Week 9 - 21st & 22nd Nov.

Worlds steepest street – Baldwin Street, Mount Cargill,
Moraki boulders, Moraki Harbour – Lunch at Fleurs

Sunday Nov 22nd, 2009
Today we carry on to Oamaru. On our way out of the city we check out the world’s steepest street. It is recognized by the Guinness World book of records. Baldwin Street was originally designed by William Baldwin, a member of Otago council in the late 1800’s. The street is 161 m long and climbs a vertical height of 47.2 m from beginning to end. At its steepest point, the climb is 1 in 2.86 with an average climb of 1 in 3.41.

On the hill, we meet a runner (over 60 years old) with a tee-shirt that claims Worlds Steepest Hill World Record Runner. We chat with this fellow for a bit and he runs up and down this hill 60 times a day as part of this fitness regime. Apparently, he has also been recognized by the Guinness world book of records.

He recommends we go to the top of Mount Cargill. He even offers to drive up with us but we have the back of the car packed with stuff and there are no available seats for him. He also says don’t forget to stop in Moeraki harbour and go to Fleurs for lunch. Have the blue cod and tell them I sent you. We thank him, take the directions and head to Mount Cargill.

Mount Cargill is a very high spot and it gives perfect panoramic views for 360 degrees. There is the Pacific Ocean to the East, Dunedin to the south, and mountains in all other directions.

The GPS suggests an alternate route to Moeraki, which we of course take.The scenery is once again stunning and we are able to drive through a narrow gorge just outside of town. One car wide! Then up to the mountain side we go and down the other side. It is beautiful country.

At Moeraki we head to the beach. Luckily the tide is low and we can see the boulders in the distance. There are lots of people milling about and it is not to difficult to tell that this is one of NZ’s popular tourist attractions. As we get closer we can tell that these boulders are similar to the ones we saw in Kohtou but more uniform in size and shape.

We wander up and down the beach looking at all the boulders, waiting for our turn to take pictures between the tourists. Here we meet Tom and Chad Adams from the previous night. They tell us to go back and see Shag Point as they have seals, penguins and lots of sea life. We thank them for the tip and carry on our way.
In the tiny town of Moeraki we find the restaurant “Fleurs” right at the dock. It looks like an old weathered fishing building and you have to look twice to realize it is a restaurant. I can imagine it has been here for 100 years. A place where fisherman stored their nets and life revolved around the sea.
Here we explain to the waiter how we found the place…he did ask…and what an amazing lunch we had. They served us a baked whole blue cod with steamed vegetables and on top of the fish are lots of slivered almonds, capers and butter. We devoured all the fish… what a wonderful meal.

Shag point is a short drive back toward Dunedin but we think from Chad’s description that it is worth it. Out at the point we see two yellow eyed penguins, seals, and lots of sea birds. It seems this was a mining area as there are lots of signs to stay on the track due to open holes. The mining information indicates that a thriving coal mine once existed on this point and the drifts go way out under the sea. Due to the problem with water in the tunnels eventually the mine was closed and the mine features removed.

We continue our drive to Oamaru. One of the locals suggested we head to the harbour around seven in the evening to see the blue penguins, or fairy penguins. You can take a tour that costs $110 or do it ourselves…we went ourselves. We put on most of our coats, I put on my scarf and hat and wished I had mittens. There is a fence up from the shore line to protect an area for penguin nesting. Inside the large enclosure are penguin boxes around local shrubs. We met a fellow looking over a fence and he explained that these penguins come in at night in waves or groups, usually when it is dusk. We watch for a long while with him and it is very windy and chilly, but we persist.

Finally, as the sun hits the horizon, you can see what looks like a flock of floating ducks on the sea. The crowd is building and we don’t want to move for fear we lose our vantage points. We wait, and wait, and wait with the mass coming closer to land, and then it seems to head back out to sea again. Eventually you can see little bird outlines coming ashore.

It was suggested a better view was from up the harbour, so I went there leaving Alan at the beach. Here I saw five blue penguins jump out of the water onto the rocks against the pier. The proceeded to jump up the rocks towards me then turned and headed for the penguin boxes. What an amazing sight.

Dunedin, Coffee in town, Botanical Gardens
Saturday Nov 21st, 2009

We are up early this morning. The sky is blue, the sun warm and we cook our usual morning breakfast. The Australian couple we had met the night before, Sharmaine and Nigel, join us at the farmers market.

The Dunedin farmers market is just like Peterborough’s market with stalls of fresh baking, vegetables, meats and wine. After the market the four of us went out to a café then we head off our own way. We had worn shorts as the weather was so warm when we left. However, the weather changed in a flash and we had to head back to the cabin to change and then had lunch.

After lunch we head to the art gallery, but it has limited artwork on display and was disappointing. The Cadbury company was outside handing out chocolate when we left, that was quite nice.

We later found the Dunedin Botanic Garden and see the beautiful displays of rhododendrons, azaleas, rock garden flowers, and torch flowers. I loved their bronze sculptures of Peter Pan and Wendy with the children.

We had a lovely evening back at the cabin. Spend the evening talking with Sharmaine, Nigel, then Tom and Chad Adams, American friends of Nigel’s, from North Carolina joined us. Tomorrow we are heading to Moeraki Boulders and Oamaru.

Week 9 - 19 & 20 Nov

Dunedin
Friday Nov 20th, 2009

We are up at dawn and off on the scenic tour towards Dunedin. The Catlins is the area we want to visit as it is suppose to be beautiful.

The first stop is a river leading up in to the Catlins. On the river are hundreds of little huts with nets out front. Fishing must be popular and it is white bait season.

Our next stop is tunnel hill to see the hand built railroad tunnel. In 1891 this area was prosperous with the lumbering industry cutting in the area.

Heading down the road again, our next stop is Nugget Point. This nice feature includes a beautiful walk to a little light house and some spectacular seaside scenery. Off the point we can see interesting rock formations, seals, a large sea lion swimming around and shore birds. What an amazing view.

On the way back we find another narrow gravel lane and there we can view the penguins. One couple on the way out say there are no penguins to be seen so they are heading out but I has spotted something unusual on the hill about(10 metres up off the beach, so we head down to check it out.

For the first few minutes there is no sign of any penguins, and then out of the brush emerges two yellow eyed penguins. They hop down a steep slope to the beach then over the stones and swim away. Once they are in the water we think that is the end, but we waited a few minutes anyway. Five minutes later, one little bird emerges and stands on the shore to take in the sun. It is there for about 15 minutes when finally another emerges from the water then they both stand and sun for a while. Eventually then begin their uphill journey to the nest where this all began. What an amazing sight.

Dinner was at the historic restaurant, downtown Dunedin, the Wig and Pen. This is the law district by the courts. I had the best lamb shanks ever!

Our last stop for the day is the Dunedin Rail Station. This is a beautiful, majestic building built at the turn of the century. Inside the floors and walls are all covered with ceramic tile and what a beautiful sight.








Invercargill
Thurs Nov 19th

We packed up this morning and had a leisurely scenic drive from Te Anau to Invercargill. We stopped at this unusual cave. We couldn’t go down it as it went along the hill side for quite a distance before you came out the other end. You were required to carry two flashlights per person and we only had one tiny one.

Here we met a school trip that was exploring the cave. They were taking 22 grade 10 boys to camp in the bush. On their trip they were going were caving, shooting 22’s, orienteering,, abseiling through the trees, trapping, skinning, cooking and eating possums. They take them every year when the senior students are writing their exams. Sounds like fun!

The drive quickly led us out of the mountains to a very hilly landscape. Eventually we ended up on the southern coast that was windswept. As there are no bank machines in this part of the country we cannot stop for our flat whites…we had forgotten to get money this morning. It is very important in this area to always have a full tank of gas…and cash!

Tonight we are again in a very nice cabin. They don’t have the regular type of accommodation so it is costing us $18 NZ extra a night. The cabin we are in has bunk beds a queen bed, small fridge, kitchen utensils, plates etc., along with a table and chairs and a tv. Tonight we will stay in rather than compute in the tv room.

Week 9 - 16, 17 & 18th Nov

Te Anau & Milford Sound
Wed Nov 18th, 2009

Our alarm goes off at 6:30 and we get up to get ready for our day away. Today we are going to Milford Sound on the Go Milford bus from our Top 10 Park.

The road to Milford Sound is 119 km’s long. It runs along Lake Te Anau (60 kms long, 300 m’s deep) then rises through farmland, over mountain streams, through beech forests, past mountain lakes and into the divide. At this point, a tunnel cuts through the 1270 m of mountain to emerge on the other side and drop through a series of switchbacks to the edge of the fiord. We decided not to drive as there was a bylaw stating you had to have chains for your tires and then we saw that you had to pull over and prove you can use them. I think the bus was the way to go.

Our bus driver, Russ, takes every opportunity to tell us what he knows of the history of the area, the topography, tidbits of the strange mountain parrot, the Kea, and he warms us with his stories of history of this road. It is a wonderful drive and we enjoy every moment.

On the track we make a few stops….Eglinton Valley, to view the first great look at the mountains, mirror lakes, to view the mirror like water collected in the body of the mirror lakes, knobs flat, to have a biobreak and read the literature on the displays provided, lake Gunn, to take pictures of the mirror like surface in the lake (a rarity says Russ), the flats, to take more mountain pictures. At one point Russ says “look at that” and out of the front of the bus we can see a duster sliding off the mountain (small mountain avalanche). This is also a rarity as they usually happen when no one is around. In our case we see two of them in the same trip (wow!!). Also along the road we can see evidence of many other avalanches that covered the road.

Further along the trek, we make an additional stop at the entrance to the Homer tunnel. The Homer Tunnel is the road link to the Sound. Without it you would either need to cross the mountain top or sail in by boat.

On the other side of the tunnel, we are in Fiordland and on to Milford Sound. The road drops through steep switch backs and we are back into the lush forests of the sound.

We make another stop at a place called the Chasm. Here water runs from the hard granite mountain to the softer rock creating spectacular pools of water and a water fall.

We board the boat, the Lady of the Sounds, and off we go down the 16 km long Milford Sound. Lunch is served as the boat leaves and it is very nice. As soon as we are done eating we go up to the roof top deck to enjoy the spectacular view on this beautiful sunny day.

Along the way our boat guide proves a running commentary on the sound, its waterfall features, the sea life and its treasures. We enjoy view, the wildlife, and a half hour stop at an underwater observation platform where we can see into the sound at a depth of 10 m. What a great day!

On the way home, at the tunnel stop, we see the Kea up close again. What a large green parrot. I slept on the way back to Te Anau.

Tomorrow we are going to Invercargill.

Queenstown, Kingston, Garston Hotel, Te Anau
Tuesday Nov 17th, 2009

Tuesday morning, we are up at the crack of dawn heading to Te Anau.

The road climbs from Frankton along the side of Lake Wakatipu. This is a huge lake that we have followed for two days now, first to Glenorchy and now towards Te Anau . It is L shaped. It is ringed by mountains on all sides and is just beautiful. Eventually we get to Kingston at the foot of the lake and we say goodbye to Lake Wakatipu.

Kingston was a railroading town at one time and we stop in to find a flat white but there are no coffee shops open to stop at. We view the lake from the end of the town wharf.

The mountains turn into high rolling hills and not far down the road we pass a small hotel called the Garston Hotel. It has an old fashion 20’s and 30s’ look to it, so we turn around and head back to check it out. It is called Al’s Café and has been a working hotel since the 1800’s. Here we have muffins and flat whites…what a surprise this place turns out to be. My savory muffin is served with hot roasted vegetables and caramelized red onions on top of the hot muffin. Alan’s chocolate-blueberry muffin is served hot as well with extra chocolate sauce and rich whipped cream. We didn’t have lunch after this!

Tonight we have a nice cabin in a very packed park. This is one of the spots everyone seems to go to. There were over 100 campervans in the park and the kitchen was packed. We book the all day Milford Sound trip, which includes a bus ride, boat trip and barbecue. Tomorrow we will have to be up early, but at least they pick us up at the park.

We haven’t had a hike so Alan and I walk around the town, through the rugby fields to the harbour and along the beach back to the cabin. The walk was lovely, but there is not much to offer in this town.

Queenstown, Glenorchy, Kinloch
Monday Nov 16th, 2009

Today we drive up through the snow covered mountain ranges to a small town called Glenorchy. This is the area where they filmed the Lord of the Rings movie.

Lake Wakatipu snakes between the mountain range, to our right, and the road winds its way along the side of the mountain. The scenery is breathtaking and we stop many times to take pictures. It is just so beautiful much like the Canadian Rockies.

The road from Queenstown to Glenorchy is 44 kms and it takes a bit to get there as there is lots of construction along the way . There are lots of slips, which are washouts and the road is twisty and windy. We drive around the town and end up down at the wharf where we have our picnic lunch.

After lunch, we wander out onto the wharf and take in the scenery. It is very chilly and Katherine has bundled up in nice woolen hat and scarf. Past the wharf is a lagoon trail. It is beautiful, winding through the trees, along the river then over to this huge wetland. Throughout the wetland are board walks that you follow with benches to sit and view a different mountain scene. There are snow capped mountains all around us. It is wonderful.

Further up the coast is a small place called Kinloch. The road crosses the Dart river. Shortly after we stop a truck pulls up and out hops a sheep famer. He says, that when the weather is bad, the boating company in town, Dart River Excursions, can’t always get back onto the lake or down to Glenorchy. They use his property at the bridge to drop off passengers. Unfortunately, they often forget to shut the gate from the sheep’s pasture. He took us down and showed us around. We had wondered why there was so many loose sheep on the road!

We talk to this fellow for a while about NZ, and Canada. He has been to the Calgary stampede! On his suggestion we keep driving to Kinloch, it is beautiful he says. So we go on. The road quickly narrows to one lane, and turns to gravel, but we continue on. At the end we find a little lodge and stop in for flat whites and chips. It is a quaint place and we enjoy our stop.