Jan 2007

We set off for Mount Cook not too hopeful as the weather forecast for the West Coast and Southern Alps was not looking good (again!!!).

The nearer we got to Mount Cook, the more our hearts sank as the clouds came down and any glimpse of the sun was overtaken by the rain starting to fall. Undeterred we made the 50k detour to the Mount Cook Reserve at the end of Lake Pukaki. By the time we got there the mountains were well and truly obscured and the temperature had fallen considerably.

We decided to sit it out for a while and went in to the local cafe (where there was a roaring fire!!!) and tucked into a bowl of hot soup!!! The sun tried its best to break through and we eventually got a partial glimpse of about half of the mountain!!!

At this point, Bob lost the plot!!!! I think all this driving round to see potentially beautiful views (according to Bob and Bonnie's photos we had viewed before leaving home) only to be thwarted by the clouds and rain had got to him at last!!! He was a man possessed with a mission to get to the next stopping point as quickly as possible (and the next and the next .....!!!!) and in that day we actually covered 484km!!!! During this time we flashed past Lake Pukaki, Lake Tekapo , various other lakes and the townships of Fairlie and Geraldine, before he eventually ran out of steam in Ashburton!!!

Ashburton proved to be a lovely place and the motel we stayed in was great!!! The owners, seeing we arrived in a somewhat fraught and tired state, immediately rushed to the Expresso Machine and made us a welcome cup of coffee!! As this was on the East Coast, the sun was actually shining brightly, which helped calm the nerves!!!

The next day we woke up to a beautiful clear sky and sunshine and had a more leisurely drive to Akaroa and then on to Christchurch, where we checked in for two nights. We even had enough time for a trip down the River Avon on a punt and a tram ride around the city. The lady who punted us down the river was Hayley and the name of the punt was Grace - a coincidence as Bob used to work with Hayley at ALT and her sister is Grace!!!

Continuing with our attempts at relaxation, and given that amazingly we had a second day of sunshine, we decided to have a day by the coast and travelled a short distance to the suburb of Sumner. Here we were amazed to see thousands of mussels growing on the rocks all along the beach.

We then travelled northwards to New Brighton and had a walk along its pier, watching the surfers in action and admiring the sand art.

We arrived in Oamaru for an overnight stop, a town renowned for its limestone buildings, many of which have been recently restored. We had a wander around the old town coming across an old steam train and horse and cart. We also went through the town gardens to admire yet more roses etc taking advantage of some fresh air before the rain set in!!

Over the last few weeks we have been keeping in contact with Mark and Alison Hirst, friends from Headington Road Runners. They have spent the last 4 weeks cycling round the South Island (must be mad!!!) and unfortunately have got very wet on the way!!

We eventually managed to meet up with them in Oamaru, the night before they were leaving NZ to head back home. They managed to book into the same Motel as us, and we spent a lovely evening with them sharing some pizzas and a few glasses of wine (or was it bottles??!!).

In Oamaru there are two different types of penguins - Yellow Eyed and Blue. We decided to try and see the first of these, as they came ashore to their nests. Unfortunately, you are not allowed down onto the beach after 3pm and have to view them from the cliffs some 200 yards away. To cap it all the heavens decided to open again and gale force winds blew!!! Two penguins graciously deigned to come ashore as we stood in the wind and rain - but they were mere dots in the distant mist!!!

The blue penguins were due in after dusk (around about 9.30pm) and with the rain still coming down and the wine taking effect we thought better of venturing out again so carried on with our sociable evening exchanging adventures of the last 4 weeks!!

We saw Mark and Alison off the next morning as they headed to Christchurch and the plane home. We headed inland towards Mount Cook.

We decided to spend a day around on the Otago Peninsula, an almost uninhabited part of Dunedin.

The journey along the banks of the inlet was somewhat precarious with nothing much between us and the water!!! Jan had her buttocks clenched for the whole 28km out to our first port of call, the Taiaroa Royal Albatross Colony. This is the only mainland colony in the world, so reasonably easy to access. We were able to observe these huge (wingspan of 3 metres!!) birds gliding effortlessly around as well as some nesting on the hillside.

We then went to Lanarch Castle - the only castle in New Zealand!! This was another scary journey for Jan, this time up some steep and narrow mountain roads without a crash barrier in sight!!!

The Castle itself was very interesting, giving a good history of life in the early settlement years of the Lanarch family. We really thought we had arrived in Scotland when we were treated to a Scottish Piper at the entrance to the Castle!!!!

Bob then had the bright idea of trying to get down onto a fairly inaccessible beach to see the Yellow Eyed Penguins coming ashore from the day at sea. Having managed to scramble down some very steep sand dunes onto the beach we were confronted by a rather large sea lion. We had been warned they can be aggressive and can run quite fast on land, so decided that discretion was the better part of valour and we would beat a hasty retreat!!!! So, we never got to see the penguins but did get very sandy!!!

We set off early on Sunday morning to view the Moeraki Boulders. We had been told to get there early in order to avoid the crowds and this was good advice. By the time we left there were several coachloads of Chinese and Japanese tourists (just like Oxford) clambering over the stones. These boulders (about 100+) are unusual, as they occur along only a small stretch of the beach and no-one really understands how they have been formed and why this is the only place in the world such things exist.

We have moved on to Oamaru where we hope to be able to get a sighting of both Yellow Eyed and Blue Penguins coming ashore tonight, without coming across any sea lions or sand dunes!!!

We had an uneventful journey across the south of the Island which was 300km of fairly flat, long straight roads, fields full of sheep, deer and cattle. The Southern Alps now being left behind in the distance, the landscape changed to rolling hills and green fields.

Bob has once again been lucky (what's new I can hear you all say!!!) with a win on the New Zealand Lottery!!! Unfotunately he only got a $19 return for his $10, but still - it's better than we usually do in the UK and we will keep trying for the big one!!!

Once we had reached Dunedin (very Scottish due to it's first settlers) and settled in to our motel we set out for what we were told was one of the highlights of the city - Baldwin Street. This is recorded by the Guinness Book of Records as the steepest street in the world - and we can vouch for that!!! Bob bravely took his trainers with a view to run up it, but once he saw it, decided that due to his lack of fitness and increasing girth a gentle stroll was more in keeping!!! He managed to get to the top, whilst Jan managed half way!! (Bob is now the proud holder of a certificate authenticating his achievement, and I am sure you will all see it on our return!!!!).

We then went into the city centre to see the historic buildings for which Dunedin is famous - the Railway Station (apparently the most photgraphed building in NZ), Law Courts, Town Hall and St Paul Church. Surprisingly, we have managed to give Speight's Brewery and Cadbury's World tours a miss, at least for today!!!

We moved yet further southwards to Te Anau and yet again the weather was reasonably kind to us, with sunshine and a few clouds.

On the way we managed to see the old steam train "The Kingston Flyer" which was just about to set off on its journey. It was great to get a glimpse of such a shimmering piece of machinery in action.

We arrived in Te Anau in time to book a trip to the Glowworm Caves across the other side of Lake Te Anau (the second biggest lake in NZ). Well, talk about the sun shining out of your bum!!!! It certainly does with these creatures - but unfortunately we were not allowed to take our cameras into the caves, so you'll just have to take our word for it!!! They certainly were an interesting phenomenon, living just 200m into the caves in total darkness. They eat and shine for 9 months, only to live 2 days as flies - not much of an existence!!! The light shines out of their rear if they are hungry - and boy were there some empty stomachs there!!!

Today we have been to Milford Sound for the day - with an early start to miss the crowds on the coach tours. Unfortunately the day dawned overcast and drizzling but we had been warned that it rains every other day in Milford Sound - apparently it is one of the wettest places on earth!!!! Undeterred we made the 120km drive, booked the next boat out and off we went. Despite the weather the scenery was magnificent and the waterfalls were in full flow (one of the benefits of the rain!!).

We also went to the Underwater Observatory - a facility that allows you to go underwater and see all the sea creatures in their natural habitat!!! It seemed like we were the captors and they were observing us, rather than the other way round!!!

By the time we did the return journey the sun had come out so the views were great and the whole thing another amazing trip for our memory log!!!

On the journey back we stopped off at the Mirror Lakes where - yes you guessed it - they mirror the surrounding countryside!!! The sun was still shining so again we got some stunning pictures!!!

We will now move across the South Island to the East Coast city of Dunedin for a couple of days and then begin the journey back north.