BLOG NUMBER EIGHT SOUTH ISLAND HEADED NORTH

3 nites in Te Anau was 1 nite too many, Lynn had a bad cold so we just sort of hung out and did the glowworm cave trip to pass the time ($180 worth of time passing) very interesting but overpriced. Scratch that one of the bucket list! Rained 2 or the 3 days in Te Anau not surprising tho as they get 9 meters of rainfall annually in the Milford Sound-Te Anau area. Campsite was one of the best we have stayed in. The proprietor was a riot. A lady from Sweden phoned him and asked him the whereabouts of her daughter. Her daughter had been travelling for months and one of the stops on her itinerary was his campground and the daughter indicated to her mom that she would be there on that date but had not called home for 11 days. The Mom left the message for the daughter to call home immediately so… when the daughter showed up 2 days later, the first thing the owner did was tell her to call her mother as she hadn’t heard from her for 13 days. The girl’s mouth just dropped!

Drove across the country to Dunedin (very Scottish) Dunedin was the ancient name for Edinburgh and we stayed at a campground in Portobello half way out on the Otaga peninsula. Penguin colonies, Albatrosses, Larnach Castle is impressive, a Highclare Castle look alike. The Laird shot himself, was married three times and (Heather’s words, not mine… so I can repeat it), “they must have driven him to do it!” Dunedin is a wonderful little city and home to Otago University one of NZ’s best.

Dunedin Train station

Many day trips are available that take you inland to various gorges. We did a walk-about and had a great pub lunch with draft Guiness. The area around Gore is very beautiful and many trout streams; anglers come from all over the world to fish for trout around here.

Next stop Oamaru which is a really neat place along the coast,

very quiet and quaint with blue penguins and yellow eyed penguin so we just watched from afar (instead of Paying $60 to go inside the compound)… when they came ashore as we had seen the penguin parade on Phillip Island in Aus. There was an international convention of cormorants at the wharf in the inner harbour.

As we walked back to town, there is an old guy that locks up the rowboats and dinghies every nite on the wharf. Three little penguins come ashore every nite and sleep under his dinghies. He looks out for them so that stray dogs cannot get at them. Better to see than  the commercial adventure.

Stopped at the Moritake boulders so Heather could do some exercises.

At Ashburton, south of Christchurch we stopped on the side of the highway for lunch; we noticed the bakery across the street had a turnstile of customers. During the half hour we stopped there were literally more than a hundred customers. Truckers, locals, tourists, stopped on both side of the State Highway and the parking lot with picnic tables was full.

We checked it out and bought he best carrot cake we have ever eaten. There must have been 15 or more people in the store while we were browsing… meat pies, fruit pies, pastries, cakes… you name it! DON’T BYPASS SIMS BAKERY ON THE SH1 AT ASHBURTON!!!!

Drove from Oamaru  to Christchurch and decided to push on to Hanmer Springs and spend extra time in Nelson for 3 days. Many wildfires in the Christchurch area and many homes have been lost. Did a drive thru downtown Christchurch to see the earthquake damage; very sad to see the extent of the damage. Many streets are being totally rebuilt, roadworks everywhere, Scaffolding and cranes are everywhere.

 

 

Brunhilde (our GPS) got a heavy workout as many streets were closed, others converted to 1 way traffic, and the like. As detours would not allow us to follow Brunhilde’s commands, there was a lot of “ recalculating, recalculating, make a U turn as soon as possible” .

Harvest is underway in the area along the east coast; canola has been swathed, much barley is being combined by straight cut and the crops look very productive. There was a file of oats that had been cut with a binder and stooked… it would have made Heather’s and my Dad’s hearts take a leap to see that! Sheep and cattle haulers are required to wash all the animal waste into large holding tanks along the highway; there are animal refuse dump sites about every 50 km along each highway.

Camped in Hanmer Springs, a spa/ski/jet boat resort town much akin to Canmore.

Long day drive to Motueka today; only 200 km but took about 6 hours due to the terrain and multitudinous curves. After a great steak BBQ, we will spend a couple of days here to unwind before heading to Picton to catch the ferry northbound. Motueka is a great spot, the best campground so far

 

 and the entrance to Abel Tasman National Park, we both feel if we wanted to holiday in NZ, this is the ONLY area we would come to. You could spend a couple of months here, the weather is the best in the entire country. Everything anyone wanted to do ids right here within short drive. Hiking, biking, boating, fishing in saltchuck and streams, swimming, vineyards, birdwatching, golf, and every extreme sport that tickles your heart. The best thing is… it is also very quiet here. Spent the day at the beach in Kaiteriteri.

 

No vehicles are allowed in Abel Tasman National Park; options are... walk in- walk out, or take water taxis that will drop you off at many locations and you can walk out. From a 2 hour walk to a three day hike. For three days take extra blood because the sand flies will take you down a quart.

We also celebrated Waitangi Day and Valentines Day as one.

Waitangi Day (national holiday Feb, 6) celebrates Maori signing treaties with the Brits in 1840s. We (efficient) Canadians celebrated Waitangi Day and Valentines Day all in one as follows:

Old Maori chief, Lynn-rangitangi leads his warriors in a war dance called a haka. Tattooed warriors make themselves look fierce by bugging out their eyes and sticking out their tongues to intimidate their enemies.

AIDED BY Princess, Heather Anne amorous arua,  enemies  adopt a demure, deferential manner and lay gifts like Marlborough Pinot Noir, dark chocolate and fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market at the chiefs feet.

Trust, friendship and mutual respect are recognized by touching foreheads and noses.
Gifts are shared and consumed… one thing leads to another…

et voila, Waitangi Day and Valentines Day all in one.

This war paint was supposed to be water soluble/washable… NUTS! I hope it wears off before we have to clear security with the American Border security in LAX.

Hope to golf Tasman tomorrow on the way to Nelson.