in the morning I found a band of golden light at the top of the hills in front of my hotel room. Immensely stunning! slowly it fainted as the sun moved higher in the sky. What glorious site. today we head towards fjorland. First we stopped at Queenstown to see the overcrowded touristy town. hotels/motels spilled out up the hill and downtown full of shops of every kind, restaurants and cafes. However the lake shore did not look anywhere as spectacular as the beach in wanaka. the drive leaving Queenstown along lake wakaitipu was absolutely spectacular, the hills and the clear turquoise water. I was stuck to the window without blinking.
Queenstown:
At lake manapouri, we boarded a ferry that took us to the West Arm. The boat ride was short and I ate my left over wrap onboard. Outside was rainy and cold. At West Arm we boarded a bus that went over the Wilmot Pass. We've stopped at a vista point to see the Sound but the day was totally foggy and we saw nothing. At Deep Cove, the Fjordland Navigator was waiting for us.
once onboard the Navigator, we were served hot soup and rolls. Our twin shared cabin was small but clean and with a tiny bathroom, smaller than the ones on cruise ships but adequate. We set out on the sound while the freak storm blew on us with rain and 50mph wind. We stood on the bow deck and I had to hang on to the rail to keep standing up right. but the wind was warm. it was freakish fun! We came to an arm and the wind was so fierce, we saw it literally whipped up the sea, so the capt turned the boat around. I've explored all the decks. The quad shared rooms had double bunk beds, no door, with just a curtain and steps up to a porthole. The front lounge had monitors showing the location of the boat and the depth of the sound. We had afternoon tea with savory scones. We docked at a sheltered cove and the staff lowered the tenders and some went swimming in the frigid water and some went kayaking. I chose the tour around the cove which turned out to be a bad idea because the tender stopped close to the vegetation and thus we were bitten alive by sandflies even though I wore long sleeves and a heavy jacket and long pants and covered my hands with the local oil that I was told was the best sandfly repellent. For the remainder of the day, i've walked around the decks admiring the gorgeous romantic scenery, the triangular glacious mountains in rain and wind. We saw some seals and dolphins on the water.
Dinner was most delicious. Variety of salads, chicken with pesto, kumara, the maori sweet potato and carved lamb and beef. quite a few choices of dessert. I was full to the max. I didnt want to go to sleep yet, so we sat with cups of tea and coffee and traded pain stories, migraines. Around 11, i stepped out on the open deck to commune with the quiet black sky. only 2 other boats were anchored with us a bit distanced from each other. those were the only lights in the cove. the cabin was stuffy and hot and unlike at halong bay, i did not sleep well.
the breakfast the following morning proved another feast. the usual bacon, pork n beans, scramble eggs, tomatoes, mushroom, sliced bread and fresh fruits. then we stopped at a quiet cove for a quiet moment to listen to the sounds of the Sound. Back at Deep Cove, we boarded the bus again, and did the trip in reversed. We again stopped at the vista point, and today the view was clear and the Sound looked absolutely stunning. We picked up our bus and drove to te anau for lunch. There eating my venison and mushroom pie, I saw Peter who's just finished doing the Milford track.
Really enjoyed this overnight boat ride. didnt I say I'd prefer halong bay to be in the rain? Well, I got it at doubtful sound.
Dunedin 2-17/18
arrived in light rain. cloudy, dark and sad looking. The kingsgate hotel was on a hill, very old and outdated. My room on the 3rd floor had a narrow balcony overlooking the town. everything in the hotel looked tired and worn. dinner at the Reef, sirloin with potato wedges and beet salad, again, not tasty.
The following day I went shopping and finally purchased merino/possum sweaters. Dunedin, where Peter used to live, had historic gaelic heritage churches, the presbyterian First Church of the Otago region, roman cathedrals, and a picturesque train station. I've photographed them all. Got a mushroom risotto from a bar and ate it in the hotel room. Didnt do the Taieri train, didnt go to see the albatross. Just stayed in the room reading, resting and watching a bit of TV. The next day Herbie drove us around the upscale area where the houses looked very scotish, and to the Otago Uni that resembled the East Bay university, with parts of old and parts of new architecture with glass front halls. Quite enjoyed Dunedin, small town with an intimate feel to it.
Oamaru 2-19
To Mackenzie county, stopping at the Moeraki Beach to see the boulders on the beach. Interesting. There, not feeling too hungry I had a tomato soup for lunch. next, we've spent some time in Oamaru, a small victorian heritage town with penguin crossing signs and statues, antique shops, galleries, traditional crafts, renowned Victorian streetscapes and 19th century architecture. a very nice pier where I sat for a while. Leaving Oamaru towards Omarama on the waitaki valley, along the waitaki river and lakes waitaki and Aviemore, there were 7 hydropower stations. The water was so blue, bluer than the sky that all of us declared this stretch to be the most scenic. Really felt heads over heels for this drive. Another lousy motel at Omarama, the lousiest of all with the bathroom full of insects and again tour buses parked in front of our rooms. Dinner was tasteless buffet at the restaurant across the street. But very small town and therefore quite dark at night and we ventured out to look for the southern cross. We thought we found it but it could just be our over enthusiastic and optimistic imagination.
Moeraki Boulders:
Oamaru:
Christchurch 2-20
Final day proved possibly the best. sunny morning drive on Mtn Cook road along lake pukaki, stopping to photograph Aoraki/Mtn Cook. Much like yesterday, Pukaki lake was immensely blue, most attractive. The view of Mtn Cook edged bigger and bigger as we approached it. Along the Tasman river, the mountains were basked in the morning light looking majestic and glorious. We hiked up to the Tasman Glacier viewpoint. The lake was now reduced to a tiny lake running into the glacier moraine and the glacier face was far up. We could glimpse Mtn Cook 3 summits from there once the clouds parted. Along the lake, the mountain ranges were clear and towered over the lake and the Tasman valley. Clouds sat horizontally between the top and the lower parts of the mountains. Clear morning and the valley looked picture perfect. Along the Tasman valley road into the Mtn Cook village, the mountains were covered with brownish orange snow, the smoke from the australian bushfires. At the Hermitage hotel, we got a full clear view of Aoraki. Normally Mtn Cook national park was shrouded in fog and mist. We were very very lucky to experience it in a clear sunny day. The Hippo loves mountains the best, so today was a very special treat.
Aoraki/Mtn Cook:
For lunch we stopped at Lake Tekapo and I had a steak and mushroom pie (again!), sitting in front of and admiring the blue blue lake. Aftewards we briefly checked out the Church of the Good Shepherd, the oldest church in NZ, but it was the Tekapo footbridge over the Scott Pound on the Tekapo lake that attracted me. After a long drive through heavy traffic, we made it Christchurch, the city devastated by earthquake. We drove through town a bit, along the city's park. Our hotel is Tudor style, each wing had a picture of Henry VIII six wives. Mine was Jane Seymore, my second favorite of his majesty's wives. The room was big and going to the bathroom necessitated crossing a small windowless room with only a closet in it. Everything looked Tudor and very tired and old. Last supper was at the hotel restaurant. I've ordered the duck and once more, it was tasteless.
Woke up early the following morning to do a brief tour of the city with Allan before our departure. We took the bus to town, visited the cardboard church (very pretty and interesting), walked around Cathedral square to see the ruined church, paid visit to The University of Cantebury (some parts being repaired), sat down for coffee in the Uni cafe, and walked a bit in the city's park. Bus back to the hotel on time to catch our taxi to the airport.
Christchurch:
At the christchurch airport, I've realized i didnt pack any books in my carry-on. So i went to a bookstore to try to find something to read. found a book called 'the binding' and what a winner it was. Couldnt put it down. Back at auckland airport, I've killed the 3 hrs layover checking out all the shops and reading my book. The flight back home was uneventful. Again empty seat next to me, played a bit of onboard games, slept a little, ate a lot, read my book, ordered more snacks and drinks.
What a trip. Loved loved NZ! Love to go back!
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