Dunedin to Christchurch - Penguins And Boulders

The east coast of the South Island is rural and urban, less rugged, drier and more populated than the west coast. It was a beautiful drive from Dunedin to Moeraki on the narrow and ocean-hugging road. 

Moeraki

When we arrived at the campground we were told it was time now to go see the Yellow-Eyed Penguins coming home to feed their chicks from a day of fishing at sea. Waiting for mummy in a safe spot.

'Give me some fish, Mummy'.

It was amazing seeing them in their natural environment - and we didn't even have to pay for it! 

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There were also plenty of fur seals lazing around. They barely raised their heads when we walked by in respectful distance.

Moeraki Boulders

These spherical boulders on Koekohe Beach is scattered about like a giant kid's discarded marbles. The boulders are actually concretions that have been exposed through shoreline erosion from coastal cliffs that back the beach. They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments around 60 million years ago. 

Some are more than three meters in diameter and weighs several hundred tonnes,

This boulder tidal pool housed a starfish and some seaweed.

A 'new' Andy is hatching......

Oamaru

We stopped for coffee and ice cream in Oamaru. We walked through the Historic Precinct with the largest collection of protected heritage buildings in New Zealand. They were crafted from the local limestone now known worldwide as Oamaru Stone.

Nothing moves fast here!

We spent the night in Geraldine, which has a country-village atmosphere with a population of 2,210 people.

Dunedin - A Taste of Scotland

Leaving Glenorchy we headed south towards Invercargill and drove through part of the Southland. We didn't see any other cars for about one hour, and after that they were scarce.We drove through lush plains flanked by rolling hills in the distance (the Caitlins). We had decided that we would not go to Milford Sound as we didn't have gear to do any of the famous Milford Sound Track, we had seen fjords in Norway and Newfoundland, respectively, and it would be a 600km return drive just to take enjoy the view - if the weather was cooperating.  

Since the 1990s, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were respectively president and vice-president of the United States, the road between Clinton in Otago and Gore in Southland has been designated the 'presidential highway'.

Dunedin

It was quite a long and eventless drive, and we reached Dunedin late afternoon. We had decided to abandon our Spaceship again, and had challenges finding a place to stay. We were so desperate that we considered taking a single room and putting the mattress from the Spaceship on the floor! Luckily, when we came back to the hotel they had a double room for us - phew! The outdoors is never far away here in New Zealand.

A Little History

Dunedin was founded on the hard toil of whalers, gold miners and migrants from Scotland. Dunedin is old Gaelic word for Edinburgh. Dunedin is this often said to be the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian heritage city in the souther hemisphere.  The Dunedin Railway Station is said to be New Zealand's most photographed building, so we had to take a picture....

In Dunedin they speak New Zealand's only regional accent. The softly rolled 'r' is an expression of the Scottish heritage and a strong local identity among the residents. Even the weather was Scottish - around 12C and overcast, and we ran into a pipe band competition on the Octagon Sunday morning.

We had booked tickets to the Royal Albatross Centre (RAC), but had to cancel as our Spaceship wouldn't start. We had had problems with the fridge battery not working in Queenstown, so AA must have fixed it but caused another problem. AA came quickly, and we went to see the albatrosses.

A Little Ornithology

The Northern Royal Albatross has a wing span of up to 3m/9'6" long, it can fly at speeds of around 120km/hour - 74mph, at 7 month old the chick is 10-12kg, and the adult is 8-9kg normally. Once the chicks leave the nest, they spend 5 years at sea before coming back to breed in the same area.

We saw several birds nesting, and we were lucky to see they in flight as well. They Need strong winds to be able to fly as they are heavy birds. They use the airflow and thermals to stay in the air. They rarely flap their wings.

Huge birds!

The RAC is located on the tip of the Otago Peninsula and we had some great views on the drive back to Dunedin.

It is sadly time to head north, which means the journey homewards has officially started as we are flying out of Auckland up north! 

Glenorchy And The Routeburn Track

Glenorchy is a small settlement of 200 people nestled in spectacular scenery at the north end of Lake Wakatipu 45km north of Queenstown. 

A Little History

In 1862 the first settlers came from Europe looking for new grazing. This was closely followed by hoards of prospectors looking for gold and later scheelite. Tourism has also been a major contributor to the town's economy for over 100 years. Early visitors to Head of the Lake would arrive on the TSS Earnslaw steam ship from Queenstown and spend the day touring the Routeburn or Paradise Valleys.  In 1962 the Queenstown/Glenorchy Road was opened, unlocking a way for many travelers to explore this magnificent area further. Now known as one of New Zealand 's most scenic roads it follows the original route taken by the first European pioneers to the Head of the Lake. 

It reminded us of Scotland, and even the weather had a cold, drizzly Scottish feel to it. But is was beautiful.

The following day, however, the weather gods were on our side as we set out to do a 17.6km day hike of the Routeburn Track, a famous backpacking track.

The track was following the river for a while,

and most of it was in the shade of the trees but with some amazing views along the way.

Time for an after-lunch rest before heading back down.

Dorte got this very appropriate and funny Valentines card from Andy:

We celebrated our love spending the night in The Lodge, and had a wonderful dinner.

A very quaint and beautiful little village!

Queenstown - Global Adventure Capital

We spent a night in Haast saying farewell to the West Coast and the Southern Alps. The highway then snaked along the Haast River and over the 563m Haast Pass. We had lunch by the river.

It was a beautiful drive through part of the Fjordland.

We got held up by a house... so funny!

Queenstown is surrounded by the indigo heights of the Remarkables and framed by Lake Wakatipu.

A Little History

The town had a Whistler village feel to it, and was full of restaurants, bars and outdoor gear shops. In 1863 it became a mining town with streets and permanent building and it was declared 'fit for a queen' by the NZ government, thus the name. It is the playground for all kinds of adventure sports, so the streets and bars are full of young people. Very lively.

Ben Lomond Summit

The trail started very close to the campground and at the foot of the Skyride. As we started to climb we felt like we were doing the Grind, and the climbing continued for hours up above the tree line,

towards the Ben Lomond Summit at 1,763m covered in the clouds.

It started drizzling as we hit the Saddle, but the view was beautiful anyhow.

As the Summit was clouded in Dorte didn't expect the view to better than half way up from the Saddle, and to save her knee for another hike, she waited for Andy enjoying the view of Queenstown. Andy made it to the Summit, of course!

The hike took us about six hours in total, and we had a well-deserved beer afterwards.

Every time we passed the Fergburger there was a lineup out the door, so we had to try their burger, and it was yummy.

This sequoia tree was planted in 1874, and is 31m high - impressive.

We loved Queenstown for its village feel.

Franz Josef Glacier - A 'Slide' Show

A Little History

The early Maori knew Franz Josef as Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Tears of the Avalanche Girl). Legend tells of a girl whose lover fell from the local peaks, and her flood of tears freezing into the glacier. The glacier was first explored by Europeans in 1865. This glacier is descending rapidly, about 1m per day due to ample rain. A plane that crashed into the glacier 3.5km from the terminal face, made it down to the bottom 6,5 years later - a rate of 1.5m per day! If the present global warming continues, it is expected that the glacier will have disappeared in 40 years.

Due to the danger of the fast descentof the glacier, you cannot walk near it though there are several glacier valley walks in the area. So the only way to get a glacier walk experience is to book a tour and take a five minute helicopter ride.

We were very excited, and managed to get the front seats in the helicopter.

Notice how big the glacier is and how small the people are in this video of the landing.

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We only slid a little going from the helicopter to the waiting area, where we put crampons on the boots, and off we went exploring the glacier.

The guide, Mark from Toronto, hacked steps along the way to make it easier for us.

After about 3 amazing hours on the glacier, it was time to fly back.

Nowhere else at this latitude do glaciers come so close to the ocean.

We went from a cold glacier to glacier hot pools relaxing in the 36C, 38C and 40C water.

What a day!