Well, we finally are on our way. I’ve never been more unprepared for a trip in my life! This will surely be an adventure. I guess it’s good to be uncomfortable some times and streeeeeeeeetttccchhhhhhhhh a little. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. The project manager in me is horrified at the lack of planning that went into this whole trip.
Well, the flights were pretty uneventful. The only problem was in Australia where our plane was delayed in leaving Brisbane because of a crew shortage and no one available to clean it so we missed our flight connection to Auckland, NZ. As a result, we were 1 ½ hours late on arriving in Christchurch but after a 36 hour travel day, I’d say missing only one connection was pretty good, indeed!
Laura met us at the airport. It was a balmy night…very pleasant really.She said it had been quite warm the previous few days and the cooler evenings were welcome.Leaving cold damp Olympia, I was hoping for more warmth in the coming days…I didn’t tell Laura my hopes!
She delivered us to a nice B&B on the main drag…an old 1800’s vintage place.Nice people and healthy breakfasts.This was a good pick.This was the only thing we’d planned before we left Olympia.So far so good.
Laura met us the next day to show us the down town area of Christchurch. Christchurch is a very English town with English street names and English sounding shops.
It happened to be the “World Buskers Festival” this weekend so lots of street performers were out showing their prowess in whatever street entertainment they were providing. There were contortionists, jugglers and many more that we didn’t stop to watch.
The first thing we did while in town was to get a cell phone number. I sent it before but here it is again: 064 (country code) 210-272-1250. This will allow us to call around easily while here. It’s also a direct line to if you need to contact us. The Skype number we setup before we left Olympia is 360-339-4583. It’s a local call for you, unlike the cell number above. So, if you just want to leave a message, you can leave it on the Skype number. We’re also periodically checking the home and business lines so you can leave a message there, too. And you thought we were going to the other end of the world, never to be heard from again. Ha!
So, to carry on with the story, once our business was taken care of, we sort of followed Laura around and generally got to know Christchurch a little. We went to dinner that night with her roommate, Martin. He’s a true southern Kiwi. Proud to be from the south (sound familiar!) and not to happy with the northern Kiwis.
We left Christchurch on Sunday, January 25. We were excited to head south to see more of what the south island had to offer. We’d read about its scenic beauty and laid back atmosphere and were ready to leave the city for some tranquility. Off we went. Our first port of call was to be Oamaru. I know, I know, these are Maori place names and we, too, have a heck of a time pronouncing them!
Oamaru
Oamaru was a Scottish port town back in the 1800’s. It’s now pretty much just a tourist stopover where you can visit the smallest penguins in the world…the blue penguins. (http://www.penguins.co.nz/)
These little guys stand about 12 inches tall and are an iridescent blue color on their backs and bright white on their bellies. They nest in burrows along the beaches and up the hillsides in areas around southern NZ. Cute critters. They come to shore in what they call “rafts”. It’s obvious why they call it a raft because they are all clumped together when they arrive on a wave coming into shore. Then they all march in line up the rocky shore to their individual burrows where most of them have an offspring awaiting their return ready for their evening meal of regurgitated fish. Yum! The young birds were hatched in December and January and are almost full grown size but still have their baby feathers. They will fledge in February and early March.
Unfortunately, many baby blue penguins and the rare Yellow-eyed penguin lost many of their chicks when the heat wave came through in December. The heat was too high and many chicks perished. So the chick counts are down for this year.
While in Oamaru, we went to a beach to see the Yellow-eyed penguins return from their fishing trips.These penguins are very shy and you must stay well away and hidden from them for them to come ashore.As I mentioned before, these birds are the rarest penguins and their habitats are being destroyed or at least disrupted from too many humans encroaching on their beaches.NZ is trying very hard to protect them but many Yellow-eyed penguins have been forced to establish homes elsewhere in the south Pacific.
One night in Oamaru and then on to Dunedin.
Dunedin
Dunedin is a university town built on steep hills. The architecture is very Scottish and very pretty.We liked Dunedin much more than we’d anticipated.It would be nice to come back here one day.We spent 2 days on the Otago Peninsula.The peninsula is adjacent to Dunedin and is surrounded by water and tiny islands.Very very pretty!We stayed for 2 nights in a village called Portabello. Both days were rainy and wet but we made the best of it.
We also visited a Yellow-eyed penguin conservation area while in Portobello. (http://www.yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz) This was really worth the time and money to visit. It was a guided walk through an area that had been reserved for these shy penguins to nest and be studied. We walked through a series of man-made blinds and tunnels that had been built to study these creatures. We were able to get within 2 feet of one penguin without her being disturbed. These penguins are about 3 feet tall at most and have a distinctive yellow eye and yellow feathers surrounding their eyes…stunning to look at.
The Catlins
Having spent 2 days in Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula area, we were off to the area called the Catlins. This area is further south and was host to more wildlife that we’d not yet seen such as Sea Lions and Seals.
We stayed 2 nights in a campsite. We rented a self-contained unit with kitchen and all the rest. It was located near a beach that was frequented by seals and sea lions. The first day we walked on the beach we were treated to a sea lion basking in the sun and rolling around in the sand. Sea Lions are not to be messed with, as you might imagine. They’re big and can move surprisingly fast if provoked. It was my goal NOT to provoke them. We stayed well behind this one and walked past this big guy with no problem. He was sleeping upon our return so we passed without notice.
The next day, we walked the beach again and at the very end of the beach were several seals and sea lions and a seal pup. I didn’t want to go too close to them, particularly since there was a pup and I know how protective mothers can be when offspring are perceived to be threatened. So, we watch from afar for a while and turned around to head back.
But, as we turned back, I noticed we had an escort. One of the seals had been following us in the waves and was watching us. At one point, we stopped and the seal stopped, too. He waded out of the water and John and the seal stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. The seal yawned a big yawn, but I think his intent was to show us his teeth and to persuade John to move away. John, however, had other ideas. He stood there and stared back at the seal. Geesh…men! In the end, the seal lunged toward John and John retreated quickly.
We’ll live to see another day, thanks to the seal and John’s quick retreat!
I was disappointed in this area especially since I’d read so much about it and how beautiful it was. It was very nice indeed, but erhaps the weather and my expectations were more than any area could be expected to accommodate.
InvercargilWe left the Catlins for Invercargil. Invercagril is a mid-sized city in the south of NZ that is a service town for tourism and the farming activities in the region. Much wheat and many sheep are raised in this area!
The weather had continued to be yucky and Invercargil did not disappoint.We stayed there 2 days and the last day we had a gale storm come through that nearly blew the tp off the motel we were staying it.Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration but it was REALLY BLOWING and continued to blow all the way to our next destination, Te Anau.
Te Anau
Te Anau is a quaint little town that services the tourists who come to experience the fiordlands of NZ.There are many beautiful fiords in this area and the most famous one, Milford Sound (misnamed as a ‘sound’ instead of a ‘fiord’).
We booked a boat tour and a bus to the location for the day and looked forward to being shown the majesty of this unique NZ landscape.
For me, Milford Sound did not disappoint.True, to see it, you must play the tourist and be shuttled along with all the other gawking humans but it was beautiful.Majestically tall cliffs surrounded us as we sailed through the Milford Sound.We also saw wildlife along the way.Seals, spotted dolphins frolicking alongside the boat and a very rare (I’m told) sighting of a single Fiordland Crested Penguin.These birds are supposed to be long gone from the area at this time of year so this was a real treat to be able to see up close one of these rare creatures.
The tour bus stop along the way and the guide filled us in on many of the geological and cultural history of the area.A good day…though John was ready to get out of the “tourist”mode and back into his independent travel mode.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in NZ.We’re hoping to get some good hiking in up there and also hope to find a place to stay. Thusfar, we’ve had no problem finding places to stay.It’s late enough in the season that kids are back in school and summer Kiwi travel is complete. Now we just have to contend with all the Germans, Japanese, Dutch and Americans!Life is tough.
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