OTAGO PENINSULA

We left Kaka Point along the scenic highway for a bit before picking up State Highway 1 again. We had a four hour or so drive north. Not far from Dunedin city limits is the Otago Peninsula – our destination.

Otago is surrounded by water and getting there is along the curvy, arrow, hilly roads which seem to be normal for the South Island. We were staying in an Airbnb called "treetop cottage." It was aptly named as it was way up on Treetop Rd – in fact we couldn't find it at first because we didn't quite go far enough. The last part of the road looked like a driveway – but it was indeed the street.

This was a nice place with great views and very private. It thankfully had a wood stove (and lots of cut wood) because it was still pretty chilly at night. Nice birdsong, trees and views of the hillsides made this a pleasant stop. We did have some type of critter living in the roof that was a bit noisy at night and daybreak!

Otago is known for outdoor activities, hiking and wildlife – yellow-eyed penguins, seals, and the Royal Albatross. It also is a wine producing area renowned for its Pinot grapes (if you ever see a Pinot Noir from Otago in New Zealand – you won't be sorry). There are also lots of sheep and cows around these parts.

We ventured out for a few walks along different types of trails. One was for outlooks in the bush – to the "chasm" and "Lover's Leap." That pretty much describes the views...deep natural chasm in the rocks and Lover's Leap had a nice natural arch/bridge that was carved into the rocks by the sea. The hikes were through some private land so we shared the views with sheep. They are pretty much everywhere.

The next day we went along a lower area beach in search of the seals. We saw one big one lazing on the sand but the others could only be seen in the distance. It was a nice walk along the shore. A very large bevy of black swans was also sighted swimming in one of the bays.

We dined in the community of Portobello (very different than the Portobello we knew in Panama). It was a nice small town along the waterfront.

We enjoyed our few days here and then moved on towards the northern part of the South Island. To break up the long drive, we made a one night stop in Timaru. We arrived early enough for a great walk around a very pretty park with a cool aviary, boardwalk along the beach, rose garden, and many other attractions including a pool, mini golf, frisbee golf course, little train, skate park in a grassy park with lovely statues, memorials, and art. It was good to stretch after the drive and would make the next day's trip to Kaikoura more reasonable.

Kaikoura is next!

CATLINS AND KAKA POINT

After being disappointed over the cancellation of our Stewart Island adventure, we drove the scenic route along the south east coast of the South Island. This was a curvy, narrow roadway through rolling hills covered with lots of sheep and cows. Small towns would pop up along the road as we made our way towards Kaka Point. Kaka is a parrot like bird that is native to New Zealand – though not many remain.

We were able to get what may have been the last room available. It is still a busy time of year to be touring the South Island though it is officially know as the "shoulder season" (versus high season and off season).

Kaka Point is a pretty spot right on the water and surrounded by hilly countryside. We enjoyed a nice bush walk and then went up to Roaring Bay to seek out the elusive "Yellow-eyed penguins." April is the month the penguins moult so they don't go out to sea for feeding as often and avoid feeding in stormy weather. The weather was cold and very windy – so standing outdoors an hour before sunset to look for the critters was challenging. We had every piece of clothing on that we owned! There is a "blind" (a concrete building with an open front) from which you are supposed to view the penguins. If the penguins sense humans, they often don't come out of the water. We did finally manage to spot a few on the beach and watched as they preened before going to their nests.

A walk up to the old lighthouse was also on the agenda and it was great – the views were incredible and we saw lots of fur seals on the rocks below. It was still very cold and windy – but the rain at least stopped for much of the walk.

Cathedral Caves were another stop we made while in the Kaka Point area. This is a relatively long walk down to the beach and some very long caves. They are only open a few hours each day because of tides. We thought we hit the time perfectly, but we couldn't get inside the caves because the recent storms had washed away much of the sand and the wind, waves, and tides made the entrances too wet and wild. We didn't want to get soaked. But it was a beautiful beach and good walk.

We stopped at some lovely waterfalls for another nice trek and enjoyed two sets of pretty falls through some nice wooded areas. An old railway tunnel was also on the list of walks and it was a short but interesting walk.

The other fun thing about this area was the moving of sheep on the roads. We would come along some orange cones set in the middle of the road and then suddenly around the corner 50 or so sheep would be coming at you being rounded up by a few dogs. You sit in your car surrounded by the wooly critters as they pass by...then you move on. The person who owned the Airbnb we were staying in for the second part of our Kaka Point stay is a sheep and beef rancher so we learned a lot from her.

The weather wasn't great – bit we took advantage of every decent moment to get our and explore and walk. One day we were stuck in all day with really heavy rain, strong gale winds and cold temps.

After our scenic highway trip and stay in Kaka Point, we made our way to the Otago Peninsula.

That will be the next installment.

Dunedin and South

From Oamaru we headed a short distance to a larger city, Dunedin. Dunedin is the seventh largest city in NZ. It is known for its Scottish heritage and nicknamed "The Edinburgh of the South." The name Dunedin is a derivation of the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, "Dun Eideann."

It is a charming place with great architecture and our Airbnb accomodations fit the bill. We stayed in what was the servants quarter for a larger house – refitted in a very artsy and comfortable apartment. It was (of course) up a hill – so we got our workout. We enjoyed doing a lot of walking around the city – following both walking tour guides that took us past many beautiful and historic buildings, including the Edwardian train station. This is supposedly the most photographed building in all of NZ (how they figure that out is questionable becuase we would guess the Sky Tower would win that prize) – but nonetheless it is pretty magnificent.

We also did a nice trek around a park not far from the city center – it was around a resevoir and quite pretty.

From Dunedin we headed to Invercargill on our way to Stewart Island. This was to be a pit stop to our trip across the rough waters. We had the advantage of knowing (at least by voice - via the ham radio) some folks who lived in nearby Bluff. Trevor and Norma were kind enough to meet us in Invercargill for lunch and then took us on a great tour of the place. We stopped at a museum that breeds the ancient NZ tuatara. This is a lizard-like reptile that remains unchanged for 220 million years. One of the largest and eldest inhabitants of this breeding zone is the patriach, Henry who is 115 years old. The museum is unfortunately closed because of the fear of earthquakes, but the tuatara can be viewed in their large glass enclosures in the back. We went through some lovely parks. The highlight though was the hardware store. The E. Hayes Hardware store is a working hardware store with just about every possible tool made by man...but it is also a museum with old motorcycles, cars, trucks, tools and engines on display amongst the items for sale. They have an ingenious, cobbled together, homemade, working internal combustion engine put together with unconventional parts. For example, a hospital urinal for exhaust; a pressure cooker for a fuel tank; a mason jar for lube oil sump and a wooden one by two for control arm...and it works. Trevor got the owner to start it for us! The star of the exhibit is the Burt Munro old Indian motorcycle – the star of the movie, "The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins. The Indian motorcycle set landspeed records on the salt flats of Utah and is in the museum along with other old Indians driven by Munro and motorcycles of all types and classes, many very old.

The next day, we went to Bluff so Michael could have one last call on "Tony's Net" the ham radio net he participated in regularly. We did this at Trevor and Norma's home and it was fun to hear the voices from Trish (of Gulf Harbour Radio), Carl, Gary, John, Dave, Sergio and Christian. Good propagation made it a fun to hear everyone from Tasmania, Harvey Bay, Australia, Auckland, Bay of Islands and elsewhere. Felt like being back on Astarte!

After the net we were to catch the ferry to Stewart Island. There was a gale force wind blowing and big clouds so we expected a rough ride. Unfortunately, the weather was SO BAD, they actually cancelled the ferry – something that is rarely done. We checked on air flights to Stewart and they even cancelled them! The prediction was for it to continue to get worse for the next few days. So we reluctantly decided to cancel the trip. This was something we did with great disappointment as this was what we most wanted to do . We were booked for three days on the island, but all three days looked to be too bad.

Instead, we scrambled to find a place to stay and headed to Caitlins. That will be the next chapter.

South Island Stage Three

The hail storms and rain continued on and off as we left Christchurch in the rental car – a Toyota Corolla. Our destination was about 225 kilometers south to Oamaru. Michael is getting good at driving on the left and going 100 km (about 62 mph). The roads are pretty curvy and mostly single lane roads with regular passing lanes.

Oamaru is an interesting town. It has a Victorian heritage and has the largest collection of well-maintained Victorian buildings still standing in any NZ town. A whole section of the village looks like you've stepped back in time. The buildings now house respectable pubs in lieu of the former brothels; art galleries instead of wool storage; and chic cafes rather than whiskey warehouses. Penguins are another main attraction in Oamaru. You can watch the Little Blue Penguins come ashore right at the beach in town (from bleachers for a $10 admission) or go down the coast a bit to a DOC (Department of Conservation) track and watch the yellow eyed penguin come ashore at no cost other than a short walk. Because we saw many Little Blues on the North Island swimming in their natural environment, we chose to seek out the "Yellow Eyed Penguins." Plus the DOC option just seemed more our style. You have to get there a few hours before sunset to see the critters swim ashore and waddle up the beach. Of course, we have been here for some of the coldest April weather the island has seen in decades and the afternoon we went was mighty windy and very cold. We stood out in the cold wind for a few hours waiting. Finally we saw two on the beach. They are quite a bit larger than their "Little Blue" relatives and spent some time preening and waddling about. We were pretty far from them as they get freaked by people and will often not come out of the water if they sense humans.

We went to a local pub (former brothel) for a warm meal after the adventure. Then we headed back to our room for the night hoping to warm up. The room was quite a unique feature itself. It's called the Bookbinder's Retreat and is indeed owned by a bookbinder. It is an old Victorian cabin built in 1909 or thereabouts. The main house was built even earlier. The retreat felt like a step back in time. All the furnishings fit the era. The sinks were copper, there was an old woodstove and ink wells, hand bound books, and antiques were throughout the small space. It was set in a beautiful garden overlooking the valley and ocean. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to sit out in the gazebo and enjoy the surroundings. It was mighty cold and keeping the wood stove burning was critical in staying warm.

The next day we took a nice walk along the harbour (saw a fur seal on a boat launch area) and took in the "Steampunk" Museum. Steampunk is another attraction in Oamaru. In fact it holds the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest gathering of steampunks in the world – a record just garnered in 2016. A steampunk must be dressed in Victorian wear with at least one "steampunk gadget" on show.

So what exactly is "steampunk?" The word itself didn't come into use until the 1980s. It is a mix of the old and future. Machines created for one thing but re-imagined as something totally different and futuristic. For example an old steam train engine may become a futuristic alien driven tank. Think of the works of HG Wells and Jules Verne who in Victorian times had visions of the future with weird ships for under the seas or time machines. The steampunk movement was kick-started by science fiction works and now incorporates fashion, art, theater, movies, music, and more. Goggles and helmet style hats are part of the wardrobe and a multimedia mix of sound and sight make up the no holds barred style. The museum in Oamaru is in an old grain elevator built in 1883 – the tallest elevator building in New Zealand at the time. The museum is a funky place with a steam train engine modified to steampunk proportions in the front; a zeppelin creation hanging ion the side and inside a collection of weird and wacky items like the Metagallactic Pipe Organ – a pipe organ redesigned to play unique sounds with every organ key you hit. There is a room you enter that is quite magical filled with mirrors, lights and hanging ornaments and synchronized with music. On the outside of the building are giant metal flies and a Victorian man sitting on the roof fishing. It was a fun stop on a cold rainy day – in fact the day added to the overall feel of the strange place.

Oamaru architecture is also noted for the old white limestone quarried from the area that was used for the buildings. There is also one of the few remaining curved wooden piers ever built. It is in disrepair with hopes of repairing it at some point in the future. The man who owns the "Bookbinder's Retreat" has a shop in the Victorian area of town where he does bookbinding the old fashioned way.

We enjoyed our few days in this interesting spot – but would have loved it more if it was sunnier and warmer.

Next stop: Dunedin.

South Island: East Coast to West Coast

After two nights in Christchurch, we caught the NZ Rail to head to the other side of the island. The train route is called the "TranzAlpine," aptly named because it crosses the mountain range called the Southern Alps. It was a gray and chilly morning when we left...not the best for a sightseeing train ride.

The train is very comfortable with large viewing windows, a cafe car and a viewing car (an outside venue for picture taking. It was very full for the trip which first takes you over lots and lots and lots of the Canterbury Plains – the largest area of food and dairy production in New Zealand. Lots of cows, some sheep, deer (for venison) and even alpacas were seen on the trip across the plains. Slowly the train started its ascent through the mountains. Though cold and drizzly, the many gorges from mountain rivers were deep and awe inspiring...especially from the train going over narrow cuts and bridges. Looking straight down just a few feet away was kind of "exciting."

We stopped at "Arthur's Pass," one of the cuts through the mountain range. The stories of how these passes were surveyed and then made are the tales of explorers. The train provides a great audio commentary throughout the trip giving a good history lesson.

Once over the pass, the sky started to clear after going through an eight kilometer tunnel. Which, when opened, was the 8^th longest in the world. Now it is 45^th. They added three engines to the train as a safety measure when going through the tunnel. Because of the narrow tunnel and rock dust that kicks up even at a very slow pace, they close the viewing car and cafe car for this portion of the trip.

Once through it was nice to see the sun, as we passed Lake Brunner, several rivers, mining sites and made our way by a changing scenery on this side of the range. We made it to Greymouth, our destination and final stop for this train.

Greymouth is a small mining and lumbering town. Though both industries have declined, with mining being pretty much over. That also means that the port here, used for delivering those two products is not active. It is right on the Tasman Sea, at 42 degrees south. Even on calm days, the seas seemed rough.

Greymouth is now more of a tourist town with lots of hotels and motels and little shops. We stayed at Sceniclands Motel and it was very nice – just a few blocks away to the water. Bronwyn, the hotel manager was exceedingly helpful and suggested a place to get a less expensive rental car along with a few things to see and do. We did end up renting a car for the few days we were there and made our way up to "Pancake Rocks." These are named for the rock formations that look like stacks of pancakes. It was a beautiful walk and the views were great. If tide was higher or the seas rougher, we would have been treated to a magnificent show of water through the many blowholes in the rocks. Our day was sunny and the seas calm and tide was at its lowest. Oh well...it was pretty impressive nonetheless.

The highlight of our visit to Greymouth, was a trek at the DOC "Wood Creek" reserve. This was a slow drive over some gravelly and hilly roads to get back into the area that few locals seemed to even know about. Bronwyn at the hotel suggested it. The trek itself wasn't very long but it was very interesting. This was a gold mining area so the park had many man-made sluices, tunnels and gorges. Caves and tunnels could be seen everywhere in the bush and there were deep and very narrow, straight gorges built by hand piling stone upon stone. Now these stones are covered in moss and greenery. The whole area just drips in dampness. As with all DOC areas we've been to, this one is very well maintained. Lots of bridges and steps help in getting around the trail. We went into a very long tunnel where you could still see the pick marks that helped carve the tunnel out of the rock. Plus it was great to see some fantail birds and ground birds – wetas.

A brewery tour was also in order as one of the small craft style breweries is in Greymouth – Monteiths. The deal was great – you pay for the tour but get to drink as much beer as the tour costs!

We left Greymouth on a very dismal day – gale force winds, cold temps and rain – all coming from the southwest (aka Antarctica). Unfortunately the train station has a very tiny inside waiting room so we found a coffee shop and then the library as a waiting area!

The trip back over the mountains was very different from the one heading west. Same route but a dramatically changed landscape. Snow had hit the mountains. It was still snowing in areas as we made our way through the Southern Alps. It was beautiful to see and the train was empty enough – we could each have window seats! Even the Canterbury Plains were getting snow – something that is not seen often and had never happened in April (or so we were told).

Upon arrival back in Christchurch, it was still very very cold and wet. Throughout the night and into the next morning there were consistent hail storms and lots of wind. Auckland on the North Island had serious damage – in fact closing the airport for several hours with 150 km winds.

Next leg – the drive begins heading further south.

South Island Adventure

After two weeks back in Whangarei on the North Island of New Zealand sorting our treasures from our Astarte life and adventures, we have made our way to the South Island. Our time in Whangarei was busy getting the packing done but then we enjoyed time with friends and even a steam train ride! We stayed in our first “airbnb” accommodation and were quite happy with the apartment we chose. It was a bit sad to leave one of our favorite places but time to move on.

We landed (via Auckland) in Christchurch on the eastern coast. Christchurch was devastated by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. It was the second greatest natural disaster in New Zealand's history. Killing 186 people and destroying many homes and buildings, the city shows the scars of this event. Construction sites abound and this is seven years after the event. Many historic buildings are still being shored up by massive steadying beams and the cracks on the rock walls and structures remain visible.

We spent a full day exploring the city via trolley, foot, bus and even gondola. Right after earthquakes, the city cheered itself up with community art projects that popped up in unlikely sites. Sides of buildings were covered with murals; empty spaces were filled with impromptu colorful, creative and even crazy installations of sculpture made from found objects; and, performance art popped up. This gave the city a new flavor.

We went to the art museum, botanical garden, history museum, “cardboard” cathedral (Transitional Cathedral built in 11 months to house the main Anglican Church that was destroyed by the earthquakes). It is called the “cardboard” cathedral because some of the beams are made from cardboard. We saw an interesting tribute “185 chairs” - one of the gap filling art pieces – but quite powerful. There are 185 chairs of every shape and size, all painted white on 185 square meters of grass. This represents the 185 people who died in the quake from all walks of life on grass which represents the new beginnings. Quite moving.

We then took the local bus to a gondola about 20 minutes outside the city. This was a fun ride to see the city and the ocean from above. (It was the first time Michael didn't make me climb up a hill and I arrived at the top without a red face!) The plains of Canterbury are quite flat with series of hills and the view let us sea the ocean to the east. It was beautiful to get a 360 view of the area from on-high.

The botanical gardens were beautiful even in fall. So we enjoyed a stroll through the well maintained and varied rose gardens, large trees, river walk, grass areas and conservatories. We lucked out with a warm (even hot) sunny day for our Christchurch exploration. The trolley was a fun way to get about the city – you could hop on and off at the various stops. They were historic old cars with knowledgeable conductors and drivers that pointed out the highlights (and some lower-lights).

After a full day in the city, we downsized our baggage to make the trip via the “Tranzalpine Train” across the island.

The adventure saga will continue...