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New Zealand

February - April 2017
A 55-day adventure by LouisaJames Read more
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  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    Day 22

    The South (West) coast - Orepuki

    February 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Another long driving day through varied countryside. Went from low level rolling hills to huge rocky outcrops to forest and rugged coastline. Skimmed past the Fjordland area, calling in at Lumsden and Te Anau for old times sake. Sun was out so went for a swim at Frasers beach on lake Manipouri which has stunning mountains as a backdrop. Continued on to Orepuki which has miles of sandy beaches to walk along. Relaxed with a scone and jam on the beach - how civilised!Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    Day 23

    Bluff

    March 1, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We continued on our journey along the Southern Scenic Route stopping of to explore coves and 'towns' as we went. Cosy Cove was actually quite wild although once had a Maori community of about 40 huts. Found the old train in a rather quaint town called Riverton (more like a small village). There are very few current railway tracks in NZ and even less since the earthquake and fire have closed two lines. After shopping for a new sleeping mat again for Louisa as her previous one only lasted two weeks before that delaminated also we continued down to Bluff for a walk around Bluff hill (found a great downhill track that's currently closed). We saw plenty more Tui as well as NZ pigeons, terns, shearwaters and albatross playing in the wind. Bluff is the oldest European town in New Zealand, having been settled since 1824. Today was the start of the oyster season, if only we could stomach them!Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    Day 24

    Invercargill and the amazing Ashers camp

    March 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Spent the morning wandering the Heritage Trail of Invercargill, looking at buildings from the late 1800's to 1930's. A mix of churches and commercial properties. Invercargill is a mixed bag of a city which has clearly seen better days, which is a shame as there is some interesting architechture and certain parts of the city have a good feeling about them.
    Continued East along the coast to the Waituna Wetlands to spot birds and carnivorous plants.
    Stopped for the night at the Lignite pit cafe and secret garden. A converted lignite/coal pit that has been turned into a beautiful garden and lake with various tiered walkways and hidden seating areas. As there was a gale forecast, the owner suggested camping in the secret garden. This turned out to be a concrete floored greenhouse full of plants and shrubs. The fairy lights gave the impression of sleeping under the stars. A bit like sleeping in a garden centre, but the best/random place we've pitched the tent - ever!!    Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    Day 25

    Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail

    March 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Got away early while it was still calm and sunny to explore this wild, beautiful coastline and learn a bit about the history of this place. Coincidentally our first stop was at a village called Fortrose, named so because of a Scottish drover who claimed it was similar to Fortrose in Scotland. We watched sea lions wrestling with each other at Waipapa Point, where a wooden lighthouse was built after NZ's worst maritime disaster when 131 people died after a ship sank in 1881. Children from the local school raised enough mobey to buy a headstone for the mass grave that they were buried in. Having been to the most northern point of the South Island we visited the southernmost point of mainland NZ, called Slope Point. We were nearer to the South Pole than the Equator. That may be why we were then greeted with howling winds and pouring rain for our visit to Curio Bay! Careful planning so we were there at low tide meant we could see one of the world's finest fossil forests. Petrified stumps, fallen trees and fern imprints from the Jurassic period are 180 million years old. We saw more Hector dolphins (they are meant to be rare) at Porpoise Bay before deciding to get out of the storm and back to the shelter of our secret garden again. Even the seagulls found shelter behind seaweed and the trees grow at funny angles.Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    1
    Day 26

    Nugget Point

    March 4, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Time to leave our sheltered campsite this morning although it's continued to be very windy all day. We went to Mclean Falls which were spectacular with a single fall of 22 meters. We tried to go to Cathedral Caves but a 5 meter swell, even at low tide, meant it was unsafe to visit them. Papatowai beach was a great picnic spot and a chance to search the rock pools for fossils whilst watchibg the spray coming off the crest of the waves. Just a little further along another gravel road we went to Jack's Blowhole that was 200 meters inland where the sea came crashing into. Plenty of sea lions at the base of the Nugget Point and lighthouse. It was odd standing on the narrow peninsula with the rough sea on one side and calm sea on the other. A short distance away was Roaring Bay where we saw a rare yellow eyed penguin that had just come back to shore for the evening. Treated ourselves to a 'cabin' for the night (bunkbed, kettle, heater, tv and dvd player) to escape the strong winds and watched a film, luxury!Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    11
    Day 27

    Mosgiel

    March 5, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Lovely weather to wake up to this morning, with the wind dying down over the day. Continued northwards along the scenic route finding the historic and amusingly named 'sod cottage' which looked similar to traditional houses that people currently live around home! Had a great view towards Lake Waihola from a hill near Milburn Limeworks where they had put examples of whale and dolphin bone fossils from 24-34 million years ago when this part of NZ was under water. We walked along the beach from Taieri Mouth to the rocks and caves before heading to Mosgiel along the white sandy coast road.Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    Day 28

    Otago Peninsula

    March 6, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Day trip out to the Otago Peninsula just outside Dunedin. There are supposed to be two types of penguin and Royal Albatross. The wind that has been so present over the last few days dropped away to give a calm and overcast day, meaning the Albatross didn't take to the air and were tucked away around the headland out of view. The scenery was however spectacular and were reminiscent of the high coastal cliffs and white sandy beaches around Cornwall. Later we visited Sandfly bay with a beautiful beach and resident Sealion population. We were here 12 years ago and watched penguins scale the steep sandy slopes. Apart from a few footprints, no sign of any this time although it was a bit early in the day. The weather broke in the late afternoon giving way to heavy showers. As we wanted to have dinner and a couple of drinks in Dunedin we stayed in a shared dorm in a hostel in the centre - only fractionally more expensive than camping on the outskirts and getting a bus. We forgot NZers eat early and only just snuck into a mexican restaurant before last orders at 8pm and close at 9pm! Finished off with a beer in a Scottish bar, pretty much the only one left open!Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
    11
    Day 29

    Dunedin

    March 7, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Founded in 1848, Dunedin is known as Edinburgh of the Southern Hemisphere (Dunedin is the ancient Gaelic name for Edinburgh) apart from the hills it shares much more in common visually with Glasgow. New, old and 1970/80's architechture all sit together in a pleasant city a bit worn at the edges. All the street names are taken from Scotland and many areas of the city are from Edinburgh. The city museum was very interesting in a newly renovated string of old buildings. With loads of hands on exhibits including vintage video games to play, there was plenty of things to look at. We took a walk round the buildings in the city including the lovely train station and churches with a quick stop at the Cadbury factory shop to restock on cheap chocolate. A cruise ship had docked recently and Chinese visitors were buying chocolate as though a shortage was due. Most were buying 30+ bars and struggling with the 10kg+ weight! To walk of the chocolate we had a wander through the excellent Botanical gardens with greenhouse and aviaries. Finished the city with a trip to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world with a 1 in 2 slope. Travelled 15km outside the city and stayed in a free campsite set up by the hamlet of Warrington.Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
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    1
    Day 30

    Karitane

    March 8, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A glorious day once the sun rose after a cold night under canvas. Didn't make it far today because we chose to take the coast road which was full of picturesque coves and hamlets. On one of the many stops we saw hundreds and hundreds of cormorants feeding offshore and when they had finished the line of them stretched the whole length of the bay as they flew off. We also saw our first lorry/train! We spent most of the day at Katerine on the small beach and walking around the Moari owned headland before a picnic lunch and some reading in the sunshine. As we hadn't gone far (10km) we went back to the same campsite as the previous night.Read more

  • LouisaJamesNew Zealand
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    Day 31

    Oamaru - possibly the best town in NZ...

    March 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Set out from our second night at the Warrington community campsite, heading north along the coast road. Stopped in at Shag Point to see more sealions before driving on to the hamlet of Moeraki then to the nearby Moeraki boulder beach. These boulders are very unusual in the fact that they aren't carved by the elements, instead they have formed as calcite layers around a central core (generally a bone or fossil) much like a pearl in an oyster. Exceptionaly rare, they are up to 3m wide and some are almost perfectly spherical.
    We hadn't planned to stop in Oamaru, but an hour in the town meant we wanted to explore more. Unlike many other NZ towns/cities Oamaru escaped the development of the 60/70/80's that replaced Victorian buildings with concrete structures. This has given the town a unique time warp feel of the Victorian age (aside from Mcd's and Dominoe pizza), we even saw a man riding a penny farthing to the pub!! He was later joined by another and no-one seemed to see it as anything unusual. Some buildings are immaculate whilst others have a lived in feel, but the ambience of the town is fantastic.
    The harbour also has a colony of Little Blue Penguins. You can pay £20 to £30 to go to a viewing platform to watch them, alternatively find a quiet spot on the harbour, grab a seat and be patient. Whilst we sat quietly a group of Penguins wandered out of the sea, groomed themselves and waddled past us - just a few metres away. As we weren't noisy or threatening a mother brought her fluffy chicks out of their burrow under a shed and fed them right next to us. There were two other people there, just a magical moment.    Read more

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