The Scottish heart of NZ

Dunedin, New Zealand, 29-31 March 2008

Finally it was time to head on to the Scottish heart of NZ - Dunedin. Dunedin is gaelic for Edinburgh. There was no way Claire would have allowed us to leave NZ without spending a few days here. We spent day one just getting our bearings, wandering the various streets marvelling at the beautiful architecture (see train station picture opposite), and then took in a movie (Vantage Point). It was entertaining in a Hollywood kinda way,,,,which was just what we were looking for. I'm going to give it 6.5 out of ten. That's not bad.

Day 2 and it was time to get down to business. First stop Otago (that's what this region is called) University. It's the oldest in the country and was modeled on Glasgow University. It was very nice and felt like it had been around for a long long time. Stop 2 was Baldwin Street - The Steepest Street in the World. It's in the Guinness Book of Records so it must be true. It didn't really look that steep but then we walked to the top. "Yep, that's one steep street you got there". Stop 3 - The Cadbury Factory, every child's dream come true (regardless of age). I've wanted to visit a real working chocolate factory ever since Bosco went through the Magic Door many years ago (ask an aging Paddy if you're not sure what that's all about). It was class act all the way and there was plenty of free choc distributed along the way too. "Hmm, have we got time to do the tour again tomorrow?". Stop 4 - demonstration in support on Tibetan autonomy. A woman gave a very heartfelt speech on the current state of affairs and its relevance in light of the upcoming Olympic games in Beijing and an immanent free-trade agreement between NZ and China. Stop 5 - Speights Brewery tour. We booked the last one of the day (7pm) in the hope of getting a lock-in afterwards. Our guide was a maestro of the one-liners. He was very funny. It was a real whistle-stop tour until we got to the bar. The guide put on a DVD and told us we had until the video ended to pull and drink our own beers at the bar. There were 6 beers to choose from. Not sure how long the video was going to play for I, Dave, pulled a beer and immediately got back in line. By the time I got back around to the taps the beer would be gone and I was ready for my next sample. After about 6 beers it felt like the video was never going to end...and then it did. Good tour, good beer, good night, I'm drunk!!

Yup, tastes good

Scottish Whisky Bar at the train station

The Cadbury delivery truck



Big kid in a chocolate factory

Catlins Coast

Surat Bay, New Zealand, 28 March 2008

We picked up some breakfast at Invercargil (it's the most southerly Starbucks in the world incidentally) before heading east along the Catlins Southern Scenic Route to Owaka. We had been confused by the relatively low numbers of sheep we had seen in NZ since arriving. We had this preconception of seeing huge numbers of them everywhere. Well, finally we discovered that they all hang out in the Catlins region. There were fields choc full of them. We were staying right on Surat Bay beach. Our hardship for the day wasn't quite over yet though. Once settled we took a long drive back along the road to see the infamous Cathedral Caves. They can only be visited at low tide but unfortunately the sea was still too rough so they stopped letting people down. Doh! Back in Owaka we took a drive out to see the Yellow Eyed Penguins at Roaring Bay. Our timing was off so unfortunately the penguins weren't about. Finally we wandered out to see the lighthouse at Nugget Point....and it started to rain. Oh, what a day!! Things picked up after that thankfully. We enjoyed a nice meal and visited the sea lions that had been right on our doorstep all along.

The next morning we got up and enjoyed the sunrise on our own private beach. There were still lots of playful sea lions around. Claire always had the niggling suspicion that they would decide to attack her and so she gave them a very wide berth indeed.

Kiwi Hunting on Stewart Island

Stewart Island, New Zealand, 27-28 March 2008
Invercargill, New Zealand, 25-26 March 2008

Invercargill, Hmm, not too much to say about this place. A large working class town that is more interested in getting on with life than prettying itself up for tourists who stop off here en route to Stewart Island. Damn right too... miserable old gits! The hostel was lovely though, which was good as we soon discovered that the ferry for Stewart Island was fully booked for the following day and we'd have to hang around "beautiful Invercargill" for an additional night. "Why are you going to Stewart Island?" I hear you say. Well, it's like this. We never realised how uncommon it is to see Kiwi birds roaming free in the wild. Gary & Nualla were the first ones to tell us that they've been in NZ for over 40 years (Garry & Nualla, not the Kiwis) and never seen one. As we travelled we met more and more people who told us the same story. Well this to us as intrepid travellers was like a red rag to a bull. Our nostrils were flaring & the gauntlet had well & truly been thrown down. Research was undertaken, advice was sought & finally we determined that Mason Bay on Stewart Island offered us the best chance of seeing these elusive little birds in the wild.

Once we arrived on Stewart Island things got a little more complicated. In order to get to Mason Bay we had to charter a water taxi at $200 (which can only goes at high tide) to take us to Freshwater Landing. From here it was a 4 hour hike to Mason Bay. Fortunately high tide hadn't already come and gone. Unfortunately it was at 6pm. Luckily our taxi driver got us in earlier (so we got to the DOC Hut just as it was turning dark). The walk across this section of Stewart Island was the muddiest hike we have been on to date and trust me, we've seen some quality mud. Then as if things couldn't get any worse, we met an English couple who'd stayed at the hut 2 nights already & had been out morning & evening scouting for Kiwi & hadn't seen a thing.

The following morning we had the alarm set for 7am but I, Dave, couldn't sleep and so went out in total darkness at 5:30am. I couldn't believe it when after 5 minutes I came across my first Kiwi. I was stunned, amazed, flabbergasted. By the time I'd come to my senses he'd toddled off into the bushes. Hmm. I had no evidence of having actually seen anything. Who would ever believe?? At least I would know.... no that simply wasn't good enough "must find more Kiwi". Thankfully it wasn't long before I came across a few more on the trail. The fact that it was pitch dark didn't help with my video or photo efforts. Then I remembered that the camera had an infra red night vision function and I managed to get some excellent footage of one before he too scampered. At this stage I thought I'd better go back and wake Claire, she asked no questions but immediately jumped into action.

Back down at "the good spot" we heard some rustling in the bushes. We simply stood there and watched until the largest most perfect Kiwi of the lot came right up to our feet, sniffed about & then waddled off down the trail. Claire was now suffering from the same degree of awe & shock that I felt on my first sighting. She fumbled with the camera & didn't managed to get a shot off. The we took a walk down to the beach to enjoy an incredible sunrise. Our mission had been a success. We walked the four hours back to Freshwater Landing through the rain through even muddier conditions. It was grueling. About 30 minutes before the end Claire spotted another Kiwi in broad daylight ( we thought it was a myth that you could actually see them in broad daylight). We never envisioned ourselves as bird watchers crouching in the darkness in some strange southern coastline but when we saw these strange birds playing hard to get - plodding, darting, hiding, re-appearing - we knew we had experienced something unique.

Our hostel in Oban was great, boy did we need it. I, Dave, had come down with the sniffles so Claire collected some fish & chips & a bottle of red. Recovery underway. As the weather appeared to have changed we brought our departure from Stewart Island forward to 8am. The alarm was set for 6:45am but lo and behold we didn't hear it and got up at 7:50am. F**k! There was stuff everywhere in the room. I started grabbing anything & everything & shoving it into the rucksack. We ran like lunatics, someone must have been looking down on us because we practically had to jump on the ferry as it left the harbour. Miracle of miracle & we waved goodbye to Stewart Island.

Catching up in Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand, 23 - 24 March

Back in Queenstown on Easter Sunday we checked into Bungy Backpackers (not as bad as it sounds)! The reason we were back in Queenstown was to meet up with Ciara, my buddy from Wyeth. I was really looking forward to seeing a familiar face & enjoying some girlie chat. We arranged to go for dinner as earlier that day we'd found out that in NZ on Easter Friday & Sunday you can't buy a drink in a bar unless you are ordering food. We went out for an Indian meal and enjoyed the craic. To Dave's delight, Ciara had brought him a bag of Barry's T-Bags (don't see the appeal myself, much prefer Tetleys) & to my delight a bag of Cadbury's Mini Eggs. What a star!

I don't know when I got the idea into my head but at some stage I decided that at some stage whilst in NZ I wanted to do a skydive. The thought of it petrified me but it was something I needed to get out of my system. Ciara was up for it too, the more the merrier. So the next day... Dave, Ciara & I donned our jumpsuits and readied ourselves to jump out of a plane at 12,000 & 15,000 feet. They were just about to take us up in the plane when the wind picked up and they cancelled all remaining jumps for the day. Boo hoo. It was a real disappointment for me because I had spent a long time building myself up to a point where I felt I could go through with it coupled with a sleepless night the night before.

That night we met up in the World Bar for tea-pot cocktails (top tip from Paddy) and were joined by Dierdre Conlon (a former Wyeth colleague) & her beau. Small world, huh? Ciara, Dave and I stopped off in the local Irish bar for one last beer before bidding each other a tearful farewell........

Tea for Two....

Ready, steady, doh......

Milford Trek

Milford Trek, New Zealand, 18-20 March 2008
Te Anau, New Zealand, 17 & 21-22 March 2008

Being hikers, or trampers as they are known in NZ, we were keen to do the best of what NZ had to offer. The most famous walk in the country is The Milford Trek. It is limited to 40 independent walkers starting on the trail per day and so books up months in advance. Thankfully you can check on-line as to whether there is any availability. When we started checking in early January the earliest we could have gotten on the trail was mid April....when we would be in Oz. We kept checking periodically and low and behold, just before we left Wellington, we spotted 2 spaces available for the 18th of March. This was ideal as it fitted in perfectly with our timeline. Yep, sometimes we can be extremely jammy.

Arriving in Te Anau on St. Patricks Day we didn't have much time for celebrating. Between hiring essential equipment, buying the necessary provisions, and getting the backpacks into a state of hike-readiness I, Dave, only had time for one can of draught Guinness to remind me of my grass roots back home. Quietest Paddy's Day in a long time.

The Milford Trek is a 4 day hike. You are only permitted to do it in one direction (S -> N). You need to take a boat journey to the head of the trail and another one away from the end of the trail. Even though the first day involves only an hour and a half hiking time, you are not permitted to hike on to the next hut, i.e. you must stay at each of the 3 huts on your given day. We were going as "Freedom walkers" but you could also choose to walk the trail as part of a guided group, however this costs about 2000 dollars per person!! Guided walkers stay at different huts and don't need to carry any food or bedding as this is all provided.

Day 1. We left our faithful Corolla at Te Anau Downs and boarded the boat to Gladewharf on a beautifully sunny day. We walked through a pleasant beech wood before arriving at Clinton Hut, our digs for the night. The first thing that hit us, literally, were the enormous bumble bees. They were like something from a children's cartoon story book, "now children, this is what a bumble bee looks like", where the bee takes up the whole page. Maybe they're a remnant from prehistoric times, the missing bumble bee link. The hut itself was basic but clean and well organised. As the day progressed more and more people started arriving and it became a little like that first day at school. You will be spending a lot of time with these people so may as well get to know them. The bottle of whisky we packed helped in this regard (thanks for the tip Sharon/Glen). Apart from a little snoring, coughing, sneezing, farting, wheezing, and belching in our bunk room we all slept pretty well and we were back on the trail by 8.15 the following morning.

Day 2 was a relatively flat 16.5km from Clinton to Mintaro hut. We couldn't resist taking a quick diversion to Pompolona Hut. This is where the guided walkers spend their second night. Outside the hut was a board declaring that their 3 course evening meal would consisted of panfried baby chicken with a medley of garden vegetables & hokey pokey ice cream with chocolate sauce. Geez, I really wish we hadn't made that diversion. We arrived at Mintaro early (1.30pm) so after a leisurely break, and since the weather was still good, we decided we should take advantage of it and undertook the 3 hour round trip up to the top of the McKinnon Pass and back. Katrine and Daniel (Ozzy's living in Wellington) joined us, which was a little surprising really since this was their first ever trek and they had only just arrived at Mintaro as we were leaving. Fortunately the weather held and we had good views from the top into the surrounding valleys. The walk back to the hut was a silent one as all bodies were tired after the long day of trekking.

Day 3 started, for us at least, with another walk up to McKinnon pass. The views at the top were obscured by cloud which made us feel a little better about our previous days efforts. Then it was down, down, down to Quinton hut. This is a guided walkers lodge but there is a hut here also for independent and day hikers. The Quinton staff are good enough to stock thhis hut with tea, coffee, milk, sugar, and boiling water. We were first to arrive here and enjoyed a nice lazy lunch in what felt like the height of luxury. Then it was time for a side trip to Sutherland falls, New Zealand's highest at 580m. Being of an adventurous spirit I, Dave, felt obliged to walk behind the falls. It was very invigorating but man-alive, I got soaked to the bone. Hmm, what did you expect? Worth it though. An hour and a half later we were relaxing, in dry clothes, at Dumpling hut. There were a couple of market research people looking for feedback on the Milford trek. They snagged Claire and I for a 20 minute interview. While we both agreed it was a really nice walk we also both agreed that we didn't think it was "The Finest Walk in the World".

Day 4 was an 18km walk from Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point. There are a few nice swing bridges and stop off points (Bell Rock, Mackay Falls, Giant Gate Falls) along the way. Speaking of sandlfy point we should mention that if you stopped for any length of time on the Milford trek you will very quickly find yourself surrounded by the blighters. Most annoying they are too with an extremely itchy bite. Timing it nicely we arrived at Sandfly Point at 1:30pm, took the obligatory end of trail photograph & hopped on the 2pm boat to Milford Sound. The views on the boat journey were beautiful but we were quite happy to immediately get on the 2:30pm bus to our awaiting car at Te Anau Downs. Then it was into the nearest chippie to commence operation recovery "two fish & chips please & don't spare the Salt & vinegar", mmmm delicious.

We stayed two more nights in Te Anau following our trek and just chilled out. On the second night we visited the local boutique cinema and watched the entertaining & quirky comedy "Darjeeling Limited" about 3 brothers travelling through India trying to regain some of their childhood camaraderie. The cinema itself was tiny, with big comfy seats with place trays for your drinks. There was also an intermission to enable you to top up your glass of wine or pick up another ice-cream for the second half of the movie.

Finish Line, wey hey
Some bunnies, how apt on Easter Sunday

Gold Diggin'

Arrowtown, New Zealand, 15-16 March 2008

On route to Arrowtown we stopped off for lunch in Wanaka & afterwards went to Puzzleland, it's a place that's all about messing with your mind.... it's class. We bothy did the 3-D mazwe. The goal: get to the four corner towers then find your way to the exit. It looks much easier than it is and while it wa very frustrating, continuously finding ourselves at yet another dead end it was great fun too. Arrowtown was another surprise, we really didn't know anything about the place before arriving, if you took the cars off the main street you rally would believe you had been sent back in time 150 years to a genuine gold diggin' wild west town. So, instead it feels like you've stepped onto a movie or perhaps a Disney themepark. Bottom line, it's a quaint Little village where every house has a little plaque over the door stating " this building is protected".


The previous as we had been driving to Arrowtown we had passed the AJ Hackett Kawarau Bridge bungy jump. Th home of bungy, the worlds first full time bungy site. No trip to this neck of the woods would be complete without first watching a few maniacs through themselves off a perfectly good bridge. There were tandem jumpers, naked jumpers, screamers, mutes, you name it all paying $160 for a 10 second buzz. It was fun nto watch but neither off us were enticed to give it a go. Instead we drove to Queenstown for a look see. I can't imagine anyone comes to NZ South Island without stopping off at Queenstown. The place was buzzing. Feeling peckish we had an infamous Ferg Burger. After spending the afternoon in QT we returned to the more subdued atmosphere of Arrowtown. We would be back in this area in a few days time but for now it was time to head for Te Anua.

The Fox Trot

Franz Josef, New Zealand,12 March 2007

Fox Glacier, New Zealand, 13 & 14 March 2007

We stopped off in the township of Hokitika which is renowned as the jade capital of New Zealand. I bought Claire a love heart shaped jade pendant and she bought me a carved piece symbolic of strength. We also bought a fresh fruit ice cream that wasn't a patch on the one we had in Tekaka.

Having not had enough snow & ice in Antarctica the next few days we devoted to glaciers. First we visited Franz Josef and did all the various walks around it. Then it was on to the Fox Glacier where we pretty much did the same thing. We deliberated for some time as to whether we should do a guided walk onto the glacier itself but decided ultimately it would be ice-overkill. Incidentally, from a spectator perspective we much preferred Fox to Franz Josef. You can get closer and there are a greater variety of walks to give you those varying perspectives. If you're at Fox, be sure to do the chalet walk. We met very few people on it and it terminates at a great little look out. We sat there for about 20 mins and had the glacier all to ourselves.

Fox Glacier


Fox Glacier

We were held up in traffic, for an hour on the road to Franz Josef, after a lorry had an accident and spilt molasses

Pancake Rocks

Punakaiki, New Zealand, 11 March 2007

On route to Punakaiki we stopped off to cross NZ's longest swing bridge and then nearly ran out of petrol! The needle was well below the empty mark for about 70km. In the end we rolled into the petrol station in Westport on will alone. Phew! We had started to realise that booking rooms ahead of time was more important in the south island as places fill up fast. In Punakaiki we sat down and planned out the rest of our route up until our departure to Sydney and then booked the best places to stay. Before leaving Punakaiki we did the 20 minute coastal walk past and around the famous Pancake rock formations. It was a very well maintained walk and the rocks were pretty groovy.

A "Wicked" campervan, we see them all over NZ. The slogans are a bit risque.

Tongariro to Abel Tasman

Ohakune, New Zealand, 1-2 March 2008
Wellington, New Zealand, 3 -5 March 2008
Motueka, New Zealand, 6-7 & 10 March 2008
Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand, 8-9 March 2008

Our next stop was Tongariro and we really didn't want the rain to last. It rained most of the day and we didn't hold out much hope for doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the following day. This is considered to be one of the worlds finest day walks but is very weather dependent. The proprietor of our accommodation said the forecast was "so so". We put our names down for the bus the following morning regardless. Hope springs eternal. However we never heard the alarm and missed the bus. Yarg! After a quick look out through the curtains at the rain we rolled over and slept for another hour. But then the weather changed and the sun came out and all was bright and beautiful in the world. Doh!! "What the hell do we do now". We decided to do as much of the walk as we could by parking our car at one end of the trail, walking out 3 hours and then back 3 hours. This worked out fine, once we got our car jump started, even though we had some really windy spells. Not knowing the route we almost turned back before the best bit! We reached the top of the Red Crater and had stunning views of the Emerald Lakes, Blue Lake and the Red Crater itself. We stayed about 1/2 hour relieved we hadn't turned around before reaching this point. That morning we had been convinced that we'd have to leave the area without doing any of the walk so as we walked back to the car we were very happy with how the day had turned around. Content we'd seen enough of the North Island we drove south to Wellington.
Red Crater
In Wellington we stayed with my Aunt Nualla and her husband Gary. Overall we weren't as impressed with Wellington as we were with Auckland. We did the tourist bit: strolled the various streets, took the funicular to the Botanical Gardens and of course we visited Te Papa museum. The museum has interactive displays on how the earth has changed and continues to change over time. Obviously the emphasis is on how these changes impact New Zealand. There is a large section concerning the various foreigners who left their native lands and came in serach of a better life in NZ. One entire area is given over to the "Scots in New Zealand". It was very intersesting but man-alive Claire had to see & read every exhibit in there. Normally she wouldn't go near a museum but here I had to practically drag her out. What is it with the Scots & their patriotism? We enjoyed meeting my cousins Kieran & Maria and their respective families. After 3 days in Wellington (thanks again Nualla & Gary) we took a ferry accross to Picton at the top of the south island. The crossing was calm and pleasant.

The following morning we visited the I-Site (this is what tourist info offices are called in NZ) & booked to do a 3 day trek in Abel Tasman National Park. With a day to relax before hand we took a drive to a lovely little village in Golden Bay called Tekaka. I can honestly say this is where we tasted the best ice cream of our trip. Real scoops of fruit blended with ice cream and filled deep and high into a waffle cone. Heavenly. Next we drove a little further north past Pahora to the Abel Tasman memorial then it was back to Tekaka for another ice cream before returning to Motueka to prepare for our trek.

You can do the walk from north to south or south to north. The decision depends on the low tide times as there are a number of crossings required. We started at Totaranui in the north and were immediately blown away by the beauty of the beaches. As we looked down on one beach from a look out point we both agreed that Fiji was no longer a required destination. It was stunning and isolated. Why aren't these beaches swarming with people? As this was a coastal walk we had taken a water taxi to the start of the trail. Now here comes the best part for a mere $10 a day the water taxi company will pick up your backpack and drop it off at the campsite you will be staying at that night. So, each day we only needed to take day packs and each evening our tent and large backpack would be waiting for us. It was the business. The weather was excellent which helped also. On Day 2 we bumped into Sharon & Glen while walking on the trail. These were friends we met in Ushuaia. It was great to sit at the waterfront & exchange our travel tales. Then they got on a water taxi and we walked on another two hours to our awaiting backpack. It was another oasis-like crescent shaped beach. We walked it's length while there wasn't another soul on it. Overall it was a really enjoyable 3 day walk, although I (Claire) didn't really dig the low tide barefoot crossings. Gooey & squidgy between the toes with little crabs appearing & disappearing. We stayed one more night in Motueka on return from the trek.

Mosquito Bay, how apt!

Split Apple Rock

Sharon & Glen

The view from Abel Tasman monument