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  • Chris Dickson

New Zealand 2025

A 29-day adventure by Chris Read more
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    🇳🇿 Twizel, New Zealand
    Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler

    Aoraki/Mt Cook and Tekapo

    Oct 14–18 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Our New Zealand holiday came to an end with two incredibly scenic destinations, as has been the case for the past three-and-a-bit weeks.

    It is a beautiful country to visit - unspoiled, unhurried, uncrowded, in some cases untamed. We didn’t seeRead more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    Northern royal albatross
    Dunedin Town HallThe stylish Regent Theatre, conveniently between two pubsDunedinDunedin courthouseDunedin Railway StationCustomer desk from the local BNZ branchSome fossilsBaldwin Street, Dunedin, steepest in the worldBeautiful KaritaneKaritaneŌamaru historic buildingsMr and Mrs Dickson welcome you to their homeTold you it was hands onSteampunkQuick rendition of the Monster MashSteampunk feature in our hotel room

    Dunedin and Ōamaru

    Oct 10–14 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    After we hopped off the boat in Milford Harbour we did a coast to coast drive, ending up in the south-east, in Dunedin.

    And what a nice, neat city it is! A good selection of historic buildings, including the iconic Dunedin Railway Station, a semi-pedestrianised city centre with shops of every persuasion and a lively drinking sector near the beautiful Regent Theatre on the Octagon.

    But before all that, we visited an albatross.

    We took a long, slow drive around the north coast of the Otago Peninsula, hugging the coast the whole way and passing through numerous tiny villages until we reached the Royal Albatross Centre. That’s “royal” as in a northern royal albatross, not “Royal”, as in some kind of kingly or queenly patronage.

    Unfortunately, the albatrosses were either shy or, more likely, not back from their two year sojourn on the southern ocean winds, as we only saw one.

    They are an incredible creature, mating for life, heading off separately for two years, flying thousands of kilometres (sometimes a thousand kilometres in a single day) and then when the time comes to get together to mate again, landing back at exactly the same spot within a few hours of each other.

    It was also red-billed gull breeding season, so we were treated to numerous instances of red-billed gull fornication on the way up to the hide.

    Back in Dunedin, we enjoyed the nice buildings and the aforementioned lively drinking sector, as well as the Otago Settlers Museum.

    With all manner of exhibits, from the very early years, to the City Council’s old IBM computer, and a few boats, cars and trams in between, it was a great presentation of the history of the city, while also paying appropriate attention to Dunedin’s Scottish Free Church history.

    Then we popped in to Karitane. Not the local baby-feeding-help clinic, but the village of Karitane, where the first such place was opened at the house of infant nutrition pioneer Sir Truby King. It was an absolutely beautiful little place.

    Further north is Oamaru, where spent a few days.

    Again, we kicked off with some wildlife spotting, spending a few chilly hours watching the occupants of Oamaru’s blue penguin colony make their way home after a day’s fishing. It was fascinating to watch them emerge from the water, clamber up the bank, then, on some random impulse, dash (well, waddle quickly but awkwardly) across no man’s land to the nests. Sadly, no photos were allowed of this fantastic sight.

    Oamaru has some considerable former glory, having made fortunes out of gold, shipping, wool and frozen meat exports - it was the first in the world to commence this last one.

    As a result of this, it has a couple of blocks of extremely well-preserved Victoria /Edwardian buildings, now repurposed into museums, arts centres and shops.

    We had a look at the wonderfully fun and informal Whitestone City, a museum with all manner of hands-on artifacts.

    The third arrow in Oamaru’s quiver is as a centre for steampunk. We spent a couple of very fun hours at Steampunk HQ, enjoying the interesting-to-say-the-least exhibits.

    The steampunk theme was continued at our hotel, which was decorated like pretty much no other we have seen. Our room was adorned with whips and tractor seats, although I promise neither got used during our stay.

    Next off, we head inland again for the final few days of our trip.    Read more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    Milford Sound
    Cromwell Historic PrecinctArrowtown Chinese SettlementArrowtown Main StreetLake Wakatipu, QueenstownQueenstownThe celebrated TSS Earnslaw, on WakatipuPrecipitous street down to townAnother jetty, on Lake Te AnauA takahe, endangered, and rather odd-lookingEglinton Valley, en route to Milford SoundA kea, brazen and cheekyOn board the good ship Milford MarinerMilford SoundOur mooring for the night, in Harrison CoveOut in the Tasman SeaMirror Lake, on the way back out

    Queenstown and Piopiotahi/Milford Sound

    Oct 5–9 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    On the way to Queenstown, on a cold, clear morning, we stopped firstly at the Cromwell Heritage Precinct, a bunch of old buildings relocated to higher ground when Lake Dunstan was created in 1992.

    From there we popped into historic Arrowtown, a gold mining town dating from 1862.

    The remains of the town’s Chinese settlement were fascinating, as was the historic Main Street of the town, where the businesses are now employed extracting gold from the wallets of the tourists.

    Queenstown itself more than lived up to its hype, although the weather was a little unkind to us. We enjoyed walking down the incredibly steep hill (not so much walking up, though!) from our accommodation to the township, and walking past the forty-five-minute-plus queues at Fergburger to get to the waterfront.

    Being too old, too sensible and too tight-arsed for the adventure activities, we enjoyed the walk out around Queenstown Gardens, a cruise on Lake Wakatipu and a drive up to the village of Glenorchy in pouring rain.

    From there, via a couple of nights overlooking the picture-postcard lake at Te Anau, we made our way to Milford Sound for an overnight cruise.

    The weather by this time was a bit dreadful, very cold and windy and with a major rain event forecast. In fact, the Milford Road was forecast to close the day we drove in, leaving us to hope it would be reopened in time for our exit the following day.

    As it turned out, though, we were a bit lucky. Quite a few of the 6,800 annual millimetres fell whilst we were driving in but once we set sail from Milford Harbour the rain stopped and we had a couple of wonderful hours cruising up close to the waterfalls, some permanent and hundreds of others just random rivulets cascading down the cliffs.

    It was a wonderful experience to wake up in the morning, pull the curtains aside and see the light slowly bringing into focus the calm water and the imposing cliffs rising on all sides.

    The following morning was clearer still, as we sailed out through the entrance to the sound for a brief sojourn in the Tasman Sea. That entrance is hard to spot from the ocean, so much so that even noted apprentice grocer James Cook missed it as he sailed past.

    Leaving Milford, we were third in the queue when the road was reopened, too, so our luck held out to the end. What a great experience!    Read more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    Peter's Pool, a kettle lake near Franz Josef
    Extract from the Arahura Deed of PurchaseFranz Josef Glacier, from the viewpointGlacier closeupPeter's PoolThe Waiho RiverBridge across the Waiho leading to Robert's Point TrackFox GlacierNot a kiwi, but a tuatara, also at the Wilderness CentreA new day - and a change of weatherThe Waikukua RiverRoaring Billy FallsThe Haast River, and Roaring Billy FallsThunder Creek Falls, also on the Haast RiverFantail Falls, also on the Haast RiverBridge to the Blue PoolsThe Blue Pools, on the Makarora RiverThe Blue PoolsThe Blue PoolsLake WanakaWanaka. It started raining soon after we arrivedEels in Lake WanakaLake WanakaThe Tree at WanakaWanaka Station Park

    Franz Josef/Waiau and Wanaka

    Oct 1–5 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We left pretty Punakaiki in very unpretty, wet, windy weather, and drove south to Hokitika, where we took a glance at Sunset Point before retreating into the Hokitika Museum.

    There, we read about the Arahura Deed of Purchase, whereby the white people bought 7.5 million acres of the West Coast for three hundred pounds - about $NZ45,000 (or less than a cent per acre) today.

    Actually, the agent who did the deal was sent out with four hundred pounds, but managed to beat them down. It didn’t matter so much, though, as of the fourteen signatories to the agreement, two were women, so they didn’t get anything anyway.

     On a chilly, four-degree morning, we took a scenic walk out to Franz Josef glacier.

    The track took us to a viewing platform right next to the glacier. Oh, wait - that was in 1910!
    The glacier has now retreated three kilometres back into the hills, mainly thanks to the actions of we pesky humans.

    Actually, the lack of close-up glacier contact was more than made up for by the peaceful, still atmosphere. There were very few people around and the only sounds we could hear on our walks in the area were birds and the occasional gurgle of a nearby stream.

    Later in the day we drove the twenty kilometres or so to Fox Glacier, for a very distant, but scenic, view.

    Oh, we also saw a couple of kiwis, at the West Coast Wildlife Centre, in Franz Josef/Waiau. No photos, unfortunately, but we were so taken with these cute fluffy animals, poking around in the foliage with their stick beaks, that we went back the following day for another look.

    Then we headed south, and across the mountains through the Haast Pass.

    Roaring Billy Falls. Thunder Creek. Fantail Falls. The Blue Pools. The trip was a succession of walks along immaculately-maintained tracks to churning aquamarine streams and waterfalls, all with the imposing snow-capped peaks looming above.

    Soon enough, we were in Wanaka, a pleasant, buzzing town with a long, picturesque frontage on to its eponymous lake. After the relatively empty west coast, we were also a bit stunned to be back amongst crowds.

    Unfortunately, we had pretty bad weather for our visit and had to time our sightseeing between showers of rain.

    We managed a couple of walks along the scenic foreshore, a trip out to Glendhu Bay and a look at Wanaka Station Park.

    “That Tree at Wanaka” sits proudly in the lake and gets so many photos it might have a Banksy painted on its trunk.

    Next stop, hopefully drier, will be Queenstown.    Read more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    Lake Rotoiti
    Cloudy BayLake Rotoiti residentsStoat trapThe wild Tasman SeaThe very fancy Visitor CentreThe path to the Pancake RocksNew Zealand flax1Tree hugging on the Truman TrackAt the end of the Truman TrackThe entrance to Constant BayConstant Bay

    St Arnaud and Punakaiki

    Sep 27–Oct 1 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    We left a sun-drenched Picton and drove to Blenheim, where we spent an enjoyable hour or so at the Cloudy Bay Winery, tasting a few samples purely in the interest of research.

    Then we headed up the valley, until the endless vineyards of Marlborough made way for hillier country, with the braided and fast-running Wairau River the dominant feature, before arriving at tiny St Arnaud, on the edge of Lake Rotoiti.

    The lakefront is incredibly picturesque, with a solitary jetty just crying out for a bikini-clad lass - admittedly with frostbite - posing on its edge. Unsurprisingly, there were none around.

    Refurbishment of the local beech forests is a big thing here. Apparently the female scale insect burrows into the beech tree and eats the sap. It then excretes honeydew through its anal passage, and this secretion is ambrosia for the birds and insects of the forest. And also, unfortunately, for the wasp, which, since being introduced into the country, has decimated the local wildlife.

    So there are hundreds of wasp-bait stations in the area, along with traps for larger predators such as rabbits, stoats and the like. The dedication of the local group who are doing this work is admirable.

    After a couple of days, we made our way to the west coast, via the very scenic old gold mining town of Reefton, to Greymouth and, finally, to Punakaiki, home to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.

    These proved to be much grander than their name suggests, in part thanks to the heaving, frothing Tasman Sea, which absolutely pounded the shore for the entire duration of our visit.

    From the architecturally impressive visitor centre, the path meandered through acres of New Zealand flax plants as we made our way about fifty metres to the coast.

    Once there, the circuit took us along the top of the cliffs, weaving between chasms full of churning water. From time to time, a thrump! told us to expect spray from a blowhole somewhere. It was amazing.

    We also took a drive north to Charleston, and pretty Constant Bay. Unbelievably, this tiny inlet was at one time gazetted as the official Port of Charleston. Too bad the entrance is only about thirty metres wide, and thirty metres of surging, unforgiving ocean at that. Little wonder that there were eight shipwrecks in thirteen years.

    Two days in Punakaiki has been perfect; there has even been the occasional period of fine weather! Tomorrow we head to glacier country.    Read more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    Kaikoura township
    The Seaward Kaikoura RangeAlong the Kaikoura Peninsula WalkwayPlayful humpbackSmelly sealsSmelly seagullsSnoopy's triumphDe Havilland MosquitoJungle wreckWaikawa Bay, near PictonA change of weather, and the Picton ferry terminalPelorus BridgeCullen Point views3

    Kaikoura and Picton

    Sep 23–27 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We set off from Christchurch and drove a few hours up the coast to Kaikoura, through impossibly-green countryside, sometimes on easy straight tarmac but frequently very up-and-down and twisting.

    Kaikoura, despite being on the coast, is on an incredibly steep slope. The snow-capped Kaikoura Ranges rise 2,000-plus metres to landward, and the undersea Kaikoura Canyon rapidly drops 2,000 metres not far from the shoreline.

    We took a walk across the Kaikoura Peninsula, not far south of the township, and were rewarded with spectacular views and, once, the sight of a humpback whale playfully lob-tailing not far from the shore.

    The peninsula is also the site of a seal colony and sea-bird breeding ground, and we walked past these at the base of the cliffs, taking in equally the fascinating sights and the retch-inducing smells.

    Kaikoura also has the title of the site of New Zealand’s second-biggest earthquake - a 7.8 magnitude eruption back in 2016. Some of the memorabilia and photos of the damage were incredible.

    En route to Picton, we stopped at Blenheim, and popped in to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Partly the work (and, presumably, money) of Sir Peter Jackson, it was an excellent presentation. Aircraft from each of the two World Wars were depicted in typical situations, with extremely realistic backgrounds and mannequins. The sight of the Australian soldiers stealing the fur boots from the body of the Red Baron was a good example.

    Remarkably, too, there was hardly anybody there - we didn’t sight a single other visitor as we walked around the exhibits.

    The following day, we took a drive around Queen Charlotte Sound, along the tortuous scenic route to Havelock, passing pretty little seaside hamlets and spectacular cliff views - or, at least, that’s how it might have been had the incessant rain eased just slightly.

    It did clear in the afternoon, so we stopped in at Pelorus Bridge for a quick look at the attractive river, and then at Cullen Point, where, after a steep, muddy and slippery 500 metres, we found stunning views for miles up Pelorus Sound.

    Next, we move on to St Arnaud and then the West Coast.    Read more

  • Chris DicksonNew Zealand 2025Traveler
    2The earthquake-damaged Christchurch Cathedral
    The River AvonBotanic garden flower bedUnspeakableThe Arts CentreExhibits at Quake CityEarthquake-proofingThe Earthquake MemorialThe Church HotelNew Regent Street - eating, drinking and - if you're interested - tattooingChristchurch from Mt CavendishLyttleton from the summit of Mt CavendishThe Cardboard Cathedral

    Christchurch

    Sep 20–23 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Our tour of the South Island began in Christchurch, a very pleasant place indeed. We spent two full days taking in the sights and admiring the attractive gothic revival buildings - or, at least, those that were still upright after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

     Christchurch, named for the Oxford University college, was founded by a bunch of Englishmen called the Canterbury Association, who acquired land, made up suitable English-sounding place names and, in 1850, sent four ships loaded with settlers over to establish a colony.

    On a cloudy-but-warm Sunday, we wandered through the botanic gardens, full of spring blooms and cherry blossoms, then back along the banks of the River Avon before a quick lunch amongst the crowds at the Riverside Markets.

    Then in the afternoon we visited Quake City, the museum dedicated to the earthquake-prone city and in particular the disastrous 2011 quake.

    The exhibits and facts were interesting, but the stories told by the people who were actually in the quake were simply compelling and, in some cases, heartrending. Interestingly, at the conclusion of the museum was another segment showing the thoughts and experiences of the same people ten years on from the quake.

    There is also a beautifully understated memorial wall on the bank of the river, listing in simple white marble the names of the victims.

    After all that earthquake trauma, we needed some refreshment. We were lucky to get a tip from our friends Chris and Vicki about the Church Hotel. It was (once) a real church, given a delightfully irreligious makeover into a pub, with lots of live music, lots of craft beers and lots of people having fun.

    It was so good that we broke our “five o’clock - beer o’clock “ rule just this once. So far.

    Our second day found us riding the Christchurch Gondola, 448 metres up to the top of Mt Cavendish. The views from the top, both south to the port of Lyttleton and north over Christchurch and to the distant snow-covered mountains, were superb.

    We took a bit of a walk around outside before riding the Christchurch Discovery Ride, an interesting, though maybe slightly condensed, six-minute journey through the millions of years of Canterbury’s geographic and cultural history. It was quite entertaining.

     Back in town, we visited the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral - the “Cardboard Cathedral “ - built as a temporary structure for use whilst the real cathedral was repaired. This is ongoing, so the temporary five-year structure, with a roof supported by cardboard beams, is still doing good service fourteen years after the earthquake.    Read more

    Trip start
    September 20, 2025
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