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Down Under 2019

January - March 2019
A 64-day adventure by Cindy and Daryl Read more
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  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 34

    Back to the coast

    February 14, 2019 in New Zealand

    Easy drive through Canterbury countryside. Small towns...not unhappy we didn't make it to stay in Omarama 😋.

    Now back to the coast...Oamaru (easy to get the names mixed up!) Limestone capital of the area. Victorian buildings revitalized when someone realized the value in them. A cool town...we didn't get the full views with a foggy morning but saw the workings. The place too where the penguins come to the shore at night...you can take your chances and walk along the boardwalk to see for yourself...maybe. Or pay your money and sit in the grandstands with all the other suckers. Started to rain so we took option 3...the last post (original post office, now a pub 🍻 😁).

    Stayed in quaint 'Miss Barclay's cottage'. Fits so well with the Victorian antique culture of the town. Too cute for words. Had to watch your head in the doorways but worth that risk.    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 36

    Dunedin!!

    February 16, 2019 in New Zealand

    Another easy driving day, checking out the sights along the way. Heading south toward Dunedin, into the Otago region now.

    First stop Moeraki Boulders. Good thing there wasn't a charge for this attraction...probably more impressive at low tide. We were most impressed with how unstable the cliff was and how the restaurant was going to fall down any moment!

    Then onto Fleur's cafe for lunch. Now that met expectations! Not much to look at from the outside but quaint inside and fabulous seafood! 

    Then we make it to Dunedin... the prime motivation for the whole trip in the first place. Kirsten is driving back home from the North Island as we speak so we'll catch up with her tomorrow. 

    More accommodation challenges... fexibility has its dark side.  Last week before university starts and helicopter parents on every corner getting their kiddlies set up. (That was us in days gone by 🙃). So the whole town is full, not to mention the pipe band competition... wth a dozen or more bands from around the region. But we figured it out and we got to know Dunedin a little... cool town with lots of good history.    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    2
    1
    Day 37

    Kirsten! Cycling! Yaah!

    February 17, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    It's all come together! We're cycling the Otago rail trail with Kirsten!  Day 1 is under our belt and so far so good. Only 150 km to go. The bikes are great, the trail super, the company exquisite 😊.

    We travelled by van to a little town a couple of hours from Dunedin. Clyde is so cute...and start of the rail trail. We got fitted with our bikes...ready to go. First priority... fuel up with a cheese roll.  Now ready for the river trail to Alexandra... another cute town... I think there's definitely a theme here.

    Wine tasting at Judge's Rock cellar door. That might become a theme too 🍷. A small winery that's trying to break into BCLB. Hope they do!

    It's just a warm up day so we loop back to Clyde, check in to our lodging, find our suitcases waiting in the room...like it. Now off to Olivers brewery to sample their wares. Then to Paulinas...50 metres down the road... fabulous fettuccine and blue cod dinners.

    I think we're going to like this trip!  Especially if the weather stays like it was today. Ok everybody... cross your fingers 🤞🤞🤞.    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 38

    Clyde to Omakau...first leg

    February 18, 2019 in New Zealand

    First leg of the trail under our belt with the fortune of good weather and good times. History galore, tiny little towns, scenery at every turn, railway stories, people stories.

    Towns developed around the gold rush, railway came along with the usual winners and losers. And once truck transport made the railway obsolete, the rail trail took over and the little towns adapted to a different clientele.

    Kilometers traveled today...40. Now that may not seem much to some hard core cyclists but you need to understand the situation. A gravel track means more resistance than road riding. Wind is a factor and can almost topple you at the cross. And the mid-morning flat white and lunchtime brew....it all takes time 😋.

    We had a whole house to ourselves last night in Omakau...and we were tuckered. The Old Commercial Hotel drove us back to our place after dinner when the rain started...part of the deal!    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 39

    No rest for the riders!

    February 19, 2019 in New Zealand

    Jam-packed day with crazy scenery.  More cute towns...Ophir has the oldest working post office in the country. The town has 58 residents...3 are Canadian 🇨🇦...what are they doing way down here??) People generally pick up their mail at the post office but the postmaster will deliver along her way home too. Except that time the cabbage wouldn't fit in the mailbox and it had to wait for pickup...true story! 🤣.

    Hayes engineering works...amazing inventions, nine children raised in  a three room cottage, then a grand house built with fortunes made. You have to see this place. Some of it reminds me of Grampa Brown's workshop 🔧🔧🔧🔧🛠️🛠️🛠️🛠️🛠️🔧🔧.

    Fairly long uphill trek, to be rewarded with a 4 km downhill where Kirsten didn't peddle once!  

    A van tour at the end of day to St. Bathans..old Irish mining town. Explore the old buildings, relive the times thru photos and stories.  Terry, our driver, has the local knowledge...the Angus cattle do well in the highlands...that sheep herd has the best merino wool bound for Italian tailors.  Then Cambria...just down the road.. a Welsh mining town. (Why couldn't the Irish and Welsh have got together here, so far away from home?)  Cambria has 6 full time residents. Bob is one....and one of a kind. A totally entertaining walk around his property.  Sequoia-ringed meadow. Student woofers that help out in return for room and board. Feeding the ducks. History, ecology, warmth, humour.. a lovable, unique character.

    51 km later, add-on tour, dinner out... we'll sleep well...    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 41

    Easy Riders

    February 21, 2019 in New Zealand

    A glorious downhill ride through the farmland. Farm after farm after farm. Makes for not bad viewing... Rock and Pillar ranges in the background.

    Ranfurly...the only town that came about due to the railway and not discovery of gold. Art deco town; statue of John Turnbull Thompson...first surveyor general of NZ...so particularly relevant for one of us travelers 😉.  On to Waipiata for lunch...New Zealand pies...lamb and mint; beef and blue cheese; pumpkin, spinach, ricotta...delicious! Oh...and a pint 🍺.

    No hurry to our place for the night but then....the wind came up 💨.  Yes...headwind!  But with a downhill grade, sun shining and a belly-ful of pie...somehow we made it 🙂. Rain was in the forecast but clear skies all day, so can't complain too much. Especially with the home cooked meal provided at our place that night. Much appreciated after our 49 km!    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 41

    Otago Rail Trail Complete!

    February 21, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Last day on the rail trail. What a super trip!  An easy day of only 27 km...all downhill. Rain forecast again didn't materialize. We had a sun angel on our side the whole time ☀️👼.  The wind devil 💨👿  snuck in a few times but we're tough 💪.

    203 km later we're ready to head back to reality. A perfect transition taking the Taieri Gorge Railroad from Pukerangi to Dunedin. 10 tunnels,12 viaducts, fab gorge views, then back to civilization. It really felt like we were in another world for the last 5 days. You bikers out there..put it in your list    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    2
    Day 42

    Dunedin Life

    February 22, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Great escapes so close to town. Tunnel Beach is one. Steep hill down with views that rival Aussie's 12 apostles...Kiwi's own 'London Bridge'.  Watch your step...strong winds and slippery slopes have taken people over the cliff.  A secret tunnel...legend says was built so John Cargill's daughters could sunbathe out of sight of prying eyes...intrigue!

    Hike is rewarded at the NewNewNew brewery...taproom only open on Fridays...our good luck. (Great beer 🍻!)

    Then...the local rugby team has its home opener at Forsyth Barr stadium. We're in! Our first pro rugby game....when in New Zealand..... 🙂.  The Highlanders (which included a number of All Blacks players) prevailed, in a close game against the Queensland Reds (Yay...we beat the Aussies!)  Uni students out in force sitting in the "Zoo" behind the end zone. Great fun!    Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    Day 43

    A day in the life...

    February 23, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Woke up...fell out of bed...dragged a comb across my head...    (Beatles 1967)

    Then went for a run.  Parkrun.  5 km free, timed run that happens all over the world on a Saturday morning.  Who knew?  Well...a lovely couple from Manchester who we met on the bike trip.

    This one in Dunedin through the Botanic gardens. After a couple of times on the treadmill this trip, Cindy thought..."I should be able to do this." Bolstered by her support group (Daryl) she now has her first Parkrun under her belt.  Locals say Dunedin is the hardest route in the world...with the 100 m STEEP hill (twice!) that may well be so. Great views, tho I think I'll prefer our Victoria run from Clover Point to the Beacon Hill duck pond!  This was the 99th parkrun for our Manchester buddy. A new addiction?

    Then to Dunedin market...2 weeks in a row...we're regulars!  Delicious crepe filled the gap.  Kirsten got her weekly groceries, then guided us to the Otago peninsula.  Oh dear 😯...more awesome views!   And a trek down to Sandfly Bay...long sandy beach, boogie boards down sand dunes (we took the spectator role on that one), sea lions, haystack in the ocean like the Oregon Coast. Again...only 20 minutes from town.     Read more

  • TravelerDown Under 2019
    1
    Day 44

    Otago University

    February 24, 2019 in New Zealand

    Kirsten's educational hangout for the last few years...one more to go. A beautiful old campus.... celebrating 150 years.

    Lunch at Oaken cafe near the Uni. Great to have the local knowledge 😋.

    Visit to Dunedin art gallery. Right by the Octagon...centre of town, 8 sides 😉.  Where we saw the pipe bands. Lots of bars, restaurants, coffee shops. Kirsten's flat 12 min away.

    We like Dunedin 😊. But we may be biased...    Read more

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