South Island, New Zealand
01/15/2005 - 01/21/2005
Where is the tall stick and white cloth thing? Oh, a plane! Hmmmm, interesting way to get places. Let's give it a try.
Road Trip!
Whisper sits tied to the dock at Bayswater Marina in Auckland. She is plugged in to shore power, the batteries are happy, the watermaker is pickled and the genset is being given a rest. Five weeks on the South Island will be the most time away from Whisper since 2003. Will she miss us? Will we miss her? Do boats have feelings?
Seats belts fastened and tray tables in their upright and locked positions, we anxiously awaited takeoff. Our last plane flight was in October 2003. How exciting! A little over one hour later, we stepped off the plane in Christchurch. Plane travel is quite zippy compared to sailing.
Our planned itinerary takes us clockwise around the South Island starting in Christchurch. After a few days in Christchurch - recovering from jet lag (sarcasm), we pick up a rental car and start heading south along the east coast toward Dunedin. Christchurch is reported to be New Zealand's most English-like city and Dunedin its most Scottish. Having never been to England or Scotland, we look forward to a taste of the UK.
Continuing south from Dunedin along the coast takes as to an area called the Catlins. On this trip, we will not see too much of the Catlins. With only five weeks to explore the South Island, we will focus on a few areas. The bottom end of the South Island is located at latitude 46º South.
We allocated a couple of weeks to explore the mountainous Fiordland and Queenstown areas. They are located in the southwest corner of the island. A mad dash up the west coast will give us a glimpse of the glaciers before we reach the Abel Tasman and Nelson area.
After some tramping - that's the Kiwi phrase for hiking - and kayaking, we will travel to the Marlborough Sounds area to explore Queen Charlotte Sound and the vineyards. Marlborough Sounds is one of New Zealand's main wine producing areas.
All good things must come to an end. Skirting along east coast, we will work our way back to Christchurch. What fun! We love it when a plan comes together.
First stop - Christchurch.
Christchurch is the "big city" on the South Island with a population of around 350,000 - the third largest city in New Zealand. The entire South Island has a population of around 1 million people. Surrounding areas are primarily plains filled with farms. Yet, several ski areas are only a two hour drive away.
Museums, galleries, arts centres, festivals, shopping - Christchurch has it all. While a large city by New Zealand standards, the central portion of the city feels relaxed, friendly and easy to get around.
The plans for lodging on the trip include lots of B&Bs and motels rather than camping. In Christchurch, we stayed at this Victorian style Bed & Breakfast called Croydon House located right in the city centre. It was a perfect location for exploring museums, galleries, shopping and restaurants.
Beautiful stained glass windows adorned the B&B.
A short trolley line goes around the heart of the city centre. The trolley appears to be primarily a tourist novelty rather than a mode of transit for locals.
The tranquil river Avon runs right through town. Benches and walkways line the banks of the river making it a community gathering place. On sunny days, people laze on the grass eating lunch or taking a nap.
What is punting? We thought it was a football activity. Nope. These boats are called "punts".
Punting on the Avon River looks quite romantic and pleasant. Does anyone know if the guy driving the boat is called the punter?
The Little Train That Could
Daily, the TranzAlpine Scenic train departs from Christchurch on the east coast, scoots over the mountains to Greymouth on the west coast and returns to Christchurch. The train leaves Christchurch at 8 am and returns by 6:00pm. Lonely Planet refers to this as "One of the great rail journeys of the world is the traverse of the Southern Alps between Christchurch and Greymouth...". We must do this!
Strict instructions came with our tickets. A shuttle will pick us up at the B&B at 7:13 am. We should be standing outside at 7:03 am to be certain we did not miss the shuttle. Got it. The kind folks at the B&B prepared an early breakfast for us. By 7:00 am, we were on the curb waiting for the shuttle. Robin stares at her watch counting down to 7:13 am while Duncan watches for the shuttle. The number of tourist shuttles zooming around Christchurch is amazing. Shuttles for the airport, shuttles for whale watching, shuttles for sightseeing tours, shuttles for the gondola, shuttles for skydiving. "7:12 and 59 seconds, Okay, Now!" exclaims Robin. No sign of the TranzApline shuttle. We are patient. We'll wait until 7:14 to panic. At 7:15, an unmarked shuttle zips by the B&B. Wait, there was a tiny TranzAlpine sticker on it. Uh Oh! They left us. Now, we'll start to worry. With the train leaving in 45 minutes, we put into action Plan B - calling a taxi. The nice people at the B&B call a taxi. With any luck, the taxi will arrive in 10 minutes. 7:29 am. "Hey look, it's the unmarked shuttle coming around the corner." "And it is stopping for us." "I'm running a little late today." says the driver. "The shuttles here", Duncan yells into the door of the B&B, and off we go.
"The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain"...this must not be true in New Zealand in January. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will stay like this.
Phew, we made it to the train station. That should be the end of our transportation worries for the day. Au contraire. Stay tuned.
The train left the station a few minutes after eight. Chugging along through the plains toward the foothills of the Alps while sipping coffee is a perfect way to enjoy the scenery. With beautiful weather and temperatures around 29º C (85ºF), what a perfect day for a train trip. "We'll just be stopping here for a few minutes. They are putting speed restrictions on the train to make certain the tracks do not get too hot" declared the conductor. This happened a few times in the morning putting us an hour behind schedule by the time we reached Greymouth.
Look at the color of the water in the river! Snow melt and glaciers feed this river.
The scenery climbing up through the mountains was beautiful. All the rain of November and December, left beautiful waterfalls everywhere. At the summit, Arthurs Pass National Park delivered beautiful vistas and pretty wild flowers. We definitely need to come back up to Arthurs Pass for a multi day visit. The hiking in this area looks spectacular.
Duncan loves to take the reflection shots.
We arrived in Greymouth around 1:30 pm. The one hour stop allowed us to wonder around town as well as get a coffee at a cafe. Greymouth rolls up the street on Sundays. In many ways, it looked like a ghost town - no cars on the streets, all the shops closed and two cafes open.
Back on the train rolling out of Greymouth, the conductor gave us hope that we'd arrive in Christchurch only be an hour later than planned. No problem.
We started to have doubts after several more stops to let the tracks cool down. Oh well, so we will be late. The planned stop at Arthurs Pass allowed us soak up one more look at this beautiful area. We boarded the train and bid Arthurs Pass adieu. Or so we thought. After one large lurch of the train and no further movement for several minutes, we noticed people were getting off the train.
Things took a humorous turn at this stage of the journey. As you may or may not know, Whisper's generator has been a thorn in Duncan's side since its installation. Well, apparently our generator is not the only temperamental beast out there. The train's generator had a problem. The engineer took a hose from the station into the train's generator room. One can only presume this was to help cool something down. Duncan was tempted to share his generator repair skills, but it looked like there was already lots of help.
Half an hour later, we were given the go ahead to reboard the train. The generator has been fixed. Famous last words. With doubts, we boarded the train and off we went. The moment of truth would come at the 8 kilometre tunnel. Prior to the tunnel, the trained stopped for one last check of the generator. "All right, we're going in". Nervous silence filled the air. The walls of tunnel started to surround the train. Don't you love the suspense.
"Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-silence-and-darkness". The generator died, the lights went out and we are in the tunnel. Robin starts rummaging in our backpack. In that Mary Poppins kind of way, she pulls out 2 Petzel headlamps. Now officially looking like the intrepid travelers we are, we donned the headlamps and let their be light.
The train started to move again...except it was backing out of the tunnel. Not a good sign. Backing down the tracks toward Arthurs Pass. Oh goody, a third visit to Arthurs Pass. Be careful what you wish for. By now, we realize there is a major problem. Being at the top of a mountain pass that is primarily accessed by train meant this was going to be a complicated situation. Again, being intrepid travellers, we raced to the dining car to buy food and beverage. As a day-tripping train, the provisions on board were intended to last for a ten hour trip not an all day adventure. Sitting on the platform outside the train station, we thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of wine, chicken nuggets, beautiful surroundings and a gorgeous sunset.
Most passengers started to get anxious about the situation. Some folks had planes to catch in Christchurch. Others had people picking them up. Lots of folks seemed worried about the prospects of going through the tunnel with the less-than-reliable generator. The situation was compounded by a less than organized staff. One minute the generator was fixed, the next minute there were buses on the way, the next minute everyone was supposed to get back on the train. The poor generator fix-it guy worked hard to get the generator going.
By 8 pm, a couple of buses arrived. The platform was abuzz with how they would get 400 people down the mountain. Rumors started flying on how many buses would arrive. At the same time, rumors floated around the platform that the train was going down the mountain. One by one buses arrived. We were given the option to take the train or wait for more buses. "Why not take the train?" we thought. Two hours on a bus with a bunch of cranky people versus a spacious train with only a few adventuresome souls.
The moment of truth was upon us. The tunnel. Petzel lights already strapped to our heads, the train entered the tunnel. With only 50 people on board, the train's generator pulled us through the tunnel without a problem. We raced toward Christchurch in hopes of beating some of the buses....not that we are competitive. By midnight, the train pulled into the station and buses were still arriving. Aaaah, what a day.
Gothic styled buildings reminiscent of England dominant Christchurch's architecture. This one is a part of the Arts Centre complex.
Architecture
Beautiful buildings standout in Christchurch and Dunedin. New Zealand architecture is a study in contrasts. From grand Gothic style buildings to contemporary modern chic, New Zealand has it all. European influences from the 1800s are predominate in Christchurch and Dunedin. Even though types of building materials are limited, New Zealand is full of beautiful buildings.
Hey, wait a second! Yes, this is a sculpture at the Arts Centre.
Christchurch's cathedral dominates the square in the centre of the city.
Check out this building located near the Octagon in Dunedin.
Here is another beautiful building on the square in Christchurch.
Every corner in New Zealand has a cafe it seems. This cafe is in Greymouth.
Do you think anyone works inside this painted building?
En route to Dunedin, we stopped in the town of Omaru. The Harbour-Tyne Historic Precinct is home to preserved historic commercial buildings.
Local limestone proved to be a great building material.
A replica of Christchurch streets and shops from the 1800s proved to be a great way to show lots of period collectibles.
Art & Heritage Museums
With lots of learning to do on the Maori culture, New Zealand art and European influences, visiting museums helps expand our knowledge. While in Christchurch, we visited the Canterbury Museum of Natural and Human Heritage and the Christchurch Art Gallery. In New Zealand, entry to most museums is free of charge. Typically, there are donation bins near the entry. We think this is a fantastic system. Everyone has access to the museums regardless of money. We donated as much money as we thought an admission would cost in the US.
The Canterbury Museum is home to numerous cultural and natural history collections including displays of local history, birds, mammals, Antarctica exploration, decorative arts as well as stories about the Maori and European settlers. There is so much information in this museum, more than one visit is necessary.
Nice ride...if you are in the Antarctic.
Stuffed Kiwis...the bird, not the people.
Carved Maori wooden statues are quite detailed and beautiful.
Even the kelp in New Zealand looks like art!
Even coffee becomes art! Mmmmm, gotta love these flat whites.
Our favorite new museum is the Christchurch Art Gallery. Built in 2003, the building itself is art. As you can tell by the number of pictures, we loved the building. Several special exhibits and the permanent collection kept us busy. The museum cafe serves outstanding food and coffee.
One painting mesmerized both of us...and many others for that matter. We stood on the other side of the hallway and watched people react to the painting. In a hallway, a single well-lit painting hangs on the wall. At first, you just glance at is as you walk by it to enter one of the gallery rooms. Then, inevitably, your head will turn and you stop. An oil painting by Kees Bruin catches your eye. The artist paints in a Photo-realistic style that is amazing. This piece, Is that you. Caravaggio, alone is worth a visit to the museum.
The Christchurch Art Gallery is one of our favorites.
The unique architecture plays with light and angles. Can you imagine building this non traditional shape?
The cool spinning statues can keep you busy for quite some time.
Here is another view of the front face of the art gallery.
The lush lily pond is one of the many beautiful flower exhibits at the Botanical Gardens.
Flora
Gardens are a integral part of the landscape. Well-manicured home gardens are predominant in the neighborhoods. Every park has a beautiful flower garden. An expansive botanical garden displays an enormous variety of flowers and plants.
Lots of flowers.
Yet another flower picture.
Beautiful coastal vistas are everywhere.
Southern Scenic Route
From Christchurch, we drove south along the east coast toward Dunedin. Dunedin is home to the University of Otago - New Zealand's first university. The city has a university feel to it with the center of town being the hub of activity for cafes, pubs and museums. The Otago Peninsula near Dunedin is famous for penguin watching and albatross spotting. A day touring the peninsula treated us to fantastic views and a spectacular secret beach. Nope. We aren't telling you. It's ours...all ours.
Leaving Dunedin, we hopped on what is known as the "Southern Scenic Route" which took us along the coast to the southern tip of the South Island. Fog rolled in as we started the drive reminding us in many ways of California.
We did not allot much time for exploring the beaches, tracks and caves of this area. With the rain and fog, many of the scenic aspects were hidden. Mark this down as a place to explore to on another visit.
The Otago area is quite beautiful with rolling hills meeting the sea.
The big city of Dunedin positions itself on one of the hillsides.
Spectacular coastal views at Nugget Point allowed us to see fur seals, elephant seals and sea lions hanging out on the rocks and in the water. South from this point a few thousand miles is Antarctica.
Nugget Point's coastal walking path leads to a beautiful lighthouse.
Dusting the crops on the Otago peninsula. This guy flys from a tiny little airstrip perched on a mountain side. While we were around, he landed and took off around 5 times.
We are learning lots of new types of birds. This one is a Spur-winged plover.
This fluffy sheep better watch out for...
...the guy who sheared this sheep.
The black sheep of the family.
Moo!
See the seal swimming in the water?
Red Billed Seagull
He knows we are looking at him...
...and is quite bored with us.
Do you think they are starting to build our house?
Look at this nice bay. Waves from weather down in the Southern Ocean are common here.
Another great beach in the Catlins.
The Reo Moano B&B was a lucky find - right on the beach in Riverton. The lovely owners, Jean & Alan, are retired farmers and sailors. They enlightened us on sheep farming and sailing to the sub-Antarctic islands.
A ten minute walk from the Reo Moana is the Beach House restaurant. We enjoyed one of the best meals we have had in New Zealand here. And the view is awesome, too.
The harbour at Riverton is home to fishing boats as well as a fleet of sailboats. On the day we departed, a sailboat race was planned.
Check out the beautiful grasses in the garden at Reo Moana. Jean's garden is spectacular with lots of native grasses, flowers and benches. For breakfast, Jean served delicious berries fresh from her vegetable garden.
This fantastic beach on the Otago peninsula is one of the many great beaches in New Zealand. Hmmm, a beach house here sure would be nice.
Farms, farms and more farms. Waterfalls, caves, river walks, beaches, vistas. The Catlins have so much to offer. The number of sheep is the area is overwhelming especially since Robin feels the need to say hello to everyone of them. This got pretty old when the number of sheep was in the thousands.
After a full day of driving, we ended up in the charming town of Riverton. We discovered a fantastic B&B, Reo Moana, right on the beach. Hosts Jean and Alan made us feel right at home. Afternoon tea, dinner reservations and an extremely comfortable bed wrapped up a fun filled day.
Can you believe we are only six days into our 5 week trip? Ether can we. Tomorrow, we head off to the Fiordland area. There is way too much to do here.