South Island is not like North island in some ways, the people are pretty much the same but the geography is different and it is farther to the south (or north as we would look at it). The southern tip of South Island has seals and is much like the Patagonian areas of South America, although not as close, it not that far away either.
The ferry we were on sailed across the Cook Straight and picked its way through the Islands on the north side of South Island to a small town called Picton. We disembarked and walked across the harbor to the car rental place and picked up our rental, drove to our hotel, checked in, and walked about enjoying a festival they were having near our hotel.
The next morning we went to church in a small chapel and headed west for the west coast of South Island. We passed a couple cellar Doors where local vineyards were selling wine but we didn’t stop. We made it to the west coast and drove out to Cape Foulwind (what a name!). Very rocky, nice light house, seals.
We drove back to the main road and proceeded south. The shore was rocky and the sea turbulent. Great views. A little farther down we came to “The Pancakes”. Thousands of thin layers of rock eroded by the sea forming interesting shapes, dramatic coves, and mysterious formations.
the end and explode into the air
We walked around the gift shop a bit to kinda get our breath back, then got in the car, turned on the heater to dry out, and pressed on. First was a reindeer farm, then a glacier. We hiked out to the glacier but the fog was inso it was difficult to see it. If you wanted to walk out to it you had to hire a guide, wait till he had enough people to make a group and walk out with the guide. We chose to walk around the river and along it to where the glacier was.
We left the glacier, drove across the river, and headed up into the mountains to a ski resort town named Queenstown. We lucked out and got this really nice two bedroom unit up on the hillside over looking the lake. The scenery was incredible, the room was terrific, but we only stayed one night. We did go down town and walk around, had some dinner, talked to some locals. Great day and evening.
We left Queenstown and visited an old gold mining village near by. No pictures, just stores and stuff. We then proceeded out to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a huge fyord that comes in from the ocean. We went on a half day long boat trip that took us all the way out to the sea and back. Incredible scenery. Water running off of the high sides, seals, boaters. I’m not going to label each one as most are self explanatory. Just flip through them and enjoy. We were not even sure we were going to go as the weather was forecasted to be rainy and foggy. We stayed in a small town about 20 miles inland and figured we would decide in the morning. the morning was marginal but promising so we took a chance. It turned out perfect. A wonderful day.
That was Milford sound. Took an entire day to see it but well worth the time and effort. Hope you didn’t get tired of the falls. They are all kinda the same but each unique in their own way.
From Milford Sound we decideed not to go all the way to the souther tip. Many miles and all it offered was seals and turbulent ocean .. we had seen that so we deided to head over to the east coast. So we did. Went through two interesting towns, Gore and Clinton, then got to Dunedin on the east coast. Most notable thing on the east coast was a beach covered with huge, round boulders. Some had split and were filled with an agate type material. Looked like dinasour eggs to me, or maybe Martian eggs … who knows? There’s a photo that explains them. We saw similar boulders in the British Virgin Islands (see post) so they do get around.
On the way north we saw several reindeer farms. The ones with the horns were the cash crop that went to the market … or that Santa bought.
Then we got to Christchurch. A lovely old city. The first books I read about New Zealand had the settlers landing in Christchurch and heading north to stake their ranches (Stations) for sheep. Christchurch was heavily damaged by a severe earthquake in 2011. 185 people were killed in the 6.2 Richter scale quake was so damaging because it struck in the same area a 7.1 quake struck in 2010. The city was struggling to recover and doing well. Impressive perseverance.
That’s New Zealand. A most interesting, diverse country. Highly recommend you go there if you ever have the chance. Great people. As I mentioned earlier. This was one of several trips we took during this time in Australia. Watch for future posts of the other trips. A peak? Okay … Melbourne down to the Great Ocean Hiway, up towards Adelaide, then up the Newell Highway to Toowoomba and on to Brisbane. or, Brisbane south to New castle, Sydney, and Melbourne. Lastly, Gold Coast North to Toowoomba, south along the granite belt then down to Tamborine Mountain. Stay tuned .. they are coming soon.
