Ingrid got me a very nice model of an old fishing boat for my birthday. I love this kind of thing so I thought I would show you what it looks like...
Cool hey!?
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Ingrid got me a very nice model of an old fishing boat for my birthday. I love this kind of thing so I thought I would show you what it looks like... Cool hey!? |
South East of Auckland, on the coast, there is a little place called Maraetai. We had been asked by a number of people if we had been there so we decided to go and
see what it is all about. Well, it is a lovely place with beautiful views along
the coast, so its not only Maraetai, but the area that gives it something special.
Then again, I could be saying that of just about every other coastal town in NZ.
Decide for yourself and have a look at the pictures. |
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We went on an 11 day driving trip of the South Island over Christmas and New Year.
It was an awesome experience! We could have wished for better weather at times,
but it was great nonetheless. We spent a total of 72 hours in the car by the time
we returned, and drove just short of 5000 Kms. We left early in the morning on the
23rd for Wellington. We spent the night in a motel, making sure we got an ealry
night in order to get up at 4 am to be at the ferry terminal at 5 the next morning.
We took some pictures of Wellington to give you a small idea of what it looks like.
It is New Zealand's 2nd biggest city (Auckland is the biggest) and it is the capital.
I arrived back in
Auckland with over 750 photos and have managed to narrow it down to 500. Then I
had the tough task of choosing just a handfull from those for the website - Not
an easy job! I wish I could put them all on. It's still enough to
keep you busy for some time. On the way to Wellington, we passed
Mt Ruapehu where the temperatures dropped to about 5 deg C. Little did we know it
wasn't the first time - this would become a common occurance during the trip, and
it was meant to be summer!
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We arrived at 5 am and parked in line to board the ferry with our car. We took the
Interislander ferry from Wellington, across the Cook Strait, to Picton on the South
Island. The trip took 3 hours and I was sea-sick for the first half of the trip.
The winds that come though the strait can cause some really rough water or huge
swells, at least. The ferry enters Picton via Queen Charlotte Sound and this is
where you get your first taste of what you will see on the South Island. From Picton
we made our way down the east coast to Christchurch, stopping at some lookout points
and places like Kaikoura (a beautiful part of the coastline). We were amazed by the snow capped mountain ranges in the
distance to our right and the clear blue sea to our left. I must say, the photos
really don't do any justice. Christchurch is the 3rd biggest city in NZ (biggest on the South Island) and has a very English influence to it. We stayed at the Country Glen Lodge for the next 2 nights - it was worth every cent. In the evening we checked out the city and the beach front. We weren't really impressed with the beach front, but the city was great. That evening we treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at a posh hotel - our Christmas dinner. Interislander
Ferry To Christchurch Christchurch |
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Early Christmas morning, we opened all our presents, which is always a lot of fun,
and then prepared for a trip to Akaroa that would take most of the day. Akaroa is
a small French settlement about 90 mins to 2 hours (lots of sharp turns and bends)
from Christchurch and is a must see for anyone visiting the Christchurch area. It
lies on the Banks peninsula and is once again, just beautiful (see the photos).
The view when approaching the Akaroa Harbour is awesome. Being Christmas day, it
was very quiet, except for a few tourists and only one shop was open. One restaurant
opened at lunch time at a price of $60 (R 300.00) a head. We passed... It was early evening when we got back to Christchurch, so we just relaxed and had an early night again as it would be "up and at it" for another long drive the next day.
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Day 4 took us further down the east coast to Dunedin. We only spent a few hours here, but managed to see quite a bit including
the well known historical station building and one of the many old churches. The city had a very old, but likable feel to it and was really busy.
From Dunedin we headed for Invercargill. Along the way we went through towns like Gore, the world capital of brown trout fishing. It was funny
how many towns we went through that was the capital for something or other, or were well known for something specific.
Not too much was happening at Invercargill. It lies on the southern most end of the South Island. We were meant to camp here,
but it was raining at the time we arrived and they had a little chalet available, so we chickened out and took it :-) That evening I got the chance
to put my portable barbeque to use. They were building a new kitchen there and I was amazed at how they left all their equipment just lying around
outside for the weakend, it's that safe!
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Bluff is the one little town that is even further south than Invercargill (by about 20 mins). People go to Bluff because its considered the southern
most point on the South Island - technically it isn't, but its close enough I guess. Early the next morning we made a quick trip down to Bluff before starting a very scenic trip to Te Anau.
We saw a beautiful part of the southeren coast line at Colac Bay just before turning up north towards Te Anau. There we camped for the first time and yes,
as expected, it was raining. We discovered that our tent leaked, but luckily I had a small tarpaulin which I threw over the top and that did the trick.
Te Anau was where we really started to see why they call the South Island breath taking, even though the weather was miserable. As a result of the weather,
I was not able to get the photos I wanted.... this would be the case for many places still on the trip. Bluff Going to Te Anau & Colac Bay Te Anau
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From Te Anau we set off through the Fiordlands to Milford Sound where we had booked a boat cruise. The weather was still not great, but it wasn't
enough to stop our mouths from hanging open - this part of the country is just simply amazing! The Fiordland is stunning! Around every corner
was a photo opportunity, so I would love to see it all again on a good day? It was a mixture of meandering rivers, forests and magnificent
mountains. On arrival at Milford sound, we boarded the "Lady of the Sounds" which took us on a 3 hour journey and exploration of the Sound,
going as far as the mouth to the ocean and back again. When we weren't soaking up the
spectacular views, along the way we saw sea-lions, Blue dolphins and impressive waterfalls (because of the weather, there
were many of those). Mitre Peak is the highest mountain at sea level in the world, measuring just over 1 mile (1.6 Km) in height. It rained for most
of the trip so once again, I lost out on some great photo opportunities. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic experience!
From Milford Sound we backtracked our way to Queenstown, via Te Anau, to be treated once more to some incredible views. Coming into Queenstown
we were greeted by the very impressive Remarkables mountain range. We should have got the picture when we had the chance, because the next day
they were mostly covered by clouds. There we camped again, at the Shotover Top 10 campground. That evening we spent some time checking out
the town and the waterfront. It is really geared towards tourists (almost too much), but it's easy to see why.
The Fiordlands (to Milford Sound) Milford Sound |
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The next morning, I went to take a shower and discovered that not only was there no hot water, but there was no water! So, we managed
to get a very nice studio unit with awesome views for the next night. As you might have guessed, it was raining again but we couldn't
let that stop us too much as we had a schedule to stick to (day to day anyway). We only had one day in Queenstown (the adventure capital),
so we had to make the most of it. Our first stop was Arrowtown, about 15 mins north of Queenstown. It is a quaint little village that is
really worth a visit. It lies next to a river that was used in "The Lord of the Rings" movie. In fact there are many places all over NZ
that were used in the movie and we intend to visit more of them. Many of them are not very accessible. Next, we went to Glenorchy, which
lies on the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu. Its about 45 mins from Queenstown and really not much to see in Glenorchy itself, but the drive out
there is fantastic! The weather had improved a bit by then so the views were great. Back in Queenstown, we explored town a little and sat down
to dinner at a very traditional Indian restaurant.
Arrowtown, Glenorchy & Lake Wakatipu Queenstown |
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Before leaving Queenstown, we went down to the Shotover River where the do the Shotover jetboat rides. The jetboats
go at high speeds, cutting corners and narrowly missing the rocks on the sides, with whole bunch of people strapped in.
Now we never did it (definitely next time), but I had to see it - the river itself is worth seeing.
Then it was off to Christchurch again, crossing diagonally through the South Island. Apparently the west coast is a very
good reason to come back to the South Island. It would have taken too long to include it in the trip, so we missed out on more
beautiful views, glaciers and Mt.Cook (NZ's tallest mountain). We were supposed to see Mt.Cook from a distance over lake Pukaki,
but you guessed it, the weather couldn't have hidden it more. I will include a picture of what we should have seen though...
We stopped at Lake Tekapo where the water is a crystal clear blue and saw the little "Church of the Good Shepard" on its banks,
which is visited by thousands of people every year. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and saw us safely back in Christchurch,
at the same place we stayed previously. Shotover River Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo Kawarau Gorge & Airforce Memorial |
| It was up early again and back up the east coast to Blenheim where we stopped for lunch. It has a reputation with us as being the place where we saw the most strange people, in the shortest space of time. It might have just been coincidence, otherwise it was a nice little town. From there, we cut west in the direction of Nelson where we would be spending New Years day. The road there is very winding, which left Ingrid feeling a little out of sorts, but the views were rewarding. We camped in the Tahuna Holiday park, which is the biggest holiday park I have ever seen and is apparently the biggest in the southern hemisphere (there might be one in South America that is bigger, but they are not sure?). We put our camping equipment to the test again and I russled up something to eat. Later that evening we took a walk and checked out a live band playing on the premises. Before long, it was HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!! |