Blasdale Home

Drive to Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd. During the night there were seemingly heavy rain showers, and two trains passed close by the campsite waking both of us. Luckily, we fell back to sleep quickly. The morning was cold. The good news was the sun was shining. Not sure what to do, we headed North until we almost reached Timaru and then headed inland towards Lake Tekapo. The drive was non-stop until we reached Tekapo. Loo break required, but the only toilets were surrounded by a coachload of Chinese tourists. Only option was to stop and wait cross legged.

The first tourist attraction was the Church of the Good Shepherd. Lots of people of all nationalities taking selfies, but managed to snap a few pictures without people. There is also a statue erected to the “runholders of the MacKenzie county and those who appreciate the value of the Collie dog, without the help of which the grazing of this mountain country would be impossible”.

While I was taking these pictures I overheard a conversation about other places to go. The recommendation was to go up to the University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory where there was a café. Good advice this was. The day was clear, though some clouds to make the landscape interesting. Even managed to get a picture of Mt Cook as it peeped through the clouds. At the café they were selling coffee and food along with stamps and postcards all bearing the Observatory pictures. You could also post the cards there, they stated this was the highest postbox in the Southern Hemisphere. I find that a little surprising at only 1,029 metres. You would have thought somewhere in South America (Peru, Chile?) would have higher postboxes.

Back down, we headed off to Geraldine for a night. Decided to camp in the Top-Ten cos it was right in the middle of the town which would allow us a walk around. Must have been early closing though, most places firmly closed. At least we found a bar where we could sit and drink in peace.

Campervan bed made up with the blanket on top of the duvet. It’s forecast to go below zero tonight. Also done (well, Rosemary insisted we did it) our final wash because we have only one more day of camping left. Tomorrow we head to Christchurch and plan to camp near Birdling flats. Weather looks a bit iffy though.

Bungy jump day! So we left Glenorchy. It was a promising day. The sky was blue when we rose, but soon clouded over. Drove on back to Queenstown, refuelled and bought 2 -3 days supply of food and headed on to our destination of Omarama.

Our first stop of the day was AJ Hackett, the original bungy jump centre. The set-up is impressive, with a huge hall with food, clothing and booking. Yet you can still walk across the suspension bridge because it is part of a DOC trail. Sorry, I didn’t jump. (I know I shall regret it, but Rosemary whinged and the price ($205) was more than I expected. Almost worst for the jumpers, was the walk back up hill from the river.)

Next it was on the road again to stop to take some photographs at the Roaring Meg power station. I’m sure there’s a beer called that. Next on the agenda was the Goldfields Mining Centre. This looked rather upmarket with jewellery and a wine merchant. We stopped and had a coffee served by a delectable French mademoiselle from Provence.

Next stop was for a 4K walk around the Bannockburn Sluicings Historic Reserve. Really interesting scenery caused by the gold mine works and the hydraulic workings which were used to flush all the worked spoils into the river. Naturalists would say this was a total destruction of the environment, but still it has its beauty and is well worth a visit. The land around here is pretty poor and worthless, until someone invented the grape. Yes grapes and crap soil go well together. Oh and the weather was still holding out. R claimed never to have seen so many thyme plants.

On we drove through some spectacular scenery, then we came to Lindis Pass, and the rain belted down. The intention for the night was to stay at a DOC site in Omarama. Instead it was to be a Top10 site, required for dry cooking and eating. The host of the site said it was due to snow tonight and tomorrow. Let’s see what happens.

Cruise of Doubtful Sound. Today was a lazy start for the day, we had no rush as we were due to start our cruise at midday. A slow shower, a quiet breakfast, no rush as there is not much else to do at Manapouri. Thankfully today it was not raining, the sun shone amongst the clouds. We arrived at the car park and checked in for our cruise arriving before most other people. Bought a sandwich to sustain us until tea time.

Just before midday the previous day’s cruise arrived back. The not very happy looking passengers got off. They almost certainly had a miserable first day. Apparently, it rains 1.5 meters in Manapouri and 8 meters in Doubtful Sound. So if yesterday was wet for us, it must have been torrential for them. At least they saw sun on their morning cruise.

Soon we were whisked away across Manapouri lake to the far end of the West Arm next to the power station. Disgorged into a visitor centre with some information about the power station. A short wait and then on to a couple of coaches.  The drive to Doubtful Sound was on a dirt road that took us up a hill, over a pass and then down to the actual Sound, about 200 meters below Lake Manapouri. The road was built back in 1963 the most expensive New Zealand, built at a cost of 2 dollars a centimetre and 2 years to build instead of the estimated 1 year.

We stopped at various places to look at the Sound, several waterfalls and places where the rivers had decided to change direction. We saw several slips where the trees above, which are basically only rooted is moss on top of the bare rock surface, had slipped away taking out the trees below. These scars start as bare rock, then moss, followed by other small plants take root and then trees.

Near to the boat we stopped, to be transferred to another coach for the rest of the journey. A bridge was out, and we had to file across a small pedestrian bridge, one at a time, to board the next bus for the rest of the journey.

Soon boarded and briefed we set off down the Sound on the boat. We lugged our luggage to the cabin and admired the scenery around us.  Our first stop was in Crooked Arm where we had admired some waterfalls. Here we divided into groups who went kayaking or on the motor boats. Rosemary and I chose the motor boat where we went near to shore and were shown the different trees etc.

Back to the boat then then a quick swim in the Sound to wash myself. The surface water in the sound is not at all salty as it floats on top of the saline water below. The temperature of the water was 16.5C, a little breathtaking.

Soon it was tea time, then it was a soup meal. The weather was now cloudy but relatively calm. We went out in to the Tasman Sea and around the Nee Islets where there were New Zealand Fur Seals basking and swimming. Prior this an Albatross was flying over the sea making itself available for photographs. It was rather dark, so the ISO 256000 photos will never look great.

The sun did its thing and sunk below the horizon unseen, but at least there was a lovely glow in the sky for us.

Supper time now, and a huge buffet supper along with some pricy wine. On the protein side, I managed some roast beef, roast lamb and smoked salmon and green lipped mussels.

Went to bed with some stars shining in the sky.

The day looked mixed, yes blue sky, but some clouds and it had been raining during the night.  Let’s see how the day progresses. Down to the kitchen for our breakfast of coffee, yoghurt, fruit and mixed grains.

Our first destination for the day was Wilkie Lake, called the Mirror Lake at the Campsite to make it a bit more interesting. (Rosemary v insulted cos Wilkie was her nickname at school and certain friends still call her that.) The walk to the lake was through a tree fern forest, the first glimpse was from a platform well above the lake. You then descended down to the lake onto a boardwalk. Access to the lake is very limited. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing again, and ripples broke the mirror surface. It was notable in the 30 minutes we were there how much the wind had risen.

Back in the van we headed to the Cathedral Cave, stopping at a boardwalk en route. The boardwalk took us down to an estuary with reeds. Not much wild life to be seen. Bit disappointing, could have been good for dragons, but not on a cold windy autumn day.

Cathedral Cave was interesting, a lovely 1K walk down through a tree fern forest which allowed us to see many light effects. Masses of photographs of various light textures to be binned! The cave is large, you walk in one side and walk out the other side. You visit at low tide, two hours before and after. One of the few times I have used flash on a walk.  The waves on the lovely beach were spectacular, especially with the offshore wind blowing their heads off.

Next stop was Curio Bay. We parked in the car park and wondered why we were here, then we saw the notice for the Petrified Forest and the Penguins. We saw the forest, but not the Penguins. The rain did come for a short period of time here. The forest reminded me of the first season of Dr Who with William Hartnell.

Now it was a drive to Invercargill where we stayed at the Beach Road Motor Camp, stopping at the Lignite Pit Café for one of our slowest arriving coffees yet.

Tonight was reasonably warm, the wind dropped and we were parked in a sheltered area, so able to cook and eat next to the van.

Another early morning rain shower which ended before 8am.  As soon as it ended I was up and out, making sure I was in the shower block. The sun was shining and it remained pretty well cloudless for the rest of the day. I can live with the timing of the rain over these last couple of days.

Today was Royal Albatross day on the Otago Peninsula, their only mainland breeding colony. We drove along the coast road, inches from the water’s edge without any barriers. The wind was strong, so there was a good chance of seeing some adults or juveniles flying. Though you can see the flying Royal Albatross from the carpark, we decided to pay the fairly hefty price of $50 each to watch a short film and have a guide talk to us and take us to view the four Albatross chicks. All four fluffy, white chicks were visible. The webcam star chick gave us a good walking display as it waddled through the grass. The chicks spend all their time eating & not moving, so get overweight very quickly. As fledging time nears, the parents cut down on food and encourage the chick to waddle to them for food.

On cue, as we arrived, an adult Royal Albatross flew into view and made several attempts at landing. Unfortunately, the final landing was just below our view line.

An Australasian Hawk also flew around and we saw a ginger tom cat in the undergrowth but at a distance from the breeding grounds.

Glorious creatures, with impressive 2.9-3.3m wingspan.

After the Albatross we headed across the peninsula to Allans Beach. A huge sandy beach which had a few Seals. (Actually, I walked by one thinking it was a log.) We later passed a few estuaries where there ware lots of Paradise Ducks and Variable & South Island Pied Oyster Catchers to photo.

Many beaches were festooned with enormous kelp seaweed. Must have been detached from their habitat by the cyclones. Loads of really bleached out driftwood. Rosemary found a bit which she claimed looked like a duck’s head. Mmmm.

Back to Dunedin, and a Countdown to buy provisions including beer, wine and steak. R wanted to buy a chocolate Easter Kiwi & Egg, but none were to be had.

Busy day today and the clocks went back in New Zealand, so a possible early start, and dark finish for the day.

Today we were heading to Dunedin, where we heard Ed Sheeran was performing his final three performances, on consecutive nights. Dunedin has a population of 120,000. Ed, in the three days he performed here, was playing to a total of 120,000 people. It seems the city has become obsessed with Ed Sheeran, there was even an Easter Egg Hunt. The aim was to find a photograph of Ed Sheeran inspired street art, your best Forsyth Barr experience (where Ed played) and to snap and tag yourself in front of the Ed Sheeran wall. There were also take off t-shirts on sale in a variety of designs but wait until you see mine.

We packed up on a cool but cloudless day and head East, stopping at various tourist attractions on the way. At one point we saw people sitting out in the wilderness on chairs staring into the valley, we concluded they were cheap skate plane spotters who wanted to watch the Wanaka War Planes in action this Easter Sunday. They had been flying the previous two days, and I think today was going to be a big fly day.

Our first stop was Bendigo, a gold mine. The mine was a small cave in a rather inaccessible place. First we had to cross yet another ford (yeah!), and then drive up some steep dirt roads. Parked on the verge and then scrabbled down into a steep valley. Yes, the mine was there, impressive. We met two other people who had visited the place 30 years ago. They commented on the massive changes here, where once there was scrub, now there were vineyards.

Next stop was Ophir. This was an old mining town with some of the building still in existence.  We had a coffee and cakes at Pitches Store which is an impressive building built during the Gold rush era. The town was a one street hillbilly type of habitation.

A short drive on was the Hayes Engineering Workshop. We hit it on an open day. Country music, BBQ and women spinning were the features to come to our attention. We skirted by this to look at the exhibits. The workshop was founded by Hayes who emigrated to New Zealand from Warwickshire and started making implements which would help him farm. He ended up selling his wares around New Zealand, employing men in the factory and employing salesmen and saleswomen to sell his wares throughout NZ

Nearby we stopped at a gold mine head where there were about 20 cyclists visiting the area, all leaving their bikes on the verge. A quick 20-minute visit and then we were on are way. This time non-stop to Dunedin.

The landscape we saw on the drive was impressive. Driving on mainly flatlands bordered by high hills on either side. Fields had huge crop irrigation systems, like the ones in Norfolk around Thetford, but so much larger. In some places we could see for very long distances to mountain ranges far away.

On arriving in Dunedin, all the parking spaces were gone, kids were all walking in one direction towards the arena. We mad a bee line to the railway station to enquire about tickets on the local tourist train that takes you through a spectacular gorge.

Next to find a campsite. Yes, we could get in despite Ed, though all cabins were booked and only a few spaces available for small campers.

Rosemary saw the owner had a webcam feed running on the Albatross colony, so received yet some more advice for Tuesday when we hope to see Albatross and Penguins.

Up and a slow getup to allow the Armistice convoy to get ahead of us. Took a few pictures of several WWII army vehicles and motor bikes. The motor bike was suffering; I believe it left on a trailer in the end.

We headed towards the Haast Pass with a mixture of blue sky and clouds on the mountains, and some lower clouds caused by the sun warming and evaporating the moisture on the vegetation from the night’s rain. It made a pretty sight.

We stopped off at various sightseeing areas, Thundercreek Falls, then the Fantail Falls. The Fantail pull over was full of people so we nearly didn’t stop. Both good to view.

As an event, the Haast Pass was rather disappointing. We hardly noticed the summit of the pass, because the tall trees and growth on the side of the road made much of the theatre of the valley virtually invisible. (The next day driving on the dirt road to the Rob Roy Glacier trail was a much more awe inspiring drive.)

The drive alongside Lake Wanaka was spectacular, with wide open vistas.

We arrived at Wanaka, stopped at the supermarket for some food and headed over the Glendhu Bay campsite. We were surprised at the size of the site – huge. Being a Bank Holiday and therefore school holidays, it was teaming with people. The facilities are a bit tired, but we had a large pitch to ourselves looking straight out on to the lake.  Alas, the wind soon made us sit in the van.

During the night the wind really got up, I wonder how those tents perched on top of the long-wheel base Land Rover Discovery survived the night. (We didn’t see them again, so perhaps they did not survive.) It rained during the night, and was still drizzling slightly at 8.00. Sun was soon out.

During the night there was a shower of rain, but the forecast held true and there was blue sky at dawn. While we were eating our meagre breakfast a BBQ man came around and offered me pork chops and bacon from his exuberant morning excesses.

We headed off South and soon came across the first of the WWII convoy being administered to by the AA.

Our first stop of the day was, as suggested by Nic & Kate, a Treetop Walk, where you walked on a number of platforms and walkways above the forest. This, I thought would be the chance to bag a few birds, so loaded the BIG lens. Of course you can guess, hardly a bird in sight. A few fantails were in evidence. Done those. Did snap a picture at a distance of a Bright Eye. Rosemary spied a couple of different orchids growing on some deadish tree tops.

We spent a good couple of hours on site, then back to the café for some bacon and eggs on ciabatta , while R had French Brioche toast with berries and bacon. Picked up a few brochures for the Franz Josef Glacier, some Helicopter trips and an Eco Walk. The Eco Walk won.

We headed on, stopping at Ross where we posted our postcards, after getting a description of what an NZ postbox look slike, the Goldfields were not attractive enough to keep us, though we took a brief look at their Gaol.

After lunch back on SH6 we came across the convoy at Harihari. They had stopped for a break and were being ushered back on to the road. We waited and then had 20 slow moving vehicles to overtake. Luckily the road was straight, and NZ has a limited number of vehicles.

We soon passed Lake Mapaourika where I planned to camp for the night. But continued on to Franz Josef to book our Eco Walk and buy a couple of bottles of wine. In the local bar, had a pint and a chat with a British couple from Reading who were B&Bing

At the campsite, flushing loos, we cooked our meal and the went to bed, hopeful the sand fly would not bite us too much.