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Australia

September - November 2017
  • Sue Wharton
Ein 67-Tage Abenteuer von Sue Weiterlesen
  • Sue Wharton

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Christchurch, South Island

    21. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We dropped JYM back to the Hertz space in the Airport car park reasonable early - check in was completely empty, it was eerie! We left Rotorua Airport on a twin jet prop plane - a little bumpy on ascent and descent but otherwise smooth. Great views though. As we arrived at our hotel in Christchurch, North Harbour Rugby team were just leaving for their match against Canterbury in the city centre - however, Harbour lost by about 10 points!
    We took a wander around Christchurch city centre and took a (shortened) tram tour - a very odd experience. In places it was very English - our hotel restaurant was Bloody Mary's after Queen Mary 1st with Latimer Square outside! Street names - Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford Street; the Avon river as well as Beckenham and Sydenham as areas in the city. There are old style (or reproduction) buildings; interesting new builds; buildings being repaired or propped up; wasteland being rejuvenated and many buildings with boarding around and unsafe noted all round - however it is still working! A new triangular cathedral made from cardboard type building material; lovely boutique streets with shops and eateries; an art trail with murals, sculptures and installations around the city including the cathedral square and a statue by Anthony Gormley in the centre of the river Avon. Trams still tour the city with workmen opening fencing gates so they can continue their circuit. On the tour we stopped at one halt and a couple who had just got married asked if they could take some pictures before we moved on! The city is still a mess - roads closed, wasteland car parks and some tourist sites still closed - but there are signs of development and repair. It would be great to see it again in another 2 - 3 years as long as fate allows.
    Our waitress at the hotel was from Littlehampton and spent some time reminiscing about Britain - she'd been away touring for about 2 years. Now to watch the Bledisloe Cup - Oz v NZ, just who do we support?!    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Lake Tekapo, South Island

    22. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    A picturesque, though long journey today from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo with a quick stop for coffee and lunch in Timaru. From Timaru we followed SH8 gradually going up - though you wouldn't realize it as it was so gradual! Lake Tekapo is 710 metres above sea level. In Maori: teka = sleeping mat and po = night. The turquoise blue of the water is created by 'rock flour'. The glaciers in the headwaters of Tekapo grind rock into dust on their journey down towards the lake. The 'rock flour' is suspended in the water and when combined with sunlight creates the unique water colour. Not only did we have a good view from the balcony, but also when lying in the bath!
    Lake Tekapo is in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (est. 2012). It has one of the world's clearest, darkest and most spectacular night skies. There is an Observatory at the summit of Mount John to take advantage of this. We took a wander down to the lake to see the most photographed church in NZ. On the shores of the lake you'll see the beautiful Church of the Good Shepherd, where the altar window frames a perfect view of the Southern Alps beyond the lake. The church was built in 1935 for the pioneer families of the Mackenzie district. A bronze memorial to working collie dogs, such as Friday, was commissioned in 1968 by local farmers and now stands on the shores of Lake Tekapo near the Church of the Good Shepherd. In the main village there is some building and rejuvenation of the area going on including the making of a park - statues of Kiwi and Moa (extinct bird from the time of the dinosaurs) are part of this
    After dinner Trevor and I had some wine, nibbles, a veranda and thick jumpers so we watched The Dish, until it was dark then went on to the veranda to enjoy the stars at night under the clear dark skies!!    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Dunedin, South Island

    23. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We were lucky with the weather when we arrived in Dunedin, as after a couple of cups of tea the rain stopped allowing us to explore in the dry. Our travelling was a bit hit and miss - low clouds, mizzle and heavy rain. We left Lake Tekapo at around 10 am and chose to take the same route back which led to about 4 hrs drive! In hindsight we should have probably chosen to go via Twizel and the other side of the range, oh well! Still had amazing scenery though and stopped for coffee after 1 hrs 30 mins at a 'drivers rest' point - to give a break from the rain, a lovely ginger slice and coffee, could have had an early lunch - the food looked amazing!
    We drove through Omaru which looked beautiful; then took a driver break after an hour at Moeraki Boulders on Koekohe beach, along the rugged Otago coastline.
    We didn't know what this was when we stopped but we had a wander following a track down to the beach where large, spherical boulders litter the beach. Some have cracked, some are buried in the sandy beach or in the Cliffside. Local Māori legends explained the boulders as the remains of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara washed ashore from the wreck of Arai-te-uru, a large sailing canoe. This legend tells of the rocky shoals that extend seaward from Shag Point as being the petrified hull of this wreck and a nearby rocky promontory as being the body of the canoe's captain.
    After this stretch of our legs we finished the last part of the journey to Dunedin (the old Gaelic word for Edinburgh). The centre of the city is based around an Octagon and you can explore from the centre out. We passed Cadbury World, home of Cadbury in NZ but not in time for a tour! Further down Stuart Street we arrived at Dunedin Railway Station building (houses the NZ Sports hall of Fame on the second floor) which has a stunning ticket office hall and stained glass window. There are two steam engines based along here, one by the station and one in The Toitu Otago Settlers Museum. We had a good 30 mins here but could have spent longer.
    The museum traces the lives of Otago settlers – indigenous Māori, the early Chinese, and the following waves of migrant groups – and their technological innovation, art, fashion, domestic life and transport.
    It is housed in the original Edwardian galleries, Dunedin's former New Zealand Rail Road Transport Building and the modern entrance foyer. The museum first opened in 1908, the 60th anniversary of the founding of Dunedin city and the Otago Province.
    We then wandered around to the Chinese Garden but it was just closing so took pictures outside. May be able to see it before we leave tomorrow.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Te Anau, South Island

    24. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A longish drive today from Dunedin to Te Anau today. We went over the six arch concrete bridge over the Clutha river. When the original bridge was built in 1868 it was an engineering feat. Since then it has been rebuilt twice, once when damaged by flood and then again when it became unsuitable for the amount of traffic.
    Our lunch stop was Gore a small township where they had a factory using oats but we were unsure what they were making and a older, heritage store.
    We arrived at Te Anau which is the largest lake in South Island and the second biggest lake in New Zealand. It was a bit dull and breezy but we were still able to go for a walk around the area before having our evening meal at the hotel. There were people using the water in a range of activities - helicopter flights, sea plane flights and kite surfing. We headed down to the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre and had a wander around the grounds. There’s also a bird sanctuary that specialises in native birds, but we were unable to go round it as it had closed by the time we got there. We topped up with petrol and were able to check timings for tomorrow with the petrol station owner - we were advised to leave early to avoid traffic and allow 2 hours at least for our drive.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Milford Sound, South Island

    25. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Well, an early start 7 am and a little wet. The journey starts in Te Anau and ends in the the world famous fjord of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, a memorable 120 km journey into the heart of Fiordland National Park. There are many view points along the route: te Anau downs, Lake Mistletoe, Eglinton valley - flat and wilderness like, Mackay Creek with views of Pyramid Peak, Mirror Lakes, Cascade Creek and Lake Gunn. At 84 km the vegetation changes as you pass across The Divide - the lowest East - West pass in the Southern Alps. From The Divide the road falls into the beech forest of Hollyford valley. The drive is reasonably good, windy up and down but fine. From Gertrude Saddle the way gets steeper, much tighter corners, deep ravines, single track bridges and the Homer tunnel - at an altitude of 945 km above sea level, pierces the sheer rock to allow access to Milford sound, framed by a high-walled, ice-carved amphitheatre. Opened in 1954, it is 1.27 km long and at peak times controlled by lights as it is basically single track - especially if you met a coach coming the other way! Hewn out of rock and unlined, the dark and dripping with water tunnel finally emerges at the head of a spectacular valley where the road down is a number of tight Z bends until you reach the lower levels of the sound. All-in-all quite a scary 90 - 120 min drive!
    It was still raining when we arrived, but a Kea was being mischievous on top of the car next to us, then jumped onto ours afterwards - visitors are warned not to get too close to them or distracted. One Kea may be dancing to entertain while another makes off with your stuff! The Kea is a flightless alpine parrot.
    We had some coffee then settled down to wait for the boat that was taking us on our tour - The Milford Mariner. The New Zealand guide was excellent, with the correct amount of information given, a sense of humour and extremely patient with Spanish tourists! As the area had had a lot of rain (and was still raining) there was not only the 2 permanent waterfalls - Lady Elizabeth Bowen and Stirling but many more, can be up to 100, so rain is always good for seeing Milford Sound at its best! The most famous peak, Mitre Peak (Rahotu) the spectacular 1,692 m mountain rising from the dark waters of the sound is something to behold and makes you feel very small.
    We saw amazing peaks, waterfalls, rain-forest, sheer cliffs, NZ fur seals and Fiordland crested penguin, the grandeur, magnificence and awe inspiring scenery was never far away
    Then for the drive back to Te Anau! After a coffee at Te Annau we swapped drivers and Trev headed to Queenstown via a slightly less trying route.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Queenstown, South Island

    26. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Well our Scenic suite is up on the top floor with beautiful views over the lake and completely surrounded by snow capped mountains. As we are a little higher above the sea, the air is definitely cooler - it said 3 degrees this morning first thing! Everything is so clear and the colours are sharper. Again we had washing to do but sensibly, got most of it done the night before and during breakfast. We had a wander around this morning, collected our tickets for the evening steam boat / farmland and meal tour, bought a new camera for Trevor (will claim on insurance for the dropped one) and had a lovely coffee and cake at a lake front cafe - we keep bumping in to ex-pats, the camera guy was originally from the IOW and the cafe waitress on a 2 yr travel visa from England as well. Everybody here is so friendly and helpful, nothing is too much trouble and they are always interested in where you come from, what you're doing now and what you plan to do - family & country - always very genuine!
    In the evening we headed out onto Lake Wakatipu in the Lady of the Lake, the twin screw Steamer TSS Earnslaw. She is the last remaining commercial passenger carrying, coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. She is owned by Real Journeys and now shuttles customers from Queenstown to Walter Peak homestead, originally owned by the Mackenzie family. After a fire in 1977, the homestead was carefully reconstructed. Real Journeys embarked on a major conservation project to return the land around the homestead back to native plants and removing invasive non-native plants. We enjoyed an evening BBQ buffet at the homestead - the food was amazing, a great spread for the money. The evening finished with a farm show, where a local lass put two dogs to work bringing in sheep and talked about the types of dog they use; she also described the work done on the farm, which includes the Colonal's Homestead in its grounds, talked about the sheep and cattle raised there and what they are used for and finally showed us how to shear a sheep. It was a great evening and the service was impeccable as it always is in most hotels, restaurants, Cafes etc. in this country. We finished by heading back across the star strewn lake, with a sing song on the boat going home, as the lights of Queenstown came into view.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Franz Josef , South Island

    27. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Well, we had another of our long drives today coming all the way north from Queenstown to Franz Josef 355 km (approx 4.41 hrs). We decided the best way to do this was share the driving and slot it into blocks. Trevor started and we kept aiming for townships only to find the route bypassed them. We stopped for the first time near Makarora which ended up nearer early lunch than coffee time - Trevor had stretched his legs at a lookout over Lake Wanaka (on the left of SH 6) just after driving the length of Lake Hawea (on the right of SH 6) as we missed the township of Wanaka itself! At this point we swapped driver and I did the next stage through the Haast pass and down to Haast township, where we remembered to turn off! For the first time in ages we had a pot of English Tea with a pot of hot water to top it up! As well as a piece of lovely carrot cake. Trevor did the next stage to Bruce Bay where we had gorgeous views over the Tasman sea and an ice cream. Last stage to Franz Josef done by me - a little bit windier than expected! Once settled at our hotel, with amazing views again, we went for a wander along the main street - as in Queenstown we did feel decidedly old. There were families and some people our age or older, but the main emphasis was as a centre for extreme sports / events - sky diving, etc. Again a lovely meal at the hotel restaurant - we noticed that if the restaurant has a view they sit diners so they can see it while eating their meal; turning tables on the slant, seating 2 people to sides and leaving the other sides clear etc.
    We have a flight at 9 am tomorrow to see the glaciers, before heading to Hokitika for once only an hour away and able to relax, spend time and shop for souvenirs.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Franz Josef & Hokitika, South Island

    28. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    An early, light breakfast then walk up to Helicopter line tours for 8.30 am - weigh in and safety talk, then walk over the road to the helicopter - which our 'strap in' guide said was the most dangerous part of the journey! Straps on, headphones on and away we go! Up into the air, then the helicopter's nose tipped forward and it rose gently towards the 2 glaciers - amazing views of Mount Cook (Aoraki) and Mount Tasman and the Southern Alps. Due to rain in the area during the week there had been fresh snow fall. Our pilot, Clark explained how glaciers worked, and pointed out various features of interest throughout the flight as well as making us feel at ease. We went up Fox glacier and landed at the top, on the neves, taking first steps onto virgin snow - our pilot Clark took photos for us on our cameras as well as an official one. Surprisingly, it was really warm in the bright sunshine! He answered questions while we had around 5 - 10 minutes on the glacier. We then climbed back in the helicopter and prepared for take off. We went up again and crossed the mountains, people spotting in the snow below and Clark pointing out various landmarks adding extra information as we went down over Franz Joseph Glacier. Wow, Amazing, highlight of visit - though one of many!
    We collected the car and drove down through farmland, forests and prospecting country, stopping to get the last photos of the mountain at Lake Mapourika and seeing a rare white heron as we crossed Macdonald's Creek. We arrived at Hokitika feeling hungry, as we had found nowhere really to top up our breakfast at coffee time and headed for a local cafe Stellas for brunch - BLT and chips. We took a look around the town, visited the national kiwi centre and watched giant eels and Kiwis being fed; bought some Pounamu (Green stone) souvenirs and walked back to our seafront hotel along the beach. We then made sure that all the packing was done so that we only needed to open the small case at our last stop over, as the car goes back tomorrow - Bye bye Ken (KF start of number plate).
    Our evening meal was again at the hotel and our waiter, Steve was a local lad and was able to give us some tips for the next day as to where to go for lunch and what to see on the way into Greymouth. A last walk and sit along the beachfront before a coffee on our balcony and watching the sun go down with the sound of the sea gently rolling onto the beach.    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Greymouth

    29. Oktober 2017 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We left Hokitika after a late breakfast at Stellas and drove the 30 mins to Greymouth - very grey and very dead on a Sunday! We dropped the car, signed in luggage at the station and then tried to find something to do - so coffee, sit, wander around the local market, sit, walk along the warf, have lunch, sit and finally boarding time at 13.50! We should have stayed longer in Hokitika as there was absolutely NOTHING to do in Greymouth!!!
    The Trans Alpine is one of the world's great train journeys, transversing the Southern alps between Greymouth and Christchurch from the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean, passing through Arthur's pass national Park. En route is a sequence of dramatic landscapes, from a lake fringed with cabbage trees, beech-forested river valleys, an 8.5 km tunnel ( where you are in the dark with no connections and no card machine only cash to pay at the cafe car), over via ducts and through smaller tunnels, through narrow alpine gorges and then finally to the flat, alluvial planes of Canterbury. Stops were made at a few place to pick up passengers and drop people off, the main one being Arthur's Pass, 737 metres above sea level. The 4 hr 30 mins journey is unforgettable - even though it was grey in Greymouth the sun soon came out and continued for the rest of the journey.
    We arrived in Christchurch about 6.30 pm and shared a shuttle bus with a number of fellow travellers. Again our driver was a character who hailed us with information stories and anecdotes while trying to negotiate the ever changing roadworks to the various drop-off points - we saw other areas and art works in the town that we hadn't seen on our first visit!
    Eventually arriving at the hotel at 7.00 pm, we booked in, booked a table for dinner at 7.30 pm and Trev did his back in having a shower! Just made the dinner booking and then worried if he'd be able to get out of bed in the morning for our early start at the airport!    Weiterlesen

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  • Sue WhartonReisenderAustralia

    Back in Brisbane!

    30. Oktober 2017 in Australien ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Weather did not look brilliant today. We decided to have a quiet day and have a breather after the busy 16 days. Washing done, catching up with travel log by adding photos and planning the trip to Mackay. Sarah took us out for lunch at Coffee Club and we topped up food shopping for Clare. We had Yoshi's company again. During the afternoon it tipped it down including hail, thunder and lightening!Weiterlesen

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