We are lucky enough to have a very kind timetable in NZ and the two week Easter break gave us the best opportunity to polish off some bits we missed in the south island! This time we'd start in Queenstown, but head anti-clockwise around the island living in our tents until eventually reaching Christchurch. A modest journey of 1087km (excluding detours, beer runs etc.) meant we had a hectic week ahead of us with much to see and do!
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| Our route for the weeks trip! |
We couldn't believe that the south island was also a winter-free zone! Blue skies, a slight nip in the air, but just another beautiful day in Queenstown. We partnered this beautiful morning with our personalised heavens of pancakes, coffees and hot chocolates before walking the Tiki Trail. From here we could relive the beauty of Queenstown from up high. Remarkably Ella had never been here, so it was an honour to show her some of her own country for the first time* ;-)
*Ella does have the excuse of living in Asia for 15 years...
And of course we visited my most favourite place in NZ: Fergburger! This time I had to try the biggest on the menu, the legend of the legend, the Big Al! A challenge also met by Pauline and Ella. Good on ya guys ;-) I've been treated so well by Fergburger and I suspect this may have been my last one. Long may it live in the memory... I hope our paths will one day cross again.
But this was not quite the end of the Ferg experience. The early risers of next morning were rewarded with coffee and breakfast from FergBakery! More happy taste buds, more happy memories. It was an essential meal before the longer-than-anticipated morning walk to collect our rental car. The rain clouds joined us for this part of the day, so by the time we returned with the car to pick up (a well-rested) Pauline we were all ready to go for (second) breakfast. But where to go? FergBakery! It seems saying goodbye was harder than I knew. Though it's probably for the best that I don't live in Queenstown- I'd be in there all the time! Ah Ferg...
Before finally leaving Queenstown the rainclouds gave way to a newly painted skyline. The storm had left the tips of the surrounding mountains with a distinctive white coat; we got to see a bit of Queenstown in the snow after all!
We drove south for the rest of the day towards the Catlins and the Antarctic driven storms. We were forced to throw on more clothes and were confined within the car for food and warmth. But we weren't deterred from visiting some points of interest. First on the tick-list, S(a)lope Point, the southern most tip of the south island. Amidst the selfies and watching gigantic waves tearing over cliff faces we met the cutest baby in NZ! He was being carried on his parents backpackers and we all initially felt sorry for him, but in the wind and rain he had the biggest smile- a true trooper!
That night we failed to find anywhere to camp, mainly due to the severe weather (on reflection I think the Gods were angry that PauPau had been playing One Direction throughout the day). Instead we stumbled upon a small cottage/hostel close in Waikawa. It was simple and cute and had heating. Plus our lucky Ella also got us a little discount for being Kiwi ;-)
However the problem with remote areas of NZ is that they're pretty damn remote. We discovered this on two levels on this night. First, a casual beer run took a good long drive to a neighboring village. Secondly, when a large storm passes over, power is not guaranteed so we were without for the majority of the night. Thankfully we had a log fire and some new friends for company we talked the night away in our own little horror film setting.
We woke up surprisingly warm the next morning. It wasn't the planned start to the camping trip across the south island, but I think we were all happy to have had a good nights sleep. Especially as our friendly neighborhood storm needed bracing once again.
We had a quick glance at the petrified forest in the morning. The forest was completely fossilised after being submerged by lava flow hundreds of years ago. Thousands of years later, tidal erosion has freed the trees to make them visible once more. I hear they're beautiful, but the storm certainly wouldn't allow us to find out for ourselves. The waves were thunderous against the cliff faces again and we could barely hear each other talk. It even took a bit of effort to stand straight- I feel a bit more of the forest may have been lost over these few days.
We stopped for more coffee before continuing (we drank far too much coffee!). But this place gets a very special mention as the cafe was owned by very proud parents. Their daughter, Laura Thompson, was a cycling pilot in the London 2012 Paralympic games. They had some of her memorabilia, including her three medals, on display and after asking nicely we were allowed a closer look. If we had been there just a few days later we would have seen her working in the family kitchen. Lots of respect here.
I soon found a rainy day activity to amuse myself though. I like to give it the really catchy name "dropping the girls off at the toilets whilst its raining then driving off before they've realised". Classic game. Though I think only I enjoyed it #Zycra
But enough dawdling, we were off to visit The Lost Gypsy. We didn't really know what to expect, only some weird art built by "The Mechanic". We wandered through the renovated train to look at the mad mechanics work. We were captivated. His little toys and trinkets were just incredibly clever and weird. We were even given free entry because our lucky token Ella was again offered a free pass (this girl couldn't keep getting all the good luck, right?) but then paid a donation with money found on the floor. A true unexpected highlight and another weather-beating adventure!
The success of sheltered activity inspired our next walk. McLean Waterfall was a much more peaceful location than it's coastal surroundings. It may have been the peace amongst the storm, it may have been the genuine, self-carved beauty or it may have been the sense of achievement taking a photo without one of the girls photobombing it (that was hard work), but McLean Waterfall certainly felt like a top ten waterfall in NZ.
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| More photobombing! |
We drove a few more hours towards Nugget Point. I swapped out from driving and was immediately pleading for mercy as the girls forced One Direction on me. They made it quite clear my driving away game hadn't impressed and for it I must pay the price.
Still, Nugget Point held a couple of presents for us even in the storm. A small walk down the coast led us to some Yellow Crested Penguins. Viewed from the hut we saw quite a few along the beach there. That was nice to check from the tick-list.
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| Poor quality, but Penguins! |
We drove to Balclutha that evening to try and outrun the storm and commit to another tent-free night. We bought fish, chips and (the worst decision of the trip) milkshake. Though Pauline managed to drink it all and nobody else close, we all regretted drinking the portions that we did.
We had unknowingly set a course to a hostel which was a renovated hospital; a second night in the setting of horror films it seemed. We took a look around the corridors and kitchens to see what we could find, and Ella got the biggest scare when finding a large tangled doll in a cupboard in the hallway.
Luck would have it the owner was walking by and he gave us the grand tour of the entire hospital. We walked through new function rooms, soon-to-be cafes and apartments. The creepy hospital-feel wouldn't evaporate during the tour, but it certainly satisfied the Scooby Doo adventuring spirit.
The next day we drove on to Otago Penisula, the eastern finger of Dunedin. Weather status: still poor. We visited just one attraction because of this, Sandfly Bay. Not named after the terrible, blood sucking, Dannii-leg-loving insects which plague the south island, Sandfly Bay is actually a reference to the sand often caught in the high winds in the area. Though pretty to look at, it was like walking through sandpaper whilst wearing shorts. Perhaps I should have let summer go and wear trouser, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Anyway, through the flying sand we went for a high reward of Sealions. We saw at least 20 from the hut, and one up close as we were walking on the beach. It was worth losing a bit of leg hair for.
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| Sandfly Bay Selfie |
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| It was pretty cold- group hug! |
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| This half of the beach only seemed to have nice weather |
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| Sealion! |
More importantly, we had 4 of the best pizzas in the world at RatBags. They were incredibly cheap- just $12 for half a meter. The flavours weren't cheap and tacky either: Salmon and Mozzarella, Lamb Shank in Red Wine, Smoked Chicken Cranberry and Brie & Cheese and Pepperoni. We all ate until we felt disgusted with ourselves. Though Ella still had means to smile as her lucky streak earned her a free meal after rolling a Yahtzee at the hostel. This girl was on fire!
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| Casual hostel stretching |
The morning gave us a chance to explore some more of the city centre through casual walks and shopping. We also explored the gift shop of Cadbury World as well, which as our last trip with PauPau :-( Even if she did like practicing torture through music, it was sad to split the group. She did some more traveling of her own, though I'm surprised she didn't return to Auckland to try and meet Ed Sheeran- she spoke about it often enough haha.
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| Dunedin train station |
But this was only half of the one week adventure. And the second week just got absolutely crazy. Certainly there were plenty of unplanned elements, beautiful views and ridiculous camping arrangements. All summed up in Part II: We Need More Coffee!Kia Ora,
Ben
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