Lins and Rich’s Travel Blog

Hi everybody, in the words of Doctor Nick. Currently sat in Christchurch after a change of plans trying to sort out America which as with everything linked to that country is complicated.

We were due to visit Mount cook national park over the last couple of days as I really fancied walking up the hooker valley to the terminal lake of the glacier. Unfortunately the weather has turned and the snow that was so lacking in Queenstown has arrived and the inland roads are dangerous. As the avergae highway in New Zealand is about the standard of the Southam to Harbury road complete with vertical drops and blind bends driving in the mountains is not considered wise when its pelting it down with snow. AS such we decided to instead drive straight to Christchurch from Dunadin.

So what have we been up to I hear you ask, no blog for ages again. Well if your sitting comfortably then I will begin! As we left off we were in Invercargil (read hole). The main claim of this city (i say city, Leamington is bigger) is it is the worlds most southerly city. Thats about it really, nothing there and nothing to see.

After finally checking into the backpackers we set of the next morning for the Catlins national park along the southern scenic route. Or so we thought. following the large sign out of Invercargil we set off and 50km later came across a town that we shouldnt have. Turns out that we missed a sign the size of a large stamp that shows the correct way to the southern scenic route and the catlins. I really do not like invercargil, my advice to anyone planning to visit it is save your time and money and skip it!

Finally an hour and a half and much back tracking we were on the southern scenic (now known as the ss from here on as im already fed up of typing it!) and heading in the right direction.

One thing that was good was the leaflet we got that showed comprehensively where to stop along the way so with this in hand we headed off along the coastal road off the ss.

The first stop was Waipapa point which was the site of the second worst maritime disaster in New Zealand history. The SS Tararua struck a reef and lots of people lost their lives. Now its unsurprisingly the home of a big lighthouse and the chance to see sea lions. Walking to the beach past the impressive and looking at the sea much needed Lighthouse, Lins commented that there were no sealions. I walked round the corner and replied “what, apart from that massive one sleeping in the middle of the beach!”. Sealions are huge things, like a seal on steroids with a bad temper they are amazing to see. The one unelegantly snoozing in the middle of the beach must have been over 200kg They have a huge thick coat and can spend days at sea. We stopped for a while and watched from a safe distance before making our way off. To see the photos click on the link to the side.

Next stop was Slope point, this is the most southerly part of the New Zealand mainland (stewart island being more southerly) and involved a short hike to one of those sites that are pretty uninspiring. An intresting observation was that bluff (nr invercargil) is the stopping off point to get to the south pole. However a sign stated that it is only 300km closer than that point is to the equator. Not that close at all. After watching the huge waves smash into the coast and taking the tourist shots we set off again via a quick picnic stop to Curio Bay which is amazing.

Curio Bay is reached by traveling down 15km of unsealed road that has left our Nissan a nice shade of brown. The bay itself is home to the worlds most extensive fossilized forest. Looking at the rocks it seems driftwood is caught in them but you quickly realise that the wood is part of the rock itself. To see 160 million year old wood makes you realise how little time humans have been around. The bay itself was amazing in itself without relying on the prehistoric relics. Crashing waves, huge beds of seaweed and bright green moss. We spent an hour walking around exploring and watching the various sea birds.

A quick drive later up some very steep slopes found us above the bay with stunning views. Lins was not very confident about the big drops to the surge and rocks below. I didmt help by puting the car in drive for a laugh, looking behind me as if to reverse and then shooting forward! I thought it was very funny, I wont repeat what she said!

Rolling down the hill brought us to Porpoise bay which is the home of the hector dolphin. A rare dolphin that is regarded as the smallest of the species. Unfortunately they were not playing ball and other than great views we saw nothing. After initially planning on spending a day in the Catlins we decided that it was not enough and drove to Owaka(the home of the cannoe).

We have noticed that New Zealand towns have to have a slogan to go with the place. Very funny driving into a town of 7 people and 3 million sheep and reading the sign that says “where dreams are realised” Now I dont know who dreams about being on there own with hundreds of sheep but im in no rush to meet them!

Arriving in Surrat bay we stayed in a great little backpacker with a roaring fire and a comfy settee and collapsed down for a meal and some rest. Surrat bay is another place known for its sealions so next morning I fot up early to look for them but alas they were all either hiding or out at sea.

The day was then spent driving between the various sites and walking. We saw a number of great waterfalls and walked through an area where ancient maoris had camped while hunting Moa (a now extinct bird the size of an Emu and a distant relative of the little kiwi). The scenery in the Catlins is amazing, rolling hills, rocky cliffs and some raging seas. The other amazing thing about the area is its relativly unvisited so its wildlife is abundant.

As evening approached we had been tipped off by the owners that roaring bay and nugget point were the areas to head to view the worlds rarest penguin, the vertically challenged yellow eyed penguin. After a walk to nugget point lighthouse to view the most impressive coastline yet and fur seals far below us playing in rock pools we returned to roaring bay and followed the track to a purpose built hide. A view over the bay showed a view of the amazing little yellow eyes. Despite being rare and only 6000 of them know to exist they are certainly not quiet. They make hell of a racket, so much so the maori word for them means noise! Despite the noise they are shy things and are easily scared so the hide allows you to view them without disturbing them. In the hide is also information about these fascinating birds, despite there minute stature they regularly travel 20km off shore to hunt for fish and squid and have been tracked as far out as 40km. Watching them come up the beach was brilliant and it was great to see such a rare creature in its natural habitat. The main problems for these little guys is loss of habitat to cattle and the introduced predators to which they make a nice snack. (insert own penguin biscuit related joke here!)

After another night at Surret Bay and the closest to seeing another sealion being making one out bouncing towards the sea in the distance we set of to Dunadin and the end of the SS. The east coast of New Zealand has a large Scottish feel to it and Dunadin is the same with lots of place name taken from above the border. Again with very little to see we spent the time catching up on chores before the big drive to Christchurch. It was here that i relalised that my fishhook pendant that I made in Hokitkka was not with me. Truely gutted as I was so impressed by my handiwork and was hoping to keep it as a reminder of my travels. Suppose the phrase Cest la vie is most appropriate.

Anyway, apologies for not adding photos to the blog but time is limited as were trying to sort further travels. Its now 5 weeks and 2 days till we arrive back in Blighlty. Scary