Our Last Few Days on the South Island

In New Zealand, all of the main highways seem to have descriptive names. We have driven the ‘Thermal Explorer Highway’ and the ‘Treasured Pathway’ among others, and after leaving Milford Sound on February 23, we drove five hours along the ‘Southern Scenic Route;’ eventually reaching an area called The Catlins. Ironically, out of all the drives we had done on this trip (just over 5000 km so far); this was probably one of the least scenic drives. The ocean was beautiful when we passed right along the south coast, but it was mostly crossing through farmland and straight stretches of highway (we have certainly seen enough of this back home). Also, up to this point in the trip, we had seen our fair share of sheep, but nothing compared to how many we had been expecting. That was until we hit the Southland region; ALL you see is sheep…and a few cows just to change it up every once and a while. This area is definitely the most isolated and low-key we had been to, and it was exactly what we were looking for after a busy week. There are only about two gas stations and one grocery store in the whole Catlins area. There also wasn’t much access to any news sources, so we had no idea the extent of the Christchurch earthquake at that point. We found an available room at the Lazy Dolphin Lodge, which was actually lucky considering we didn’t book anything of time and there are only about six places to choose from. Thanks to a great tip from the owner, we quickly put our stuff into our room and then walked five minutes to Curio Bay, arriving right around 8 pm – the best time to spot yellow-eyed penguins! She told us that these penguins are very rare and limited to this certain area of New Zealand. Not really knowing what to expect, we arrived and discovered we could go right down to the beach, as long as you left enough space between you and the penguins. Right away, we saw the cutest little penguin just sitting on the rocks. Every night at the same time they slowly waddle and hop their way up the beach, back up to the nests they have in the bushes. There are so many places that would charge you to see something like this, but we were able to see it for free and there was barely anyone else even there. It was amazing. We saw about five penguins in all, and were able to get pretty close to two of them. At one point, these two started chirping at one another, leading one to waddle up and slap the other one right in the face. It was hilarious and I managed to get it on video! After they made it to their nests and out of sight, we headed back to our hostel to cook a late dinner and have a nice relaxing night together.

We let ourselves sleep in a bit the next day and took our time getting ready in the morning. It was actually a pretty cold day, and we got all bundled up in jackets and coats before heading out. We hopped back in the car and drove along the coast hitting a few spots highlighted in our trusty Lonely Planet guide. Our first stop was at Slope Point, which is the most southern point of New Zealand. From the parking lot, it was about a fifteen minute walk out to the cliff face through a farmer’s field. All there really was to see is a lot of ocean heading out to Antarctica, an old yellow sign and SO much wind. We were just getting blown around and laughing so hard; it was hilarious. Nearby, we got a great picture of the ‘windswept trees,’ and after coming to the point ourselves, we can understand why they look like that. I don’t want to know what my hair would have looked like if I didn’t have it tied up that day! From there, we drove to McLean falls. Although they weren’t the biggest, this waterfall was probably one the most beautiful I have ever seen. It seemed so isolated, and the water cascading over the green, moss-covered rocks had such a nice effect. It didn’t hurt that we were the only ones there either. Our last stop for the day was at Cathedral Cave, which made up for us not being able to see Cathedral Cove a few weeks ago in Coromandel. It was about a thirty minute walk down to the beach in low tide and then on to the cave. It was so cool to go in one side, walk through a naturally made tunnel in almost pitch black and come out the other side. We discovered that taking pictures from within the cave looking back out to the beach created a really cool silhouette effect, so we tried our hand at taking some artistic shots. After clambering up the steep walk back to our car, we drove back to the hostel for more relaxing, reading and dinner. Later on, we walked down to the beach at Porpoise Bay, (essentially the backyard to where we were staying). Walking along the sand and scanning the water, I spotted three dolphins playing in the surf! We were only able to make out their upper halves and didn’t see them jump, but it was cool spotting them so close to the shore! Then it was back to Curio Bay to watch the penguins again. This time we had a good conversation with the Department of Conservation Ranger, who told us that the penguins are out swimming for 8-10 hours during the day finding food and that they mate for life (there were eight couples living on that particular beach). That night we ended up staying on the beach for over an hour until it was dark. As we were leaving, we happened to spot a penguin standing less than 10 feet away from us. It was too dark to get a picture, but it was amazing to see one so close! They are so cute. We got back to the hostel by 10 pm or so and then just curled up on the couch to watch a movie in the common room. It was such a relaxing day that cost us absolutely nothing, and a great way to celebrate three and a half years together.

Friday morning we checked out and continued our drive east making a few more stops along the way. We stopped at Purakaunui Falls, a well-known tiered waterfall, which was beautiful but didn’t quite have the same effect on me as McLean Falls. It was interesting to drive through so much farmland, and then walk a few minutes to these incredible waterfalls tucked into rainforest settings. Next was Nugget Point, where we spotted tons of sea lions and walked out to a lighthouse providing great coastal views. From there it was on to Dunedin, where we planned to stay for the night; although we hadn’t booked anything ahead. We checked out several hostels and then finally went to the information site, only to find out that there was absolutely no vacancy. This was when we first became aware of the earthquake’s impact, and realized that the entire east coast would be booked up from people fleeing their damaged homes. Up to this point, we had experienced no trouble just showing up somewhere and finding a place to stay; so we were a little worried at this point. We decided to park our car and walk through Dunedin’s core just to see some of it, and have a quick bite to eat. It seemed like a really fun city with all of the students and bars; it’s too bad we couldn’t have spent the night there. We continued to drive up the east coast and stopped at the next biggest town, which was Oamaru. It was a pretty cold night and we really didn’t want to sleep in our tent so again, we tried to find availability in a hostel. Again, no luck. The only place we could find was a holiday park that had one site left, so we decided to sleep in our car to stay a bit warmer; it actually worked out well. Since it was late, we took the opportunity to do our laundry and re-stock on groceries. Oamaru seemed like a pretty quiet town and didn’t really have much going on.

We left early the next morning and drove straight up the east coast another five hours or so. On this leg of the journey, we drove through Christchurch but only on the outskirts as we stuck to the highway. The only signs of the earthquake happening were notices with information of emergency shelters and that some of the stores in the surrounding areas were closed down. Other than that, everything seemed normal from our vantage point, which felt very strange because we knew there was so much damage and devastation only a few kilometers away. We had been reading newspapers along the way and trying to keep up to date with all of the stories; just unbelievable. Less than two hours later, we reached our destination of Kaikoura, about 180 km north of Christchurch and were happy to find warm sunshine! We had got online the night before and managed to secure a tent site for that night, so no problems with accommodation there. That night, we cooked some dinner and then went for a walk down to the beach and along the main street (this didn’t take too long). All that seemed open was a few souvenir shops and one pub, so we made our way back to the campsite. Although Kaikoura seems small, it has a really nice vibe to it and we got a great first impression. The rest of our evening consisted of enjoying a few beers and several card games, can’t beat that!

February 27, 2011 – Keith’s 24^th Birthday! We observed that of all the four birthdays he has celebrated while we have dated, this is probably the only one where: a) he didn’t have to study for midterms and b) we were actually together in the same city (even if it is across the world). Enough reason to celebrate right there! We woke up after a very cold night in our tent, but were happy to step outside into the sunshine. Then it was time for Keith’s breakfast of choice; I told him he could pick anything he wanted…and he chose cereal mixed with yoghurt. Picky guy. :) Then it was time for a tour of the limestone caves in town (which actually ended up being a private tour because we happened to be the only ones to book); worked out perfectly! We had a great guide and enjoyed the tour in our stylish hard hats. From there we settled into lunch and a cold beer on the patio next to the ocean. There was free wi-fi at this café, so we managed to catch my family on Skype by chance. A quick conversation, but great to see everyone’s faces nonetheless. After pulling ourselves away from relaxation, we took off on a three hour coastal walkway hike; spotting a few sea lions and lots of cows along the way. Around 5 pm we headed back to our holiday park for a dip in the pool and soak in the hot tub, or ‘spa’ as they call it in NZ. Here we chatted with a young family from Christchurch who had temporarily left their home because of minor damage and lack of power. It was interesting to hear a first-hand experience of the earthquake, but sad to hear about their situation. For Keith’s birthday dinner, we cooked a delicious meal of chicken and rice (gourmet by our standards). We enjoyed the rest of the night over more drinks, and splurged for a warmer little cabin with a nice view. Keith had a great birthday and I loved being able to celebrate it with him in beautiful NZ.

We were up, showered and checked out by 9:30 am the next morning and already on the road headed toward Picton to catch our ferry back to the North Island. Arriving at around noon, we had plenty of time to spare and got on the ferry no problem. This time the ride across was a little choppier, and we were both pretty relieved to get off when we arrived in Wellington a few hours later. We drove straight to our hostel, which had a great location but paid parking. In the kitchen we cooked a simple pasta dinner and watched some of the Oscars, which were on TV. I actually talked to my friend Heather for a bit on Facebook chat and it was funny that we had both been watching the Oscars, but it was Sunday back in Calgary and Monday in New Zealand. Crazy time difference! After dinner, we went for a great walk along the waterfront and finally got a good look at Wellington. Making our way further into the city, we rode the cable car up the hill and then walked back down through the beautiful botanical gardens. We both really liked Wellington; it seems like a very liveable city. Our last stop of the evening was at Molly Malone’s, an Irish bar with live music, where we enjoyed a pint or two and had a great time.

Well its back to the North Island now, which means only one more week left in NZ! Time has flown by, but we have truly enjoyed every single experience together and look forward to making the most of our final days to come! And then it’s Australia…so we really can’t complain :)

Ps. Sorry the pictures are out of order - it's so hard to get them placed correctly!