Warm Rain Ship's Log

Albatross, Penguins and a Castle

Yesterday was “tour day”. From Dunedin we drove out to the Otago Peninsula, known for its wildlife. We began with a non-so-wild tour of Larnach Castle, built by Willilam Larnach in the late 1800’s. It’s been beautifully restored by its current owners and we were able to walk through rooms on the three floors of the castle. The grounds were also beautiful, but due to foggy weather and time constraints we didn’t spent much time exploring the gardens and pathways.

At the end of the peninsula is the Royal Albatross Centre. There we were able to see albatross nesting in the headlands and soaring above. It was quite windy and we saw several albatross flying around the area.

The albatross colony is protected by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and we viewed the birds from inside a hut so not to disturb them. They don’t seem to mind humans though and we watched the DOC ranger approach each nesting bird, sit down next to it, lift out the baby chick from under the parent, weigh the baby then put it back under the mom or dad. Amazing! Our guide said that if the baby is underweight the ranger feeds it extra food so that it maintains a healthy weight.

Mature Royal Albatross have a wing span of almost 10 feet and weigh almost 20 pounds! They can fly at speeds of approx. 75 MPH. They’re very graceful and were beautiful to watch. Unfortunately our little cameras don’t do them justice.

Our final tour of the day was to see the yellow-eyed penguins at their conservation reserve. We booked this tour for late in the day as that’s when the penguins arrive home after being out in the ocean fishing all day. We were able to view a penguin come up the beach and wander through the dunes to his “home” – a wooden shelter built into the side of a hill. His mate and baby were waiting for his arrival and we got to watch the male feed his family (they regurgitate the food to pass it on).

We were watching all of the action from blinds and tunnels built into the dunes so as the penguin traveled from the beach to his home up on the hill we could follow him. The male also had a run-in with a neighboring penguin, something that the guide said that he had not seen before.

After watching the penguins for awhile we walked out on the headland and watched more penguins arriving on the beach along with sea lions. One of the sea lions clambered up the hill and plopped himself down less than 10 feet from us. We didn’t seem to bother him at all but I was a bit nervous being that close to such a big guy.

All in all we had a wonderful day of wildlife viewing then enjoyed an excellent dinner in the little town of Portebello before heading back to our little cabin in Dunedin.

Invercargill Sights

Today I took in some sights in Invercargill proper while Tom stayed “home” at the holiday park, resting his back after our long day yesterday. I visited Anderson Park, just a couple blocks away from our holiday park. The park centered around Anderson House, a beautiful late 1800’s home that is now an art gallery. I wandered around the rooms of the house and the gardens before heading downtown to Queen’s Park and the Southland Art Gallery. Here’s a picture of Anderson House.

When I had my fill of the galleries I drove around town and took pictures of some of Invercargill’s historical buildings. This is St. Mary's Basilica:

Cornerstone Bank (now a church):

First Presbyterian Church - Built in 1915 with more than 1 million bricks!

Invercargill's old Railway Hotel:

and their still-in-use water tower:

Late this afternoon Tom and I drove to Bluff, the southern-most town on the South Island. We wanted to have dinner at The Drunken Sailor but it was closed, so we took a few pictures and headed back to Invercargill for a sausage sizzle at the holiday park.

Jam Packed Tiki Tour of the Catlins

Today we spent the day driving through an area called the Catlins on the scenic southeast coast of the South Island. We began our tour at the E.R. Hayes hardware store in Invercargill, home of the World’s Fastest Indian. If you haven’t seen the movie, rent it. Anyway, Burt Munro sold his motorbikes to Mr. Hayes just before he died in 1978 and the Hayes family has put them on display in their hardware store along with several other motorbikes, etc.

Our next stop was at Waipapa Point where we were afforded great views of the ocean and windswept trees on the shore. 

From there we droe to Slope Point, the southern-most point of land in New Zealand. We walked through a farmer’s pasture past bored cows to the marker that stood at the edge of a cliff. Of course, Tom brought along our GPS to show how far south we were. Doesn't everyone travel with a GPS in their backpack?

Curio Bay was our next stop – a fossilized forest that dates back to the Jurassic age that is now part of the bay and is only uncovered at low tide. We were lucky in that the tide was out when we got there, but we were running short on time so we just took pictures from the overlook and did not go down onto the rocks for a closer look.

Our final tourist attraction for the day was Purakaunui Falls. After a 10 minute walk through the forest you come upon what I call a “bridal veil” waterfall. It was one of the prettiest waterfalls we’ve seen. We then drove back to Invercargill for dinner in town before heading back to our holiday park cabin for the night.

We were going to do the above drive through the Catlins on our way to Dunedin on Thursday but we’re glad that we did it as a separate trip, as it took all day just to do the sightseeing and we would have had to skip a lot of it if we had to drive on to Dunedin. What a great day!

Scenic Drive to Invercargill

We took the recommended scenic route from Te Anau to Invercargill this morning and made several stops along the way to take in the sights. Driving inland through a valley we got a good look at Lake Manapouri and the big hydro plant that feeds power to the local population. We’ve seen more sheep on the South Island than the North Island and today came upon a beautiful green hillside dotted with literally thousands of sheep. I couldn’t resist a picture.

We stopped to stretch our legs at the Clifden suspension bridge. Built in 1899 it’s the longest span of suspension bridge in New Zealand. It’s only open to foot traffic now so we walked out on it for a good look down the river.

The road took us out of the valleys and back to the coastline of the Tasman Sea. Next stop was McCrackens Rest, a scenic overlook with killer views of the coastline and sea.

This coastline is known for its wind-blown trees. I’m not sure of our exact latitude, but we’re more than 45 degrees south where storms and winds blow up from Antarctica in ferocious force. Along this coast the trees grow at a 90-degree angle to the ground from being continually blown over by the wind. Quite an impressive sight.

We saw a sign that said “Monkey Island, 1 km” so we thought we’d investigate. I mean, maybe there are monkeys running around out there! The road took us down to the beach. As luck would have it, it was low tide and standing about 300 yards out on the beach was a big mound (Monkey Island). We walked out on the hard packed sand and Tom climbed over the rocks and up the steps to the island lookout. It was very cool to be able to walk out to it at low tide and it probably looks quite different when the tide is in.  

The cool part about our road trip is that usually none of our stops between towns are planned. If we see signs for something that looks interesting, we just stop to investigate. So, we have no expectations and are always pleasantly surprised at the little treasures that we find. And, as we neared Invercargill we couldn’t resist one last stop for just one more sheep picture. They would occasionally butt each other for position until the new "King of The Hill" was established. Great fun to watch!

Milford Sound

Today we took a “coach and cruise” tour of Milford Sound. We drove to the Sound (125 kilometers from Te Anau) in the comfort of a tour bus with large windows and reclining seats. The driver kept up a running commentary during the drive on the history, flora and fauna seen along the way. We had brief stops at Mirror Lake - a beautiful reflective lake high in the mountains, and the Chasm – a waterfall tumbling down a huge, rocky ravine. When we arrived at Milford Sound we were whisked onto a boat for a two-hour cruise of the Sound. Only the people from our bus were on the boat (less than 60 people) and we got front row seats on the upper deck. It was cool and windy out in the open but the view was worth it.

The boat took us along the shoreline of the fiord, stopping along the way to point out interesting stuff, then out of the fiord into the Tasman Sea. Shortly after leaving the fiord the boat did a u-turn and headed back into the fiord along the opposite shoreline, stopping to view some seals sleeping on rocks (yawn) before bringing the boat right alongside a thundering waterfall. We had glorious sunny weather and the views of Mitre Peak (the most photographed thing in the Sound), glaciers and waterfalls were fantastic. The 1 hour 45-minute drive back to Te Anau was quiet, as most of us were snoozing after a great day out in the fresh mountain air. Here are a few pictures. In order, Mirror Lake, Sterling waterfall, Mitre Peak, the glacier, and lastly, Tom and me on the boat.

Road to Glenorchy

On Thursday we took a drive to Glenorchy, a town about 45 minutes away from Queenstown. The scenic drive was recommended to us by the local visitor’s information center. The road wound along the rim of Lake Wakatipu and the view of the snow-capped mountains was stunning. We kept pulling off onto the side of the road to take pictures. We were once again lucky to have a sunny day with bright blue skies and no wind, so the lake was calm and the clouds were fluffy and white. We had a snack at a small café in Glenorchy before heading back to Queenstown where we had dinner with our friend, Phyllis, from San Diego, who is on a 3-week tour of New Zealand. We hadn’t seen Phyllis for two years so it was great to catch up on all the news. Here are some pictures from our drive...

Bungy Jumping, Gondolas and More in Queenstown and Surrounding Area

We had a nice drive from Wanaka to Queenstown. We stopped at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy – home to the world’s first and most famous bungy jumping spots. We watched several people, some our age, take the big leap off of the bridge and plunge down to the river below, getting their head dunked in the cold water before springing back up again. They were then lowered into a waiting dinghy and taken ashore. It was fun to watch but a little too adventurous for me!

We stopped at Arrowtown, a quaint old gold mining town, for lunch and shopping. Then back on the road again for the short ride to Queenstown.

Originally a gold mining camp (in the 1860’s) Queenstown is nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, backed by the rugged peaks of The Remarkables (I love that name) mountain range. After a quiet evening in our holiday park cabin, we were ready to explore Queenstown this morning.

First on our list of “to do’s” was to ride the gondola. The short ride takes you to the top of one of the mountains and at 1,300 ft. you get a stunning view of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown and the mountain range. At the top you can just enjoy the view, or get more adventurous and bungy jump or sky swing off of a ledge. Crazy! They also have a luge track and you can ride the chairlift even further up the mountain and drive the go-carts down the track. As you guessed, we opted for just enjoying the view.

We then drove to downtown Queenstown – it’s tucked into a picturesque bay at the edge of the lake and filled with lots of shops and restaurants – and had lunch and a look around. Tomorrow we’ll explore more of the outlying area.

Wanaka

On Saturday we left Franz Josef and had a 4 ½ hour drive to Wanaka. The scenery changed frequently during the drive, from mountain-like trees and forest to pastures to high desert and fresh water lakes. We stopped at Thunder Creek Falls, one of the many waterfalls cascading down the side of the mountains and Bruce Bay where people have built rock “towers” and left messages on the smooth rocks.

It’s much warmer here in Wanaka than it has been anywhere else that we’ve visited. When we arrived on Saturday, most of the town’s roads were closed off for an iron-man marathon (swim/bike/run) and the town was crazy. We found the holiday park, pitched our tent then drove back into town to see all that was going on. Lake Wanaka is beautiful – 45 kilometers long set against the backdrop of high rolling hills and snow-capped mountains.

On Sunday the holiday park had a cabin available so we took down the tent and moved into the cabin as I’m still not over my cold and Tom isn’t feeling that great either. After getting settled in we went to Puzzling World (take a pass on this one) then went to the Paradiso Cinema and saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie. The cinema is very cool – their seating is an eclectic collection of sofas, lounge chairs, love seats, etc. – even an old car! We watched the movie from the comfort of an old sofa and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Today (Monday) we poked around in Wanaka’s art galleries then had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake. The town is much quieter today after all of the weekend goings-on. We head for Queenstown tomorrow.

 

 

Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers

Our plan to visit Franz Josef Glacier yesterday was foiled by weather. We woke up to rain and low cloud cover over the mountain, so we spent a quiet day in our cabin with a small outing to Franz Josef Village for lunch and a look around.

The weather system passed by during the night and Friday dawned to blue skies and bright sunshine, so we jumped in the car and drove to Franz Josef glacier. There are several multi-hour walks/hikes you can do to see the glacier, but we opted for a look from the viewing platform that was only a 15-minute walk from the car park. The view did not disappoint.

We decided to take full advantage of the good weather and drove on to Fox Glacier, about 15 miles south of Franz Josef. The road to the glacier is closed and the only lookout for the glacier is down a dirt road where you get a “peek-a-boo” look through some bushes. Definitely not as spectacular as Franz Josef, but beautiful just the same.

We ended the day with a visit to the Glacier Hot Pools where we soaked in three different hot tubs, each one a different temperature, so you could choose the temp that was right for you – just like Goldilocks! It was a nice way to end our tiki-tour for the day.

Trip to Greymouth

Wow, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday I thought my head was going to explode from my head cold, but after some good cold meds from the local chemist and a good night’s sleep in a bed (in a cabin, not in a tent – yeah!), I feel a lot better. We left Richmond this morning and drove through what I think is the prettiest scenery that we’ve seen so far. The road wound through a small mountain pass then dropped into a valley that had a beautiful river meandering through it. Pastures of sheep and cattle dotted the landscape. It didn’t hurt that the weather was also picture perfect with clear blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

We made an unexpected stop at Buller Gorge Swingbridge and for a modest fee we walked across the shaky bridge to the other side of the river. The bridge is New Zealand’s longest swingbridge – 363 feet long and 56 feet high. It was very cool to walk along above the rushing waters of the Buller River. We also watched people “fly” across the river on zip lines, some sitting upright in the chair and others flying across belly down like Superman.

We’re now settled into a little holiday park cabin in Greymouth (Tom says the town name sounds like a gum disease), situated on a bluff on the west coast of the South Island. We’ll take it easy tonight then head for Franz Josef tomorrow and spend a few days exploring the glaciers and other sites of the area.