Saturday - rain and seals

We woke up to more rain, and a cloud sitting on the ground. Not the best day for sightseeing. First stop was Larnach Castle. Built in 1871 by a local banker it is really just a grand house, and not even that big. Having said that, the thought and money which went into it's building was staggering. Sadly the family was an early version of a dysfunctional family, even to the extent of the second son having an affair with his father's third wife. The house was sold to the government in1906, then used for various institutional projects until being sold back into private hands after the Second World War. The present owners bought it in 1967, when it had been empty for about 15 years, and lovingly restored it.

After seeing the house, and enjoying a nice lunch in the ballroom (built as an add-on for the eldest daughter's birthday) we went to see the garden. Not a good idea, the rain had worsened and the mist descended further. From what we could see, the gardens were magnificent, but we hurried back to our nice dry van.

Otago peninsular is quite long, and we drove to the end, to a place called Taiaroa Head. As we decreased altitude the visibility got better, but when we reached the head the wind was incredibly strong.

We parked the van, then walked down to the sea where later in the day they do penguin tours. At the bottom we could see through a fence into an area of the wildlife reserve with several fur seals. However, there were also several fur seals on our side of the fence, looking like they were observing us!

Walking down the other side of the head we were blasted by the wind and could hardly stand upright. There is a colony of albatross on the headland, so we were constantly scanning the skies for a sight of these birds, but none were flying. The red beaked gulls were nesting all along the area, but taking off in such a wind was quite hazardous. Occasionally we could see a young gull pestering their parent for a feed.

Next stop was the furthest point the road led to, at a place called 'Natures Wonders Naturally'. The farmer there does tours in 8WD Argo's. Weird vehicles but very capable of getting around the rough tracks. At several places they have built hides so that you can see the wildlife, and they have a strict policy about not interfering at all with the birds and seals on their land, and allowing no one close enough to cause even the slightest stress. The result is large colonies of fur seals, little penguins (blue penguins) and the extremely rare yellow eyed penguin.

The first area we saw had several young cormorants (shag?) resting on the cliffs waiting for their parents to feed them.

In the sea below the birds was masses of bull kelp, a tough seaweed which helps feed the filter feeders (paua and mussels) in the area. It can grow up to 60 cm in a single day!

At another stop we could a large colony of fur seals, with several young ones playing in rock pools.

Some of the youngsters had only been born in late December. We even saw some of them feeding from their mothers.

We also saw little penguins, but they are too close to risk stressing them by taking photos. Though we didn't see any yellow eyed penguins we did hear them.

Back in the van again we went back down through the lower car park, still looking out for albatross. Then it was back to Dunedin, this time to the Dunedin Holiday Park, where we are now sitting taking full advantage of the power hook up, the laundry and the hot showers. Tomorrow we take the Taieri Gorge Railway to Middlemarch. Hope the weather gets better - at the moment the van is constantly swaying in the strong winds.

And yes, we did finally see an albatross!!

 

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Friday rain!!

The first wet and rainy day since we arrived! It wasn't too bad when we got up, but the rain soon set in and hasn't stopped all day.

This was our freedom camp last night, an isolated spot on the Pacific Ocean coast south of Oamaru. Not a sound at night, and we woke up to see a rabbit and birds right outside the van.

This was one of the birds. I'm going to have to start looking up NZ birds soon.

 

After a light breakfast we set off for Moeraki and the boulders.

These strange round boulders on the sea shore are a major tourist attraction, and have a grey exterior surrounding a central core of carbonate of lime crystals. They used to be hidden in the mudstone cliffs, but have gradually fallen out due to erosion.

The outer surface on some of the boulders has worn away so you can see the inner structure, and some of the boulders have broken into smaller pieces.

They sit in the sand at mid tide level, and proved irresistible to some for climbing. Despite the hype, and the large numbers of people there (even fairly early on a rainy morning), the boulders were fascinating and well worth a look.

Next stop was Dunedin, a town founded in the mid 1800s by Scots. It's probably a very nice town on sunny days, and was even very interesting when we were getting soaked trying to have a look around. One of the founding fathers was a Rev. Burns, the nephew of the famous Robert Burns!

We're in another free campsite, but this one is a bit different. It's near the centre of town, next to the Oval cricket ground, and is basically an extension of the pub car park. Only three vans allowed at any one time, and only for a maximum of two nights. We're planning a trip to the Otago peninsular tomorrow, then are back in Dunedin on Sunday for a trip on the railway.

As it was so wet we decided to visit the newly refurbished Otago Settlers museum. A good choice, one of the best museums's we have ever visited. Lots of information, very well displayed, and lovely helpful staff. It was even free!

I had a chance to dress up in a costume as would be worn by one of the first settlers in the area, whilst Mick got to try sitting on an ordinary bike, known to us as a penny-farthing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had planned a tour of the Speight brewery, but when asking a local resident for directions, got recommended to visit a local bar and try a pint of Emmersons instead. As this was our second recommendation for this brew we followed his advice, and I enjoyed a pint of 1812, while Mick had a pint of London Porter. Next stop was the Best Cafe for local fish and chips, then a bus ride back to the van. There wasn't actually a bus stop there, but that didn't deter the driver from dropping us off nice and close.

It's going to be an early night tonight, with all windows closed to keep out the sounds of the traffic! Very different from last night, but still good!!

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Thursday - scarce penguins

Today was another overcast day, somewhat enlivened by one of the camping set ups we could see from our van.

The tent is a fold out arrangement on the roof rack of a standard car! From this side it looks bizarre, from the other side it looks unbalanced, sticking out from the car by a complete car's width, with a ladder going up to the sleeping 'platform'.

 

First stop of the day (after sorting out the van's water needs) was the Tasman Lake road, leading to Tasman lake. This lake only started forming in 1970 when a series of sink holes appeared below the Tasman Glacier. It is now a huge lake, with floating ice bergs calving off of the glacier. On the way up the steep path over the terminal moraine there is a small lake called 'The Blue Lake'. Since the formation of the large lake, this small lake is now green as it is no longer fed from glacial waters.

 

The view over the lake to the glacier, and the mountains beyond, was spectacular. It is now several kilometres in length, and growing all the time.

If you look really hard at this photo you might be able to spot one of the tourist boats on the lake. It's near the other side of the lake, behind the foremost ice berg. I think it holds about 20 people!

After leaving the Aoraki/Mount Cook national park we drove south, visiting the Benmore dam and hydro-electric power station on the way. Very impressive. It took many years to build, and the stories of life in the town set up to house the construction workers were fascinating.

Next stop was Oamaru, a most peculiar little town. Lots of nice white limestone buldings dating from the Victorian era, but a very quirky sense of humour. The old harbour area is being restored, but very piecemeal, and still houses a huge foundry in it's centre, and a working warehouse for wool exports. A strange museum/exhibition is the Steampunk HQ, where all sorts of old industrial machines have been put together to form art/science fiction object d'art. Mick wasn't sure what to make of this Standard 10 fitted with a flame thrower.

This giant version of a motorbike was also pretty weird!

 

 

 

 

 

After two delicious ice creams, and a tasting session at a local brewery, we drove down the road to an area where it is possible to observe yellow-eyed penguins coming ashore after hunting all day. This seal also turned up!

After a long wait we eventually saw two penguins. We later found out that these very rare penguins have only one breeding pair on the beach this year. Yesterday 11 penguins were seen on the beach in the evening, but just 2 today. Hopefully we might see more later on in the holiday.

We then drove on to our next freedom campsite, a wonderful deserted area right next to the ocean. Too late to take any photos, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how ideallic it is.

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Wednesday - Aoraki

The day started off overcast, but still warm. Rain was forecast, so we packed a rucksack with waterproof jackets, sunblock, insect spray, water and a packed lunch, then set off on the Hooker Valley Trail.

 

The first thing we came across was the Alpine Memorial, a tribute to all those who have lost their lives on Aoraki/Mount Cook. There have been a lot, and sadly most were in their twenties or early thirties. You can just see Mount Sefton in the background, peeping through the clouds.

The trail was well prepared, gravel path or wooden boards for the entire length, with three suspension bridges along the way. These are called swing bridges here, and we did get them to swing and undulate by jumping up and down!

The bridges crossed the Hooker river, and had views of Mueller Lake at the foot of the Mueller glacier, before reaching the Hooker lake at the foot of the Hooker Glacier.

 

Throughout the walk we could see Aoraki in the distance. As we walked the sun came out, and the air grew warmer. I had managed to get the back of my neck sunburnt yesterday, so did the entire walk in long trousers and a high necked jacket. Bit sweaty, but better than getting burnt again.

 

When we reached Hooker lake we were rewarded with a wonderful view, plus cooling breezes from the lake, and lunch! There were a few, very small, icebergs on the lake, and the occasional bird landing on the water. Lots of people also did the same walk, and we had to keep avoiding groups taking selfie photos at every view point.

The walk back showed more wonderful views of Mount Sefton.

Back at our van we had a nice rest before walking back down to the village. Our plan was to see the Edmund Hillary museum, but it turned out that you can't see the museum without paying to see all the films. As that didn't interest us, we went back to the visitor centre and spent another hour reading all the information there. We learnt lots about the history of climbing Aoraki, the local climate and vegetation, and some facts about rescues on the mountain, none of which I can now remember.

Leaving the village for the walk back to the campsite, we decided to extend our walk to Kea Point. Another highly maintained trail which took us up through the moraines below Mueller glacier to a look out point over the Mueller Lake. Whilst sitting at the look out we saw another avalanche on the mountain, and this time managed to get a photo of it. If you look at the bottom right hand side of this photo you can just see it!

The walk back showed the typical U shaped valley of this region. In all we think we walked about 16 km today, not too bad for a pair of retirees who do very little physical exercise!

 

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Tuesday - lakes and mountains

We woke this morning to a magnificent view! Though we were joined by two more camper vans last night, this morning there was total silence as the sun came up over Lake Tekapo. Last night we had decided not to stay up to see the stars; the sky was overcast and we couldn't keep our eyes open. Sadly, the skies cleared about 10.30, by which time we were fast asleep.

 

We started the morning with a bacon and egg buttie, then sorted out the van and drove a short way down the road to the start of the Peninsular Walk.

Looking back we could see the van that had spent the night next to us, and could really appreciate what a wonderful spot we had spent the night in.

The peninsular walk was said to be a 75 minute walk, but we knew from the Frenzy Guide that we could take a short detour and walk along the lake side by some white bluffs.

The views as we started the walk were magnificent. The lake seemed to get bluer the further we walked, and the sun shone. Sadly I had forgotten to put sun block on the back of my neck, an area which had still not recovered from the sun burn received in Sydney harbour. Tomorrow I think I will have to walk with a scarf protecting me!

We followed the path markers until we got close to the shore, then detoured down to the lakeside flats. Around the corner we came across the beginning of the bluffs, soft steep cliffs of a surprising white colour. A few looked like they had been pebble-dashed, the rest as though their faces had been cut with a cheese wire.

Walking along the pebble beach was quite hard work, but well worth it.

The start of the walk went through a section of wild lupins! Past their best now, they must have wonderful when in full bloom. After two weeks spent driving through Newfoundland a few years ago looking for wild lupins at the sides of the road, and discovering Mick now classified all plants as 'lupins' or 'not lupins', it was quite a relief to see so many wild lupins (this is for you Dianne).

After finishing our walk, we drove up to the Mount John observatory. A welcome cup of coffee for Mick, then lunch by our van, before driving on to Lake Pukaki. This was another glacier fed lake, so an astonishing blue in colour. At the visitor centre we bought fresh salmon pieces from a salmon farm on the lake, then continued our drive towards Aoraki/Mount Cook.

We are now camped in the White Horse Hill DOC campsite, just under Mount Sefton. First thing after arriving we walked into the village, enjoyed the excellent visitor centre, got a recommendation for a walk for tomorrow, and then had a beer whilst looking at Mount Cook.

 

 

 

 

 

Walking back to the campsite, then again later while sitting outside eating the salmon bought earlier, we have been hearing the occasional rumble from the glacier on Mount Sefton. On one occasion we even saw a massive fall of ice and snow on the upper regions of the mountain.

Tomorrow we are going to walk the Hooker Valley trail, and possibly the Kea Lookout Point trail afterwards. Meanwhile the heat is gradually decreasing, and the beer and wine are suggesting an early night (again).

 

PS. The spacing and photos on this blog seem to have gone crazy, and I had great problems posting it - hope it is all working now!

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