were staying near Fox Glacier but it clouded up before we got there both times. C\'est la vie! Still can\'t get over all this blogging at 6 or 7 in the morning!! Think you can see why South Island is compared to Scotland. FFFFFing freezing half the time. Cold the rest!! Warming up here now. 16 degrees yesterday. Soon be BBQ weather. keep the faith Roger