Friday 18^th February

Beautiful Catlins countryside

We said goodbye to Lyndon and continued through the beautiful Catlins countryside towards Dunedin. We were driving along the road and came upon a sign ‘Welcome to Waihola, No doctor, No hospital, One cemetery, Slow down!’  The kiwis are wonderfully candid.

The Railway station

We arrived in Dunedin at lunchtime.  We parked the car and walked into the town. It is said that Dunedin is the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian heritage city in the southern hemisphere and you will feel like you have stepped back in time.  It is supposed to be the Edinburgh of New Zealand.  We were mildly disappointed when we arrived, there are indeed some beautiful buildings in the city in between the glass and concrete towers but it isn’t Edinburgh.  The one thing it did have in common however was the temperature, which was cold! 

The cathedral and the statue of Robbie Burns

It’s home to one of the largest Universities in New Zealand and had a nice atmosphere with lots of street cafes around the Octagon, which is dominated by the statue of Robert Burns and the Anglican St Paul’s cathedral.  Dunedin is the home of the Cadbury factory for New Zealand so before lunch we visited the ‘i’ site and booked tickets for the Cadbury factory visit and 2 nights in a local campsite – big mistake, more about that later.  On the outside Cadburys looked as it was, a factory, but inside the foyer there were copious displays of every chocolate bar I knew and more plus the wonderful smell of chocolate! 

Bill with his hair cap and beard cover

We were shown into a video room and given a plastic bag with a chocolate bar in it plus a hygienic hair cap, which, as it’s a working factory, we were asked to put on.  Bill had to have a special one for beards.  We were invited to eat the chocolate bar while watching the video but save the little bag.  A lovely young lady showed us around the factory wearing purple dungarees with pockets bulging with chocolate bars. 

Cadburys of yesteryear

As she showed us around she was asking questions and giving away chocolate for the correct answers or for any excuse, like anyone wearing purple, or at certain points on the tour.  As you can imagine I became very knowledgeable on any subject she asked questions about and ended up with quite a goody bag, almost as many as the children!  It was a very interesting tour and we learnt lots of facts.  One part of the factory is busy for 6 months of the year making Easter eggs, the other 6 months it isn’t used.  They make enough eggs for the kiwis to have on average 9 each, that included the little crème eggs but it’s still a lot per person.  Cadbury was also the official chocolate at the Queens coronation and they were permitted to retain the royal colour of purple as their corporate colour. 

Is it full of chocolate?

At the end of the tour we were taken into the tall purple chimney. Was it full of chocolate? Almost.  We went inside and lined up around a huge vat that, after a count of one, two, three, filled with liquid chocolate.  Why?  Just for fun.  At the end of the tour we visited the shop and stocked up.

We went to find the campsite recommended by the ‘i’site.  It was on the edge of town but not very nice, we wouldn’t have chosen it ourselves.  It was very noisy and crowded but we found a spot and pitched the tent. 

A waka at the Otago museum

The next day was wet and cold so we decided to visit the Otago museum.  Founded in 1868 it features a good natural history section, a maritime exhibition and Maori and Pacific island sections.  We spent a couple of hours looking around the exhibits.  We spent the afternoon on the Otago peninsular and intended to visit New Zealand’s only castle with its beautiful gardens but with the low cloud we couldn’t even see it.  We continued onto the Albatross Centre right out on the head.  It’s the world’s only mainland colony for giant royal albatrosses.  It had a very interesting visitor centre.  After our drive we went back to the campsite.  As it was Saturday it seemed that everyone from the local low cost housing had decided to camp out that weekend.  We got back to find a tent really close to us on both sides, there wasn’t even room to park the car.  These people weren’t there to enjoy Dunedin they were there to get drunk and make a lot of noise.  It was 3am before they shut up.

Wednesday 17^th February

Invercargill town hall and theatre

We stayed in a nice campsite in Riverton overnight enjoying fish and chips by Riverton rocks for supper.  We woke to thick fog in the morning brought on by the sunshine of the day before.  We got on the road again and drove towards Invercargill.  This town has the reputation of being a bit boring but it seemed quite a lively town.  We stopped briefly to have a look at this beautiful building that was their town hall and theatre.  As we continued driving the fog cleared to a beautiful sunny day. 

Petrified tree at Curio bay

The Southern Scenic Route passes through the Catlins. Situated off the beaten track The Catlins encompasses a coastal strip of spectacular rugged coastline and beautiful windswept beaches while inland lie undisturbed forests and enthralling landscapes. We stopped at Curio bay to look at the petrified forest.  This is one of the world’s most extensive and best-preserved examples of a Jurassic fossilised forest.  Fossilised trees lie embedded on coastal bedrock 180 million years old Unfortunately the tide was coming in and we couldn’t see it all but it was amazing to be able to walk around the fossils on the beach unhindered.  I wanted to go into the Cathedral caves but sadly the tide was in too far. 

Surf breaking across petrified forest

We watched the surf rolling in across the beach. 

Porpoise bay, southern most point of South Island

Waikawa museum

We continued a bit further to Porpoise bay this was the southern most point of South Island.  With the clear blue sky we had a breathtaking view of the picturesque sandy beach.  Based in the old school building Waikawa museum contains artefacts and history of the colonial settlers and information on local shipping, gold mining, saw milling and farming in the area.  We stopped and had a look at their lovely collection of exhibits before enjoying our picnic. 

Purakaunui falls

We drove through the beautiful countryside for another hour or two before stopping for a twenty-minute walk to Purakauni Falls.  Surrounded by bush this magnificent waterfall cascades 20 metres over three tiers and was a dazzling sight.

Teapot garden at Owaka

Our last stop before the campsite was Owaka.  A delightful little village with a wonderful teapot garden.  I loved it but I couldn’t count how many teapots she had on display, there were hundreds.  The more you looked the more you could see.  

Camping at Newhaven holiday park, Surat Bay

We drove down the gravel track to the Newhaven Holiday park.  As a little girl I was taken to Newhaven in Sussex on holiday many times so it was a ‘must see’ for me.  We weren’t disappointed it was a lovely spot and the best campsite we stayed in on our whole journey.  Run by Lyndon and Jacqui it was very small with only 10 cabins and a dozen or so camping sites.  In the middle was a spacious amenities block with showers, washing machines, a kitchen and a small lounge, which were all beautifully clean and well kept. There was a little veggie patch that you were welcome to pick from in exchange for the odd job or a dollar or two.  At the end of the site was a track which led down to the beach.    After about a mile of so we came across what looked like a large lump of wood but when we got closer we realised it was a sea lion.  I think we disturbed him because he sat up and growled at us but then lay down again.  A bit further along there were several others.  We left them to bask in the evening sun.  While Bill put the tent up I made some dinner then afterwards we sat in an otherwise empty lounge and watched an old episode of Coronation street – it all felt wonderfully normal and there were NO sandflies.

Sea lion on the beach at Surat bay

We went for a lovely walk on a delightfully sandy beach.

Wednesday 16^th February

Signpost at Gunn camp

Although the Gunn camp was very nice and friendly, it was in a valley and the sun didn’t come over the top of the mountain until gone 10am.  Unfortunately this is the kind of environment that sand flies flourish in.  While we were trying to pack the tent away if I killed one sand fly then I must have killed 80, they were everywhere.  We had jeans on luckily because they were crawling up our legs, flying into my face and getting in my hair; I had several bites in my hair. 

Bridge over Humboldt river

We packed up the car as quickly as possible and drove down the road to meet Peter and Margie for our walk.  The road became a track and you couldn’t drive any further.  Peter and Margie were there in their van.  A well-graded track took us on a short climb through the rain forest to the lookout of the impressive Humbolt Falls.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get any nearer and it wasn’t a good view so we came back down the track, crossed the swing bridge and walked along by the river.  It was a lovely setting.  This was where we left Peter and Margie for a few days.  They wanted to do more hiking in the area but we wanted to make our way further south.  I’m sure we’ll bump into them again. 

Marian falls

We drove further back down the road to the entrance to Marian falls.  We had to cross another swing bridge – I just love these swing bridges, not, and walked along the track through the rain forest again.  These falls were more like we were expecting.  There were a spectacular series of waterfalls which we viewed from a gantry that hugged the side of the steep bank. 

The Earl mountains reflected in the Mirror lakes

We drove back across the glacial moraine towards Te Anau with superb Alpine views.  Half way down we stopped at the Mirror lakes to gaze at the marvellous reflective views of the Earl mountains behind them.

Glacial Moraine

Lake Manapouri

Once through Te Anau we joined the Southern Scenic Route that was to take us right round the southern side of the island.  We stopped briefly at Manapouri to look at the lake of the same name with its stunning mountain views.  Manapouri is the departure point of boat trips out to the power station at the other side of the lake.  It’s possible to continue across a short stretch of land onto Doubtful sound where you join another boat trip.  We really wanted to do this but it’s a whole day and way beyond our budget.  So we just enjoyed the view.  We continued our drive ever further south. 

Te Waewae bay

We swapped the mountains for soft rolling hills very like the South downs.  We passed through Tuatapere, which is the centre of a farming community and is known as the ‘Sausage Capital of New Zealand’.  Sadly we couldn’t buy any because we didn’t have any where to keep them.  We continued down to the sea and stopped at Te Waewae bay for a picnic.  It was a bit windy on the cliffs but there were breathtaking views of the bay.  This was as far southwest as we could go so we turned the car eastward and started driving along the coast. 

Leaning trees at Riverton

It was a beautiful calm sunny day but we noticed some thing odd about the trees; they were leaning right over.  These trees aren’t being blown by the wind they have grown like that.  It gave us an insight of how windy it must get along this coast – glad we didn’t bring the boat down here.

Tuesday 15^th February 

Views across Eglinton river

We slept much better in the insect free campsite.  We packed up and, after doing a bit of shopping, drove to Milford sound.  The stunning alpine 66-mile drive takes in the most spectacular terrain and is one of the most scenic highlights of New Zealand.  Every winding bend brought a new view better than the last.  The journey takes you from the green grass lowland pastures of the Eglinton river, through native bush, up into the rocky mountainous area around the Homer tunnel. 

The Divide

Completed in 1953 the Homer tunnel pierces the sheer rock to allow access to Milford Sound.  The tunnel is just under a mile long and 945 metres above sea level.  There are another 10 miles of mountainous terrain beyond the tunnel through a valley with sheer sides of shattered rock. 

Fiord land national park

First view of Milford sound

Milford sound with Mitre peak on the left and Mt Pembroke on the right

According to Maori legend the fiords were created by the legendary Tuteraki with his adze, he started in the far south and by the time he reached Milford Sound he had perfected his technique and carved an awe-inspiring fiord. Piopiotahi, to give it its Maori name, stretched out in front of us making a dazzling sight.  We parked up and went and booked a cruise for later in the afternoon.  We had a lovely lunch and then explored the various walks around the village of Milford.

Southern Discoveries cruise boat

We were so lucky to have a beautiful blue-sky day for our cruise.  Words and photos cannot describe the beauty of our surrounding.  We saw seals sunbathing, breathtaking waterfalls which the boat went right into, and majestic mountains rising 1200m out of the sparkling water.  We went out to the sea and then returned down the other side, it was awe-inspiring.  Although it was cold the sun just shone all afternoon.  While talking to the skipper later we learnt that they only have about 80 days a year like this so we were lucky. 

Mighty Mitre peak

Milford sound is the top thing on the list of 101 things to do in NZ and I think I would agree with them.

Seals sunbathing in the sun

One of the beautiful waterfalls

Margie and Sue going under the waterfall

It formed a beautiful rainbow

Snow on the Pembroke Glacier

Four friends

The Chasm waterfall

After our cruise we stopped at the Chasm half way between Milford and the Homer tunnel.  This was an impressive rock chasm formed by the rushing waters of the Cleddau river.  The loop walk offered views of waterfalls and sculptured rock formations.

Sculptured rock formations

One last look at the mountains

Camped at Gunn camp

We had looked at a few campsites on the drive up but they were all DOC sites with compost toilets, a no no as far as I was concerned.  Peter and Margie can use them because their motorhome had a shower and toilet but we decided to drive to the Gunn camp.  It had been recommended by the i site in Te Anau.  It had proper toilets, showers, a kitchen with an outside barbeque and …….. SANDFLIES.

Sunday 13^th February

Lake Wakatipu

We didn’t know where Peter and Margie had ended up but we had been planning to go Te Anau today so we thought if we continue on down there we’d probably bump into them.  Meanwhile our concern was where could be get a shower?  Idea – Go swimming.  We found a lovely pool in the next town so we had a nice swim, sat in the spa pool to soothe both our backs and then had showers and I washed my hair, perfect.  We continued our drive down the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu. 

Kingston flyer

At the bottom of the lake we saw a signpost to the Kingston Flyer, a steam train.  We decided to go and have a look.  As we drove into the car park we found Peter and Margie having lunch in their van, how spooky was that?  We had no idea they had stopped there.  We all thought it was very funny.  The ironic thing was that the train track had closed down and the train had been retired but the old waiting room had an interesting museum in it and a nice coffee shop. 

Sheep, sheep ....

We all continued on our way to Te Anau, which took several hours to drive, but not a lot to see except sheep, sheep and more sheep. 

.... and more sheep

Drinks by lake Te Anau

Te Anau is the gateway to Fiordland National Park and lies nestled on the edge of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in South Island.  Across the silvery blue waters is some of New Zealand’s most spectacular scenery.  The four ‘arms’ of the lake extend many miles into the mountains to the west.  These arms once held glaciers which flowed into one main trough, grinding out what now forms the bed of lake Te Anau.  We drove out to a D.O.C camp on the outskirts of Te Anau.  We pitched our tent next to Peter’s van among the trees. 

Keeping the wine cool

We had the most fantastic views across the lake for our evening drinks but unfortunately the camp was inundated with mosquitoes.  It also only had one compost toilet, which absolutely stank. 

We had to spray the tent with fly killer before we dare open the inside.  It was a cold night and I didn’t get much sleep.  The next morning we had to spray again because there were thousands of mossies and sand flies buzzing around.  When Bill packed up the tent we shook the dead ones into a mug and they filled it!  With the mossies and the compost toilet I stamped my feet and declared no more DOC sites. 

Early morning reflections

We had one more look at our stunning view of the lake and then drove into Te Anau and found a nice insect free campsite. Margie and I spent the morning doing washing and interneting and I had a nice long shower, Peter went for a walk and Bill visited the local hardware store. In the afternoon we drove into the town to look around the shops.  We also went to the local cinema to watch a film on Fiordland; it was spectacular.  It had been filmed by a local helicopter pilot and showed the part of Fiordland that can’t be reached by land; the waterfalls were breathtaking.  During the hour it was showing we just watched, mesmerised, all wishing we could see it for ourselves.  As it was Valentines day we all went out for a super meal in the evening.

One more shot of Lake Te Anau

Saturday 12^th February

Queenstown from the Skyline Gondola

We agreed with Peter and Margie to visit Queenstown separately so Bill and I packed up the camp and drove into town. Queenstown is described as the adventure capital of the world and one of the brightest diamonds in New Zealand’s jewel studded crown – humm, I’m not sure I would go that far but it certainly had a lot going on.  Nestled on the northeastern shores of Lake Wakatipu Queenstown was formerly a gold-mining town but now relies on tourism.  It offers a host of exhilarating activities from jet boating to bungy-jumping and skiing in the winter. 

Local church’s farmers market

After parking the car the first thing we came across was the local church’s farmers market.  These are always very well organised with lots of examples of local produce on display and for sale.  We bought some locally growth fruit and homemade cakes.  The church had a beautiful flower display inside. 

Gardens on the Peninsular

We walked along the waterfront to the peninsular gardens established in 1867.  Trees and flower gardens cover a small promontory with paths leading through the gardens out onto the waters edge.  There were fabulous views across Lake Wakatipu to the Remarkables range. 

TSS Earnslaw in harbour

We watched the TSS Earnslaw arrive on the waterfront.  It offers trips across the lake but as with a lot of things in New Zealand it’s beyond the cruising budget.  We walked along the waterfront and watched the jet boat going out onto a fairly rough lake as it was blowing a good F5/6, which was creating quite a chop.  It was only out a few minutes before it came back in to let someone off who had already been seasick.  We decided with that and our bad backs it wasn’t for us neither was bungy jumping.  (Sorry Paul and Derry we failed!)

Mountain bikers going up on the gondola

One thing we did treat ourselves to was a ride on the skyline Gondola.  Opened in 1967 you are whisked up 450m in small gondolas that takes just four minutes.  The views from the viewing platform across the town and lake to the Remarkables were breathtaking.

The majestic Remarkables

Chair lift to the luge

There’s a further chairlift that takes you higher and you have the option of walking back down or taking the Luge ….

…. So we had a go

I had to have a go

Ryder Challenge Plate

During a conversation with Thomas while we were on our tour, we learnt that we had been awarded the WOA Rayner Challenge plate for our ‘Epic Voyage’.  This is the Association’s oldest and most prestigious accolade awarded by the association to anyone they consider has completed a voyage that stretches them and their crew well beyond their usual cruising plans.

Our names have been engraved on it

We were very flattered to be awarded this and touched that people at home still think about us.  Our thanks go to the committee that considered us, Dick Leedham for paying our subs and accepting the award on our behalf and to Liz Roberts for sending me the photos.

Friday 11^th February

A street in Arrowtown

In the morning Peter and Margie went for a walk while we made the most of the campsite facilities and had showers followed by a cooked breakfast in the camp kitchen.  It was very well set up with individual workstations and communal tables.  The kitchen also had internet access so we made use of it and called the boys on skype.  Peter and Margie returned with tales of their walk along with an invitation to lunch with some local people.  We packed up and had a look around Arrowtown in the morning. 

A really good shop …..

I really liked Arrowtown, I could live in Arrowtown, with its stone cottages and non-native trees like oak and sycamore, it felt very homely.  The main shopping street of this charming old gold-mining town is delightful to stroll along.  The town still retains much of its original character, with many of its old shops still in use today.  Needless to say this was one of my favourite shops.

…. And inside

One of the old stone cottages

Lunch with Sue and Toddy

We spent a sunny morning wandering around the local farmers market (delicious cherries) and in and out of the shops but sadly not enough time again.  We drove to outskirts of Arrowtown to meet Peters new friends Sue and Toddy.  His parents had brought Toddy here when he was 8 and he’s lived here ever since.  Sue was a born and bred kiwi and they were both really hospitable people.  We all brought various things to the table and had a delicious lunch.  Afterwards they walked us around their 20acre ‘hobby’ farm showing us their pigs, cows and market garden and the most fabulous views across to the Remarkables range. 

Toddys lake and garden

Bill making friends with one of their friendly cows

Camped next to Lake Wakatipu

Afterwards we continued the short drive into Queenstown and camped just outside the town next to Lake Wakatipu, the South Islands largest lake.  It was an amazing spot.  Peter and Margie were parked just behind us.  The ranger later told us that we shouldn’t be that close to the water but he let us stay and we had a peaceful night.

Thursday 10^th February. 

View across Lake Wanaka

We had a wonderful evening watching the last of the sun go down over the mountains but it was a very cold night.  We woke up to 8C, not good for a bad back.  We packed up and continued on the Haast pass.  Up to this point we didn’t have a mobile signal but as we got nearer to Wanaka the phone burst into life.  We had a message from Peter and Margie to let us know they were in Wanaka and suggested meeting at midday.  This worked out well because that’s the time we had planned to arrive there. 

Beautiful cloud formation across Lake Hawea

We sat back and enjoyed our drive along the captivating shores of Lake Wanaka, the crystal clear waters sparkling on our right hand side.  The road continued over a short rise and then we had Lake Hawea equally magical on our left side.  New Zealand is stunning beautiful.  Every corner brings a new vista more breath taking than the last.  We arrived in Wanaka and met up with Peter and Margie.  It was a lovely day so we had a picnic by the lake. 

'I can't hold it up much longer' (look at the clock)

Wanaka is home to Puzzling World, which provides teasing entertainment for all ages with its challenging maze and mind-boggling illusions.  This tower is at the entrance – look a bit closer at the clock!  We all decided to try the maze.  On entry we were faced with the instructions ‘Make your way to each of the four coloured corners, one by one, then make your way out’.  Well this was easier said than done.  Bill and I stayed together but Peter and Margie separated. 

The maze at Puzzling World

It was a three dimensional maze because there were two lots of stairs over the top that lead to different part of the maze, it was really intriguing.  This photo shows only about a quarter of the maze.  We managed to find 3 of the towers but couldn’t get to the fourth.  By standing up in the towers you could see how to get to the next entrance but there were always twists under the stairs that you couldn’t see.  There were emergency exits into the café in the centre and I have to admit, after an hour and a half of wandering around trying to find the fourth tower, I took.  Bill continued and found the fourth tower but decided against going half way round again to get to the exit.  Well done to Peter and Margie because they both did it. 

Peter made it to the Green tower

This is Peter in one of the towers with their camper just sticking out from behind and the next photo is one of the illusions!

One of the optical illusions

Sadly we left Wanaka without having time to look around it but we needed to press on.  We drove alongside Lake Dunstan which was just as beautiful as the ones we had passed earlier.  We headed down to Arrowtown passing the 45º latitude on our way.  We all camped at an organised campsite just outside the town which had showers.

Mount Cook on the right of the picture

Wednesday 9^th February

We had a good nights sleep in the hostel and the next morning we awoke to blue skies.  We packed our stuff up quickly and headed towards Fox glacier but stopped at Lake Matheson on the way.  Lake Matheson is also known as the mirror lake because if you get there between 6am and 9am before the wind starts up it’s possible to see beautiful reflections of a snow capped Mount Cook.  We made it by 8am and almost ran around to the viewing point.  The reflections were there but a cloud covered Mount Cook just as we arrived – doh!  We continued the walk right round the lake, thankfully the rain seems to have gone.

Beautiful reflections of Mt Cook (behind the clouds)

Our shadow

We walked back to the car for breakfast and then continued into the village to walk to Fox Glacier.

Fox glacier

The spectacle of this giant river of ice as it cuts through dramatic glacial valleys is captivating.  The Fox glacier grinds its way down onto the glacial moraine at a rate from 1 – 4 metres a day and while many glaciers have been retreating Fox glacier still flows almost to sea level. 

Walkers on the Glacial moraine

In the last ice age the glacier would have filled this valley, if you look carefully at this photo it’s possible to see how small the people are walking across the glacial moraine. 

Crossing a river on the walk to the base

It was an interesting walk to the bottom of the ice. 

As close as we could get to base of glacier

The river flowing out from under the ice was running very fast with large lumps of ice in it, which were being deposited further down the moraine.

Large lumps of ice just laying around

Haast coastline

Mount Aspiring national park

We continued to drive south on the coast road to Haast, southern gateway to the West coast.  It’s one of the most scenic drives in the country.  We passed so many shades of green and blue in a variable landscape of rainforest, wetlands and glacier fed rivers.  Our camp that evening was at Cameron flats in the middle of the Mount Aspiring national park on a raised area looking north over the Haast river towards a snow capped Mount Hooker. 

Washing up with a view

We had it to ourselves and it was just stunning but we had our first introduction to Sandflies.