Friday 15th July
Fortunately, we weren't wanted by Pam and Chris for any longer than a week and we were pretty relieved to be escaping the coffin sized caravan. After packing our things into our car and having some breakfast, I apologised to Pam for being useless for most of the week and we said our goodbyes. Although it's nice to be settled for a while, you can't beat hitting a fresh road with a new destination. We had that feeling now as we headed away from Queenstown, in the direction of Dunedin. Rather than go the quickest route, we picked the one that we would be least likely to use again, just so it wouldn't feel like we'd be backing on ourselves at any time. It was a fair old trek through river valleys and plains, before we hit highway 1 that runs down the east coast. Due to me still being slightly ill and the fact that it was midwinter, we'd opted for a cabin over a tent. We'd arrived in The Dunedin around 2 and after a quick visit to the supermarket, we checked in at our campsite and settled in. I went to bed early in order to freshen up for the following day, while Charlotte sorted things around the cabin before going the same way.
Saturday 16th July
The good nights sleep had helped a treat. That and I was just eating plain rice for lunch and dinner, which seemed to help the situation. After getting out of bed and freshening up, we ventured into Dunedin city to have a nose around. It didn't take us long to notice just how hilly Dunedin was. When driving in to town, we had to go down, to go up, to go down. It was easy to see why they named it for Edinburgh (Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinburgh). Not wanting to break the habit of a lifetime, we made an absolute meal out of navigating the streets and finding a car park. Finally, safely inside one that didn't cost the earth, we headed into chilly Dunedin. We parked near a place called 'The Octogan' which is 2 lots of Octagonal shaped streets that make up the city centre of Dunedin. We had a look around the area which consisted of a cathedral with a statue of Rabbie Burns outside of it and numerous cafes. Afterwards, we headed off towards the Forsyth Barr Stadium, which was a little bit out of the town centre. We'd booked some tickets to see the local rugby union team, the Highlanders, play that evening. Along the way, we passed the rather impressive train station and stopped to take a snap or 2. We found the stadium tucked out the way and navigated through the complicated road system to the ticket booth. On our way back to town, we scouted a better place to park when we went to the rugby that evening. Where we were currently just wouldn't suit, as it was miles away from the stadium and would cost even more money. We found a place and kept in mind how we'd need to get there that evening. When we got back to the city centre, a number of streets round the octagon had been closed off. We'd read somewhere that the week coming was the Cadbury's Carnival, so we guessed that from the purple lights flashing, it was something to do with that. Now, New Zealand seem to think that they invented Cadbury's chocolate however we all know that it comes from jolly old England. Charlotte and I can say from a wealth of experience that New Zealand just don't make it as good as they do back home but it's still pretty tasty. The reason for the carnival, was that there is a Cadbury's factory right in the centre of town and why not celebrate chocolate? There didn't seem to be a great deal happening despite all the fuss, so we left them too it and headed back to the cabin. We had a read up on the carnival when we got back and were desperately disappointed to find out that we would be missing the showpiece of the week. It consists of tens of thousands of Jaffas (Jaffa flavoured (think Jaffa cake) chocolate balls) being let loose down Baldwin Street in Dunedin. This may seem pretty tame, until I tell you that Baldwin Street is the worlds steepest residential street, with a coronary inducing slope of 35%. We'd planned on visiting the street on a different occasion and we'd be long gone by the time 10,000 Jaffas made their way down it. We freshened ourselves up and then wrapped up nice and warm ready for the rugby, as we were bound to get chilly sat in the stands watching the rugby that evening. We drove into town and easily found a spot in the place we'd found earlier, though we waited until the clock ticked gone 6 and we were sure all the traffic wardens had gone home for the night. The way to the stadium wasn't hard to find, as everybody walking past was going to the game, so we just followed the crowd. We felt slightly stupid after entering and finding our seats. Looking up we'd expected to see the chilly night sky but the view was interrupted by a roof covering the entire ground. This made it positively balmy inside the stadium compared to outside. Still, atleast we were dressed ready for the walk back to the car! The stadium slowly filled to capacity while we were treated to a show by the local bagpipe players of Dunedin (they seem to enjoy their Gaelic heritage down this way). We'd been keeping an eye on games as we'd made our way down from Kaitaia and we were very pleased to find that there would be one on whilst we were staying in Dunedin. The league consists of teams spanning 5 countries over 4 continents but tonight the Highlanders were playing in what you could call a local derby compared to having to play against teams from as far away as Japan, Argentine and South Africa. They were up against the Chiefs, who represent the city of Hamilton and its surrounding areas on the North Island. The Chiefs got off too a solid start and took an early lead with the Highlanders struggling to get past the last line of defence. We probably should have been supporting the home team but it was fairly amusing watching the Highlanders fans get more and more frustrated as the evening went on. Eventually the pressure told and the Highlanders ran out winners by 25-15. We aren't huge fans of Rugby but we did have more of an idea of what was happening than when we went to see Aussie Rules Football in Melbourne. We still weren't completely sold on the sport though but the passionate fans had created a fantastic, raucous atmosphere. After the game we got back to the car nice and easy just as it started to rain and then drove back to a deserted campsite. Not long after we settled in our cabin though, a precession of cars pulled up to the other rooms around ours. It seemed the whole site had gone to watch the Rugby, yet we'd been the swiftest in getting back to our car and avoiding the traffic jams.
Sunday 17th July
It was still raining the next morning but keen to atleast get out of the cabin for a while, we drive into Dunedin after breakfast. We didn't want to do too much in the city on our first visit. We wanted to leave a few things for when my parents are over visit gin so that we still get to do something new. We had another wander round the octagon area, picked up a pin badge and had a rather decadent hot chocolate in a coffee shop to get out of the rain. After picking up some lunch from a supermarket, we drive up to a place called Signal Hill, which is a lookout across the whole city. When we pulled up it was absolutely nailing it down, so we passed some time eating the lunch we had bought and then made a dash for it when there was a slight lull in the weather. Unfortunately, the weather made it almost impossible to see anything from the lookout, so rather than loiter and get wet, we went back to the car. We decided it was pointless doing anything in such poor weather, so we gave up and headed back to the cabin to get warm and dry.
Monday 18th July
Thankfully, the weather had shifted and it was a nice clear day but still very chilly. It was time for us to leave Dunedin for now and head even further south. We packed the car and then went and had our breakfast. While in the kitchen, a lady came in and made conversation with us, telling us that she and her husband had driven over from Queenstown for the weekend to watch the rugby. She also very kindly offered us a cup of tea when we were next in the area. We thanked her and thought it would be nice to take her up on it (Unfortunately, we completely forgot what her address was so had to go without in the end). Our destination for the day was the town of Invercargill, which is the southernmost big town on the South Island. We'd planned to go the sceneic route on the way though, via an area known as The Catlins forest park. It had been recommended to us by a lady who had been in the lodge in Kaitaia and we had also read good things about it too, so it definitely seemed worth the slightly longer journey time. We turned off highway 1 about an hour out of Dunedin and started on the windy road through The Catlins. We stopped off at a place called Nugget Point, which was down a short windy coastal road off the highway. We parked up and followed a walking trail that led out to a headland overlooking a number of small islets, which are known as 'The Nuggets'. On top of the headland is Nugget Point lighthouse which has a viewing platform next to it. We took some snaps and stood on a small portion of the platform that has nothing but air below it. While we were there the weather closed in and we made a dash back to the car before it got too bad. The pathway was very narrow and very steep, so we didn't fancy navigating it in thick cloud and pouring rain. As we continued our drive on through the Catlins, we weren't really able to enjoy the scenery thanks to the pouring rain. Eventually it did stop but by that time we were almost out the other side and at Invercargill but we did stop off and unsuccessfully try and find "New Zealand's Niagara Falls" in the town of Niagara Falls. Despite there being signposts up, there didn't actually seem to be any falls. We continued on to Invercargill and found the visitor centre for some information, we picked up a few pamphlets and got the pin badge out of the way nice and early for once. It was fairly late by this time, so we hunted down our accommodation and checked in for the night.
Tuesday 19th July
We only had one thing to do whilst in Invercargill and that thing wasn't even in Invercargill. It seemed the town was pretty similar to Kaitaia. There wasn't much to see or do in town and it's the last town before the signpost that marks the end of the country. North of Kaitaia is Cape Reinga and south of Invercargill is the small town of Bluff. Fortunately, Bluff isn't an hour and a half drive from Invercargill though. After breakfast, that was where we headed to. Not the most southerly point of the country, Stewart Island and even more remote irocks south of there take that accolade. It's not even the most southerly point of the South Island, Slope Point in the Catlins lays claim to that. Bluff is just where they decided to stick that sign with the many distances in all directions. It was about 20 minutes out of Invercargill but looked like it was miles from anywhere. Quiet and windswept, it really did seem like the end of the world. We drove round to the signpost and had the obligatory photos taken with it. It occurred to us that this would probably be the furthest we would get from home on the entire trip, so from there on in, we were heading back towards home. The scene was made nicer by it not being a particularly nice day. It was windy and grey, and the vast southern ocean looked particularly unforgiving. Probably unforgiving enough to put us off boarding the ferry across to Stewart Island. After appreciating the sign we headed off to Bluff Hill. We could see much further from atop the hill but still couldn't quite make out Stewart Island across the whitecaps of the Foveaux Straight. We didn't stay long up the top of the hill, the wind was so strong, we were almost blown into the sky like unmanned kites. We gave the town of Bluff the half an hour or so it deserved and then returned to Invercargill in order to have an even shorter look around and pick up some warmer winter clothes from one of the shops. It was back to the cabin for the afternoon to get our hair back in place and warm through before dinner.
Wednesday 20th July
Our brief stop in Invercargill had come to an end and it was time to start north. Again, rather than go the boring and direct route, we took the slightly longer scenic route along the south coast and up alongside the first mountains of Fjordland. Fjordland is a vast, predominantly uninhabited area of the south west South Island. It's mostly made up of steep, snow capped mountains that rise from dark blue fjords, or sounds. We were staying in the small lakeside town of Te Anau for a few days in order to access a small portion of Fjordland. We arrived too early to check in to our accommodation, so we left the car at reception and wandered into town to pass the time. The lady had recommended to us to take some complimentary umbrellas despite the weather outside looking bright and sunny. It hadn't been 5 minutes when we started feeling drops of rain and a chilly wind picked up, making it almost impossible to keep hold of the brollies. We walked along the lake shore, past the centre of town to a Department of Conservation centre. Here they stock various free and paid walking booklets and give information about Fjordland national park and the surrounding area. We were currently humming and harring over whether or not to go to Stewart Island after our upcoming stay in Queenstown. We were thinking of walking the Rakiura track, which is a 3-4 day tramp, so we picked up a free booklet that had a bit of information on the track. We slowly walked back to town and turned up the Main Street, expecting to see a fair amount of tourists milling around. It was almost a ghost town though, which we could only assume was because of the season. It was past lunch at this point and we'd seen in Lonely Planet that there was a highly recommended pie shop on the main drag. It didn't take long to hunt it down but hope turned into disappointment when we read the sign on the front door stating that they were closed for winter. Dejected, we carried on down the street and found a cafe/canteen type place that was open. We managed to get the last 2 lamb pies on offer, to record pie number 4 of our journey. They weren't great but they were better than nothing. After a quick visit to the supermarket, we were way past check in time for the cabin, so we wandered back and got the keys. Despite being back to full health, we'd still gone for a cabin, just to be sure. The cabin we had found was also an absolute bargain for an ensuite, so it would have been rude not to. We moved all of our belongings from the car into the cabin to make the car as light as possible for a lengthy drive the following day.
Thursday 21st July
It's not every day we go on trips where we are genuinely scared that we might not make it alive. Today, was one of those. We were driving to Milford Sound, which is the most accessible and most visited sounds in Fjordland. The road there though is known to be pretty treacherous due it windiness and route through the mountains. We were doing the drive in midwinter though and had to be aware of black ice through the mostly shaded route and Avalanche warnings. We prepared ourselves by visiting the DoC centre again and enquiring as to the road conditions for the day and picking up a map with information about various stops along the way. The lady behind the counter was very reassuring, almost to the point of being "pfft, I don't know what you are worrying about", so we left slightly more confident in the drive. Just to be sure, we messaged our parents saying that if you hadn't heard from us by a certain time, we were probably upside down in a ravine somewhere in Fjordland. We filled the tank and set off towards Milford Sound. Charlotte was understandably wary and kept the pace fairly slow. We'd set off rather early, so the sun hadn't had long to melt the ice in the parts of the road that it's rays did reach. Charlotte pulled over every now and again to let the mad bus drivers pass by so the hordes of Chinese tourists could make the connection to their boat trip. We made a brief stop at a roadside lake that was so calm it acted like a mirror to the mountains soaring above. Not long after, we passed the reason why we were taking the drive easy. A mini bus at the side of the road on its side and smashed to bits. It had probably been going far too fast and hit a patch of black ice and lost control. Unfortunately, it didn't surprise us one jot to see that the owners (more likely renters) of the car were from Asia. A little further on, we came across Pop's View lookout, which had fantastic views of the Southern Alps and the valleys below them. From there on in is where it became very mountainous, very shaded and very icy. It came to a point where we had to get through a large mountain that was inconveniently right in the way. The only way to achieve this was go underneath, through the rather weary looking Homer Tunnel. The tunnel was so narrow traffic can only go one way at a time and the entrance to the tunnel looked barely large enough for our wee little car to squeeze in. We didn't have to wait long for the green light to signal it was time for us to proceed and we had drawn the short straw by being first in line. The tunnel roof was incredibly low, it was so dark I couldn't see a thing (thank god it's Charlotte that drives!) and there were tiny waterfalls cascading down from the roof on to the road. It certainly wasn't something for the claustrophobic. Once through, the road wound down a river valley and we edged closer to our destination. We made one final short stop at a short walk to a place called The Chasm. It led to a bridge and viewing platform over a chasm, believe it or not, where a huge amount of water was force through at an alarming speed. Charlotte didn't like the bridge, so after a quick look, we moved on. Milford Sound was about 15 minutes further down the road. It was gone midday by the time we arrived, so after we parked up, we ate our lunch that mainly consisted of cold chicken nuggets left over from dinner the night before. Full of energy, we headed to have a good look at the sound. As with a few things in Dunedin, we were holding off going in the water for a certain parental visit, so on this visit, we did a couple of walks in the area. The first went right along the shoreline of the sound and we could deviate from the path and head out on to the stony shore. We'd been very lucky in the day we had picked to come to Milford Sound. The area has an average annual rainfall of between 7 and 8 metres (yes, metres!!) but today there was barely a cloud in the sky and it was very mild for winter. We found a secluded place to get some good photos of the sound with the imposing Mitre Peak in the background. After a while though, the sand flies started to become a nuisance and we moved away from the water and found a bench to appreciate the views instead. There were still sand flies where we sat but we found an unlikely ally in a small bird called a Fantail. We benefitted by it flying madly around us eating the sandfly that were drawn to us and it benefitted through us drawing the sandflies to a certain point. The small bird hit the jackpot when 2 more people sat down next to us. We had to leave the little bird eventually but it wasn't like he was short on sandflies. We followed the pathway back out and right round to the small boat terminal, where the majority of the tourists ended up. We had no business there, apart from to use the facilities, so we didn't hang around and walked to the second short walk. This one led up the side of hill to give higher and clearer views of Milford Sound. With the sights seen and a return on the cards, we thought it was time to start heading home, particularly with a 2 hour drive still on the cards. Upon reaching the Homer Tunnel, we had a bit of a wait for the traffic light to turn red. This let us appreciate the scenery a bit more than we did on our way in. We rolled down the windows and could hear the steady fall of water. On closer inspection, we picked out numerous waterfalls tumbling down the sides of the mountains. It really was a breathtaking part of the world. To make it even better, Charlotte glimpsed a bird called a Kea in her wing mirror but her attempts to take a photo were thwarted by the Asians behind us who tempted it to their car with food, something you aren't supposed to do. Their fun was ended by the light turning green though and Charlotte led the way through the damp tunnel once more. On the long drive back home we made one final stop to have a look at a string of tarns right next to the road. Overall, the drive hadn't been to bad and the road is probably only made dangerous by dangerous drivers. There had been no mobile coverage on the road so when we got home we were greeted by confused and worried messages from our parents. We did think it would be amusing if we left it to the very last moment to message them, but feeling kind, we put them out of their misery and told them we were home safe and sound.
Friday 22nd July
We'd given ourselves 2 full days in Te Anau to have a reserve day for visiting Milford Sound, just incase it turned out that the Friday would be better weather than the Thursday. We'd got lucky with the Thursday though and the weather for today over in Milford Sound was fairly miserable. We had a day wandering round Te Anau though, so we spent a couple of hours walking round the lake shore and enjoying the scenery. We picked up a couple more pamphlets from the DoC centre, containing walks that we wanted to do in the future and then walked back to the town for lunch. We picked the aptly named Sandfly Cafe (not that we'd encountered any of the blighters in Te Anau), and sat down to enjoy a coffee, a burrito and, for Charlotte, her 5th pie of the trip, this time being venison. At the risk of sounding a bit snobbish, we'd worked from a company that had been very big on good customer service at home. So when we don't receive good customer service it isn't hard to notice it. Unfortunately, it had been a recurring theme whilst in New Zealand and this cafe was no exception. The food was very good though, so that went some way to making up for it. We spent a couple of hours browsing the various shops in town and picked up a pin badge before heading home for the evening.
Saturday 23rd July
Upon waking up, we deeply regretted not packing the car the evening before as the weather was horrendous. Charlotte braved the rain while I handed her the various items through the window. I would have happily packed the car and braved the rain but my packing skills don't exactly match up with what Charlotte wants, so it's not like I forced her out into the rain. With that done, we dropped the keys off and started the relatively short drive up to Queenstown. We were heading for our second wwoofing experience and were really hoping that we'd enjoy this one more than we had the first. It rained the whole way up, which made the portion of the road nicknamed 'the Devil's Staircase' a little bit more hairy than it should have been. The section of road winds alongside the shores of Lake Wakatipu, which doesn't sound too bad but it's also about 50 meters above the lake too. New Zealand doesn't seem to have got to grips with crash barriers either. All this made for a bit of a thrill ride down into Queenstown. Not wanting to turn up on the doorstep and instantly want food, we picked up some lunch from a supermarket and then set off to find the address we had been given. Our phones were useless and led us to a vineyard somewhere but eventually we were on the right track and found the house in the countryside. We couldn't see much of the surrounding area thanks to the weather but we were sure the views would be pretty spectacular when the clouds cleared. We rang the doorbell and were instantly greet by a barking dog. The owner Valerie, answered the door and introduced us to Rodney the Fox Terrier. She assured us the barking would subside as he got to know us. We sat down and got to know everyone over a cup of tea. Rodney settled down and instantly started looking for attention from us. We were shown to our room which was huge, with a double bed and a private bathroom just down the corridor. Later in the afternoon, we were shown around the extensive land, met the horses we'd be feeding and were run through a few other jobs that Valerie wanted doing. We were instantly more comfortable here than we had ever been in Arrowtown, so we were pretty confident we were going to have a wonderful time. Valeria cooked us pork chops for dinner and after we sat in front of the fire and watched some tv. We went to bed fairly early, ready to get up and get to work the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment