Foggy all the way - Te Anau to Dunedin.

03rd May 2006 AD

We got up early and the brisk morning hit us. The windows had all fogged up so for the first half hour of the drive I did my best to not run into anything!

However, for the next five hours we would find ourselves driving in pretty thick fog. It was amazing. I’ve never quite seen anything like it. And not only that – by around 12pm the sun was still in a ‘10am’ position. It was a pity I was unable to capture some photos of the fog as it made for some great scenic moments when the sun broke through and the land showed off its greenery.

Dunedin prides itself on being one of the largest cities in the world – not for population but for sheer size. As we drove along we passed a sign which heralded the outer city limits – we were still a good 45 minute drive into the city itself. The sign seemed to suggest that Dunedin had faked its way into the record books.

The city was a lot more yuppy than I had expected. We checked into our five start motel (which, for a motel, was very nice!) and then headed into town for a walk. The city landscape and architecture seemed very interesting and if we had more time it would have been well worth it just to have a walk around for a bit more.

Another Anglican Cathedral in the heart of the city...

Notice the random button underneath the bathroom sink. We had no idea what this did so we flicked it on and left the room. When we got back the floors in the bathroom area were warm! What a nifty idea for the cold winters in Dunedin!

We stopped by the ‘Hungry Frenchman’ for lunch. And whilst the serving sizes were relatively small, the atmosphere of the place was quite nice.

My fish - I love the fish in New Zealand! So fresh and tasty!

Shte1's prawns...very nice! If only they had more...

After our nice seafood lunch we headed over to the Dunedin Cadbury Chocolate factory. There was lots to see and tonnes of interesting facts:

• The Dunedin Cadbury factory is the only factory in the world which boasts a one tonne ‘chocolate-fall’. In one of the three silos you make your way to the top and get to see one tonne of chocolate cascade before your eyes. Takes about 30seconds in all and smells great – though I wouldn’t stick my finger out to lick it as the chocolate’s only use is the waterfall and only get’s replaced two to three times a year!
• A Cadbury ‘Moro’ bar is eaten every thirty seconds in New Zealand.
• The Dunedin factory starts production on Easter eggs 5-6 months in advance of the season. And in three weeks NZ consumes about 10 million Easter eggs alone…no eggs are exported.

These are the fossilised remains of the first person (who appears of Asian descent) to discover chocolate beans. As you can see, the people were much shorter in those times. Scientists have directly attributed the increase of human height over the last 4000 years to chocolate... (j/k)

What's that? You're excited about seeing Chocolate? Me too!!!

After picking up plenty of samples we then headed off to Baldwin street – famously known as the most steepest street in the world. And hey, with all those freebies we figured that we should at least try to burn calories off. So off we went.

It was hard.

But we got a certificate for completing the climb.

Allow us to demonstrate appropriate stretching procedure - first the calf muscles...

Then the thigh-thingy muscle...

How steep is that again?

Oh...that steep...

Dinner that evening was at a local Japanese restaurant. I thought I had ordered a bento lunch box for us to share, but a hotpot style dish came out instead. Was still nice though :)

Noice!

04th May 2006 AD

Today was going to be our adventure day. We headed out to Otago peninsula for a wildlife trek on 8 Wheel All Terrain Vehicles. Though windy and cold we were able to see some sea lions up close. The baby sea lions seemed un-phased by our presence and actually seemed to enjoy the attention – a few of them made a short little climb near our hill and waded around in a muddy pool whilst all the tourists with us ‘Oooh’d and ‘Ahhh’d. We were also able to get even closer under a man made cement enclosure which had little holes to allow us to look through.

Our guides then took us to an isolated beach to try and glimpse one of the world’s rarest penguins – the Yellow Eyed Penguin. We stayed for about 20 minutes with not much luck – it was well past the breeding season for the penguins and we were not allowed to go onto the beach to actually look around either since the penguins were incredibly shy. The Yellow Eyed Penguin was as elusive as it's current endangered species rating...

Up close and personal with this baby seal - don't try this with the adults as they'll charge at you! We got this close thanks to the zoom on the camera and the little cement shelter we entered to look out of...

Spot the seals in the mass of seaweed...

Shh! Be vewy vewy quiet...we're hunting for Yellow-Eyed Penguins...

After the cold had pretty much frozen our appendages we ventured down to the Albatross viewing area and had lunch at the café. My goodness…NZ food is so good! I had a relatively simple smoked Salmon toasted sandwich but Shte1’s home made Venison Pie with Mango Chutney was to die for!

Smoked salmon grilled panini...yum...!

Home-made Venison pie with Mango chutney...oh my goodness!

After lunch we headed off to our final tourist location – Larnarch Castle. We found out on the guided tour that it’s not technically a castle, but just a really big mansion. The main tower does resemble a castle’s turrets, but that was more of a fashion statement rather than an attempt to be an actual castle.

The history of the home was a sad one. Mr Larnarch was a well to do accountant who moved his family here from England. The castle was the family’s holiday home, but the death of his first two wives, the affair of his third wife, and finally his business going bankrupt ended with Mr Larnarch committing suicide. The home itself is quite opulent and has been restored much to its former glory. There was an air of sadness to the place, but it was quite majestic at the same time.

After having a bit of fun in the surrounding gardens we succumbed to the cold wind and headed home to warm up.

Larnarch Castle

Another view

It was blisteringly cold when this photo was taken. We didn't stay long in the
wind - our faces were beginning to feel numb...

This hall adjoins the main home. It was built in celebration of Mr Larnarch's
daughter turning 21...what a present!

Hmm...these ducks give me an idea for dinner...

After having a bit of fun in the surrounding gardens we succumbed to the blisteringly cold wind and headed home to warm up.

Our final dinner in NZ was also going to be a treat. We didn’t really know where to go so asked some advice from the concierge. We then trotted down to the French Café restaurant and treated ourselves to a two course meal. Shte1 started with a duck entrée and had Pork for main. I had Curried Scallops on green tea noodles along with some fish. The meal did not disappoint and the atmosphere of the place was very charming.

I’m really liking NZ!

In some ways it was a pity not to be able to spend more time in this great country. There were many places we were unable to go to because of time constraints, but I pray that one day we’ll be able to return.

Green Tea Noodles with Curried Scallops

Duck Confit on a potato stack

Pork on Mashed Potato Boat

My fish...

Dunedin Town Hall...lovely in the sunset

05th May 2006 AD

We drove back to Christchurch from Dunedin. This drive was probably the most boring as the landscape was now pretty much all flat. Hardly any sheep in sight as the land was more agricultural. It was a four hour drive, but it also felt the longest. When we finally reached Christchurch the odometer read close to 1500km. It had been a great holiday, but at the same time we were looking forward to being home again. For those reading this – New Zealand is beautiful. It’s certainly a wonderful testimony to God’s goodness in his creation. Head there for some time out – but don’t stay too long… As beautiful as it may be, it is not heaven.

Most of the luggage belongs to Shte1...no really!

Fare thee well New Zealand! We hope to see you soon again...

Sounds like…‘Milford’ – Queenstown to Te Anau & Milford Sound

01st May 2006 AD

The misty rain started pouring again this morning as we looked out onto our final day in Queenstown. We had decided the evening before to check out early and head to the town to do our last minute shopping for presents. ‘Flick’ greeted us and off we went into town.

First problem was finding a car park – there is barely any free parking available in Queenstown and the rest is all metered. We drove around for quite some time in shock and amazement at how difficult it was and in the end parked a good 15 minutes walk away from the town – which in the grand scheme of things wasn’t all that far at all!

Ducking in and out again through all the various stores we had been through the day before we picked up a couple of items for friends and relatives back home. I hungered for fish and chips so we got some at a local booth (about the size of a garden shed – wish I took a photo of it!) Pretty decent serving as well! We couldn’t finish the chips, so fed them to the ducks – who were smart enough to know the difference between a yummy chip and a sour slice of lemon :P

We headed off soon afterwards – the rain had pretty much cleared, but the cloud was still threatening – and it would rain in a couple more spots as we proceeded towards Te Anau.

The scenery this time did not change too much – plenty of farming properties. More sheep and the occasional deer farm as well. A mostly uneventful drive and pretty straight forward – though it took a lot longer than I thought it would. We did pull over with enough time to capture a brilliant photo of a rainbow – a marvellous reminder of God’s goodness and mercy to His rebellious creation.

Wow...

Arrival at Te Anau came without fanfare. A small little town, we check into our motel and proceeded to ‘check out’ the town. We found a couple of stores and purchased a ‘Windbreaker’ beanie for Shte1’s brother. The ‘windbreaker’ brand uses Possum fur/wool (Possums are a big pest in NZ since their introduction and there is a thriving industry for their wool and hides) and the major benefits are that it’s a light and durable fabric – so material made from the fabric will keep people warm in winter and cool in summer, yet the material also breathes very well and thus will not stink you up after prolonged use :P

We decided to purchase lunch for the boat trip to Milford Sound (which we booked a little earlier that afternoon) instead of buying it onboard, and went to the local 4 Corner supermarket to pick it up. At the checkout I accidentally dropped a jar of corn relish which we were charged for because I was not carrying a basket! Lesson #145: always carry a basket when shopping in a small independent supermarket…

The dropped corn relish put a bit of a dampener on the rest of the night, however we did still manage to go out for dinner at a local restaurant. On second thoughts we should have tried a different venue, but oh well. The seafood entrée was nice, but the roast chicken salad and minted lamb was quite average.

To bed early for a long day ahead.

02nd May 2006 AD

Another crisp morning. We rugged up, got packed, and walked over to the pick up area. Shortly thereafter our bus arrived to take us on the 1.5 hour drive to Milford Sound.

We opted for a coach for the fact that there was a lot to see on the way to Milford Sound, but the road was also quite windy and driving it would be an involving exercise. I opted to take a coach also for the fact that I wouldn’t have to do any driving!

A road to nowhere...

The ride up was split along the way with a couple of stops at various locations – namely ‘the Chasm’ and the ‘mirror lakes’. The chasm had been carved out over thousands of years of water running in and through the rock – leaving some spectacular looking gorges. The mirror lakes, on the other hand, had such crystal clear water that during the early morning and late evening, when the water was still, one could see a perfect reflection of the scenery. Very beautiful, even at 10am in the morning.

We stopped a few other times to take photos. This is where
I was able to capture a slice of infinity...

A bit further ahead we passed through a massively long tunnel cut through the mountain side heading towards the Sound. One way traffic meant going through the tunnel was an eerie driving experience – I attempted to take a number of photos but none turned out. Need a DSLR!!

Through the other side we wound steadily towards our destination. Upon arrival we found ourselves aboard ‘The Pride Of Milford Sound’ – a large ferry with three decks. As we set off from shore Shte1 and I settled down to munch on lunch.

The 'Pride of Milford' is the larger boat behind the 'Lady of the Sound'

The Sound itself was incredibly beautiful. Sheer rock cliffs hugging a still body of water – the Sound really did feel like Middle Earth. I had the chance to snap some photos – but there was not much wildlife to be seen. The wind on the deck was freezing, but the overall experience was great in itself. It was a relatively easy boat ride of a couple of hours, but it was worth the experience to immerse yourself in the splendour of God’s creation.

Leaving shore...

These two got in the way of a good photo... :P

A very 'Lord of the Rings' shot

Searching for Australia...

Misty mountains

Shte1 in front of a waterfall

Another piece of God's glory

Before too long we were back on the harbour and getting back on the coach for the ride home. I slept for most of the way and woke up pretty much as we rolled into town. We decided to do some quick grocery shopping for breakfast tomorrow and the drive to Dunedin.

Vowing never again to go to the 4 Corners we found that there was a ‘Countdown’! Larger shopping centre! Yes! We stocked up on supplies and brought some takeaway Chinese food (Chinese people in Te Anau…what a novelty!) at the local restaurant. Whilst waiting for the food to arrive I picked up a leaflet on some herbal medicine and noted that whilst there may have been Chinese people in Te Anau, Engrish had also travelled with it. I quote:

Royal Jelly is a remarkably complete substabce that offers in trace amounts virtually every nutritional element needed for a healthy diet. Altogether, 16 vitamins, 16 minerals, 18 enzymes, 18 proteins and amino acids and 28 assorted additional elements such as fructose and glucose have been isolated. Royal Jelly contains the 10 essential amino acids the body requires from. an outside soure, and without it cannot synthesize new tissue. It contains vitamins A, D, E, K, C and the complete vitamin B complex. Also estrogen and androgen, the biological catalysts of nature, and rutin, which strengthens the walls of the body’s capillaries.

It was a good thing that the food was better! A filling meal and off to bed. I took a quick glance at the map for the next day and looked forward to the long drive to Dunedin.

- - - -


Next: Dunedin, wildlife spotting, Lanarch castle and the last leg of our journey :)

Adventure Capital, here we come! - Wanaka to Queenstown

Wanaka to Queenstown (click to enlarge)

29th April 2006AD

Woke up to another brilliant day. I think New Zealand is really growing on us!

We took our time getting downstairs to breakfast. With a breakfast window of 8:00am to 9:30am there was no rush. Downstairs and we were greeted by one of the girls who asked for our egg preference – so after a very nice bowl of fresh fruits with yoghurt, we were served scrambled eggs with bacon. Whilst Shte1 tucked into her eggs I listened into the breakfast table conversation – which was mostly directed by a tour director and two fellow tourists along with Graeme Oxley (Te Wanaka Director).

After the leisurely breakfast we packed and got ready to go. It was sad for the two of us to be leaving so soon after realising staying another day would have been better. But oh well, there was much more adventure ahead of us and we will earmark Wanaka for a future return.

Stopping by lake Wanaka to take some photos with the ducks that Shte1 had fallen in love with, we headed off into the winding road the Queenstown.

And again, more beautiful driving would greet us on our way! The orange and yellows of autumn were in full bloom and we could not help but praise God for being such a creative creator. The road rose gently below us and before we could sneeze we found ourselves heading up steep and winding roads. Many hairpins came our way, but our trusty Corolla stayed true to course.

Then round one bend I noticed what I thought was foam on the ground – snow!!! It was a mostly measly and pitiable spat (t’was not the season after all), but my first sighting of snow! So, of course, we quickly jumped out, took some photos and a short video clip. Haha…I’m so sad…

More hairpin turns on our way down had me thankful that we were heading towards Queenstown and not away – as our side of the road (left, for those who drive on the other side) hugged the mountain as opposed to the teeter off the cliff face. We then took a detour away from Queenstown and headed towards the Kawarau Gorge – home of the world’s first official bungee jumping site. As we got out of the car I could hear the sounds of people yelling and cheering, someone made the jump! But upon arrival at the place nobody was up next…and I wasn’t keen to pay the $100 for a jump – though I kinda now regret not doing it. Oh well, next time :)

A little further down the road we turned into Gibbston Valley Winery for a bit of a tasting and lunch. On the winelist for trial ($5 for four different wines…not too bad!) was:

• 2003 Pinot Noir: Very nice. Full flavoured and very fruity. The Pinot Noir, itself, was much stronger than I was led to believe (stronger than a Merlot, but almost as subtle in flavour), however it was still nice.

• 2005 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: Quite acidic to the taste with a short burst of fruit in the after taste.

• 2005 Greenstone Chardonnay: Less stronger in flavour than the Sauvignon Blanc, but better rounded flavours left on the palate.

• 2004 Late Harvest Riesling: Saved the best till last. This was a real treat. Smelt very fruity and had a lovely taste and finish without being overpowering or too strong to taste. Excellent.

I was tempted to purchase a bottle of the Riesling after those wonderful flavours danced on my palate, but at $30 a bottle (and it also being a smaller than average bottle) I thought it a bit much and there was still so much of New Zealand to see. Thought I’d have better luck with the prices in a bottle shop around town or in Dunedin (our last stop).

Lunch followed at the adjoining restaurant, where Shte1 and I decided to venture on the wild side and order a mixed platter. It would prove to be not the wisest meal choice in New Zealand as, though the leek soup was very nice, some of the preserved figs and other fruits proved to be incredibly sour! Oh well.

Gibston Valley Winery - couched between mountainsides and very picturesque


The Central Otago area of New Zealand (of which Queenstown is a part of) is famous for its Pinot Noir - a soft yet complex (ie - lots of aromas) palate with a hint of spice. Generally very fruity as well :)



What a glorious red :)


Starting from the back corner clockwise - 2005 Greenstone Chardonnay, 2005 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2004 Late Harvest Riesling, 2003 Pinot Noir


Looks nice...


Riesling - generally used for dessert wines

The drive to Queenstown was pretty straight forward. There was another town only 3km down the road from it but you could mistake both towns as the same because there was no discernable gap between each town. Checking into Hurley’s we found ourselves in a relatively spacious studio apartment. Again a few more freebies thrown in for good measure (we added to our already brimming stock of freebies from the other hotels!!) and we decided to head into the township to have a poke around.

We booked for ourselves a dinner package special (more on that later) and needed time to kill. So we went tourist shopping, again, and hit the stores. Immediately I could see why our hosts at Te Wanaka said that Queenstown was more touristy – it certainly was! Along with the regulation tourist shops (if you’ve been in one, you’ve been in them all!) there were other upper market labels such as Louis Vuitton. That said, however, Queenstown was still nowhere near as touristy as the Gold Coast and still retains a small town feel.

Romney Sheep! Hehe! Sorry...only those who know Romnie will get this ;)

A short stroll through some shops and we found ourselves at the harbour side. I ducked off to the pier to take some snaps of ‘The Remarkables’ mountain range and found I had lost Shte1 temporarily. So I wandered through some of the street stalls and had a look at some interesting stuff on sale ranging from necklaces/pendants to artworks and pottery. Shte1 found me shortly thereafter and we purchased a couple of gifts for family back home at one of the stalls.

$20 for men. $30 for women. Why, oh why, would you get it cut here?

Japanese wedding somewhere nearby...

A chill started to descend pretty quickly so we made our move back up the streets and the huge (I possibly exaggerate…) flight of stairs next to the Sofitel Hotel on our way to the base of the Gondola ride up to the Skyline A bit of cue formed in the line up for the Gondola had Shte1 leaning on me heavily as she rested and me listening to the conversation of an American couple behind us. I don’t remember the exact words of the conversation, just that it was pretty inane and the accents (thick and heavy NY accents) made it even more irritable! I don’t know, I made a mental resolve not to think less of people because of their accents and remember the image of the God they were created in.

Soon enough we set foot onto the shaky Gondola which had me wondering if it was stable enough. It certainly looked a lot more flimsy than I had hoped, but before I could think more about it we were lifting up the side of the mountain where some of the most spectacular views of NZ were gradually revealed. The higher we went, the more beautiful it was. Queenstown lay below us in a shadow and the Remarkables were still tasting the afternoon sun. I turned to have a look up the mountain to see how much further we had to go and also noticed sheep on the incredibly steep hill! I guess you’ll find them anywhere there’s grass to feed on!

The scenery at the top was breath taking. Shte1 and I had a few moments before our pre-booked Kiwi Haka Maori experience so we sat down and enjoyed the view.

Wow...what a gorgeous view...

An incredibly gorgeous view ;)

The sound of a shell-horn and some nice vocal harmonies welcomed us to the 25 minute show. I took a number of photos as well as video clips (that I wasn’t suppose to!) and also had a small chuckle to myself as I noticed that the ‘traditional instruments’ as advertised in the brochure looked very similar to a six-string-guitar.

The show itself consisted of a number of songs and dances with the most interesting being, of course, the haka – or tribal warcry. Varying to some degree from the common one we tend to see at the start of the All Blacks rugby union matches, it was still intimidating nonetheless. The shrill vocals from the women added immensely to the intimidating atmosphere as well.

A Maori warrior greets us


Traditional Maori women...scary...

The end of the show came quickly and the moment we had been waiting for arrived – dinner! And what a treat we were in for! A massive seafood buffet along with all the regulation salads, roast lamb & venison and traditional NZ Hangi! The highlight of the meal was indeed the Hangi chicken – a deliciously juicy smoky flavoured chicken breast…yum! Our seat looked out the window as well so we had a nice view of the town and the Remarkables with the final moments of fading light.

After stuffing ourselves silly we headed back for an early night. Tomorrow would promise a big day with the Dart River Safari!

Yeah baby!!

30th April 2006 AD

Waking up early when it is cold is rarely fun. So it wasn’t hard to imagine that this morning would be a bit of a struggle to get out of bed.

However once we were underway we headed to ‘Gourmet Express All Day Diner’ for the ‘bug breakfast’ recommended to us by ‘Spick’ – the Hurley’s manager. I ordered the eggs Benedict – two poached eggs sitting on top of English muffins and ham with hollandaise sauce covering the lot and Shte1 ordered the ‘Miners Breakfast’ consisting of eggs, bacon, hash brown, toast and two pancakes – roughly twice the size of my breakfast for a girl half my size :P It seems that I am the more ‘dainty’ one in this relationship.

Shte1's man-ly breakfast and my dainty eggs benedict...

After breakfast we didn’t stick around long as we were being picked up from our Hotel. An Australian guide – Johnno – came for us and we made several stops along the way to pick up various people, including some relatively chatty and inquisitive Americans.

Our guide took us on a one hour bus trip up to Glenorchy where the Dart River Safari would take place. We stopped a couple of times to take photos, have a breather, and also get to see some sites where some of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was shot. And being a massive LOTR fan I found the info very cool!

Upon arrival at Glenorchy we were informed that the sandflies (New Zealand’s smaller version of a mosquito!) were quite active so we decided to purchase some sand-fly ointment. Onto another bus and we left behind sealed roads for the dirt roads heading towards the Dart River. Crossing farming land, driving through shallow rivers, and into thick forest we travelled for a further 20-30 minutes.

*sigh*

Stopping just alongside the river (which constantly changes shape and direction depending on rainfall) our group (the larger group had been split into two smaller ones) was led on a 15 minute walk through some of the forest which was large, thick, damp and amazing. It really did feel like the scene from LOTR – The Fellowship of the Ring where the fellowship is fighting Uruk Hai in the forest. I half expected Orcs to jump out of the forest at us!

After a short walk we stepped gingerly onto the jet-boat with our driver ‘Ash’. The jet boat’s construction is quite unique and is able to operate in only 4 inches of water. The motor is designed to suck in water and shoot it out in order to propel the boat forwards. Very cool and very fast!

We got up to speeds of roughly 60 km/h and the wind chill factor ensured that by the end of the trip our faces were frozen. The hand rails were, however, heated and stayed warm – a rather nifty innovation. Towels were also provided to wipe ourselves down after the ‘360s’ Ash would perform with the boat.


In all the ride took about an hour and we travelled about 60 km in total up and down the Dart River. We stopped at a few locations where Ash pointed out locations where various parts of LOTR were also shot.

Can't remember the name of this mountain (but I could google it). This is the mountain top where they filmed the explosive opening battle between the fiery Balrog and Gandalf in Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers.

The bus ride back to town was quiet and Shte1 and I took our chance to get some sleep. We got back late so decided to get some dinner quickly in town. After walking around a little trying to decide what looked good we stopped by one of the local cafes – The Surreal - which had a very chill-out/cool feel to it and ordered flat bread with mango chutney as well as some NZ green lipped mussels in a white wine sauce. It was incredibly delicious and I chided myself for not bringing the camera to take a photo of it!

Back to Hurleys and we were ready for bed! Another long day, and some more driving for us tomorrow as well.

- - - - -


Next time: Te Anau, a broken jar of corn-relish, and Milford Sound