Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

First of all a warning. This blog will be very much like an Attenborough production - something like the 'Blue Planet'.

As snow was falling in the UK, the intrepid Maggie and her partner made their way from Te Anau to Dunedin via a number of small towns. It was like driving in the UK in the 1950's. Every so often we even passed a car. Lumsden was a town that stood out for me. It had a fantastic cafe (called the Bafe Cafe), selling doughnuts and muffins to die for, one pub, a senior citizen's centre and a maternity hospital and that was it. If it had a golf course I'd move there.

Dunedin sits on the east coast of NZ but after two days we haven't actually seen it. We are staying on the Otago Peninsula which overlooks the city and (sorry readers), the weather has been fabulous. The area is described as the wildlife capital of NZ and it's probably justified. We are staying with an English guy and his Australian wife in a wonderfully eccentric cottage surrounded by beautiful gardens and a magnificent view over the Otago harbour. Cathy (our host) is a huge wildlife fan and walker and has given us some excellent advice on where and when to go to various spots on the peninsula. Driving is largely across unsurfaced roads but in fairness they are fine, especially with a quality rental car (which again reminds me of the 1950's - except all dashboard instructions which are in Japanese. Eccentric doesn't cover it!). A quick view of 'our' garden:

On day one (late pm) we took off to the northern side of the peninsular to see the 'chasm', and 'lover's leap'. Views over the South Pacific were breathtaking.

Yesterday we again went 'off roading' in the Executive Nissan to Allan's Beach via a beautiful deserted inlet where we saw about two dozen black swan. Allan's Beach feels almost untouched. We walked the length of it from south to north and from the very start we saw sea lions basking on the beach. In fact we saw more sea lions than people in the course of the walk - about 12 (all males). They were wonderful, sleeping on the beach, playing in the sea and just chilling out! It was a privilege to be there.

Mid afternoon we took off to the end of the island, a place called Pukekura, to an albatross centre. This is the only mainland breeding colony in the world for the Royal Albatross. Access to the site is controlled to ensure the safety of the birds, who spend about 80% of their lives at sea, only returning every 2 years to breed. These are seriously huge birds, living on average 50 years. The adults weigh on average 8kg with a wingspan of 3 metres. The 'chicks' are fed until they outweigh their parents - one was weighed recently at 13kg!!!! They are then put on a diet by their parents and made to work for their food, ensuring they can eventually take off!

The birds in the air were amazing. It's estimated in a single lifetime they can fly the equivalent of a trip to the moon and back.

We finished the day with another beach walk and saw fur seals playing in the harbour (like you do).

As a treat we had fish and chips on the cottage deck overlooking the harbour and booked a trip to see blue penguins this evening and hopefully the rarer, yellow eyed penguins when they return to the beach to feed their young. Nothing guaranteed though.

This is a magical place where on every turn you see birds you've never seen like the variable oyster catcher, paradise ducks and so on and so on. Pictures and words really don't do it justice. On leaving Te Anau I was speaking to a Canadian and told him where we were going. He said he and his wife had been and were very disappointed - it was all farm land on the Peninsula. What do we learn from this? Either you should never trust Canadians or just get out of the car!

Te Anau, Doubtful Sound - a beautiful part of the world.

We arrived in Te Anau (in the very SW of the south island) on Monday February 29th. We have now had 2 nights at Tussock Inn with Pam, Ken and Bonnie the black labrador. The place is a quiet spot on a deer farm 6 kilometres out of Te Anau. We wake up each morning to see the deer about fifty feet away. It feels peaceful and remote - just lovely.

This area is the rain capital of NZ with 200 days of rain per year and on day one we had a trip to Doubtful Sound booked months ago. Would the weather be OK??? It turned out we woke to frost but clear skies and the day proved to be stunning. We travelled by bus to Manapouri Lake and then took a forty minute boat ride across the lake to West Arm, which in itself was fantastic. From there we went by bus over Wilmot Pass. The road (which is unsealed) took 2 years to build in the 1960s at a cost of $5 an inch, making it the most expensive road in NZ. It was built for the hydro electric power station and isn't linked to any other road. Using only the power of water the power station is able to produce enough clean electricity to power the entire south island. It sits 176 meters below the level of the lake with up to 510 cubic meters of water per second surging through the pipes.

Wilmot Pass took us to Doubtful Sound and to a boat called the Patea Explorer. The Fiords or Sounds were created by glaciers thousands of years ago and Doubtful is over 430 meters at its deepest. Words simply can't explain its wonder or the impact, as you see it for the first time. There is nothing ordinary about this place. The sides of the gorge are covered by dense rainforest and penguins, dolphins and albatross make their home in the environment. Mountains surround you and for once the word "awesome' seems totally adequate.

This day in Doubtful Sound will go down as one of THE most fabulous and memorable days anywhere in the world. We feel very privileged, indeed, to have seen it.

Our final fill day in Te Anau was spent walking part of the lakeside. Being the second largest lake in NZ, we only touched a small part of it but our 11 mile walk did include part of the Kepler Track, a 41 mile round trip that many folk do over 3-4 days, staying in mountain huts and hostels en route. Once again we were blessed with beautiful weather, on opportunity to see the native, endangered Takahe bird and ending with a well earned soak in the hot tub, a glass of wine and a play with the vicious guard dog at our Airbnb cottage!

Tomorrow we drive 180 miles to the Otago Peninsula, close to the student town of Dunedin. We have an Airbnb place overlooking the harbour and we're hoping to see penguins, albatross and visit the Speight brewery! Watch this space to see what we achieve!

The last 5 days in Arrowtown

On Wednesday the 24th we walked the 5 miles round Lake Hayes which is near our cottage. In the afternoon Rob, Roger and I played 18 holes at Arrowtown Golf course which was just beautiful. I hired a random set of clubs but the whole experience was memorable (if the golf wasn't). The views and the course were a joy. Meanwhile the girls walked a small section of the Frankton to Queenstown trail ending with coffee at the Bathhouse overlooking Lake Wakapitu. The picture below is taken from Tobin's track (a walk we did later in the week) showing the lake in the background and golf course in the foreground:

On Thursday we travelled to Wanaka which meant driving over unsealed roads and through the towns of both Cardrona and Cromwell. In the former we passed a famous fence covered in various bras donated by visitors in support of research into breast cancer. We left a donation but sadly no bra!

At Wanaka we again completed a stunning five mile walk with a beautiful return trip, ending the evening at a local quirky cinema called Dorothy Brown's where you can order cheese and wine to take in with you. How civilised is that?

Over the next 3 days we went to the Cookies and Contractors Race Meeting at Omakau. Cookies are farmers apparently. It was a great little venue mainly for local farmers and their families. Needless to say I couldn't find a winner, but people watching was excellent and even Rob and Mo entertained us by ordering hot dogs that arrived battered and so disgusting that pictures have been banned (for now).

A wonderful 7 mile walk to Sawpit Gully followed the day after which took us high into the hills around Arrowtown with a meal out in the evening (Tapas) in the town itself.

On our last full day in Arrowtown we walked Tobin's Track (all uphill!) and after walking Lake Hayes again, we drove to the Remarkables Ski Resort above the town. The views were breathtaking as seen below and completed a great nine days. In the evening Jane and Roger (our hosts) cooked lamb shanks for us which finished things beautifully. They are a great couple, so generous and welcoming, a bit like most NZ folk.

So it's off to Te Anau today and Doubtful Sound tomorrow. We leave Arrowtown with great memories, new friends and feeling lucky to have seen such a staggeringly wonderful part of the world.

Beautiful Arrowtown

We arrived in Queenstown/Arrowtown (South Island NZ) on Saturday the 20th of February from Sydney in pouring rain, met by Rob and Maureen our good friends and holiday guides for the next 9 days!

The first stop was to pick up our executive hire car which is like something from the 1950's! Its actually a Japanese Nissan Tilda 2004 which has probably been round the clock at least twice! But hey it goes!

Our home for the first nine days in NZ is a wonderful cottage owned by Roger and Jane in a tranquil and beautiful spot near Lake Hayes. Jane had baked us macaroons to greet us and the place couldn't be better.

The rain stopped rapidly on day one and Rob and Mo gave us a quick tour to get us started on the NZ leg of our world adventure.

On the following day we walked the 17km Arrow and Kawarau river walk to Hackett Bridge bungee jumping station, declining the opportunity to jump when we got there!

On day 3 Rob and Mo were busy funyacking so we walked into Arrowtown via Christine's Hill and through Milbrook Golf Club (the venue for the NZ Open from March the 11th). The views and walk were stunning. On route we visited an old chinese gold mining settlement on the outskirts of Arrowtown.

Late afternoon we decided it was time for an adrenalin rush so went to the Shotover Jet Boat experience and had a dramatic ride down the the Shotover River Canyons. The ride is fast and furious with 360 degree turns in wonderful and very tight canyons. No cameras were allowed but our trustee tour guides were there to capture the moment!

Today we travelled to Glenorchy at the end of Lake Wakatipu with Rob and Mo. The Lake boasts a 99.9% purity level which makes it superior to most bottled water. We saw black swans and venues used for the Lord of the Rings movie. Glaciers were in the distance and the Lake itself was an unreal blue. It was truly awesome.

From one staggering place to another, we toured over unsealed roads in our luxury Nissan to Lake Moke. This lake sits in steep valley created by glaciers thousands of years ago. We walked around the entire perimeter and lunched half way round. It's almost impossible to describe how beautiful this area is. The colours, the mountains, the lakes and views have simply blown us away! 

We are out for a meal with friends tonight and I'm golfing with Rob and Roger tomorrow afternoon at Arrowtown Golf Club and probably spending the morning walking round Hayes Lake and possibly kayaking with our Scottish tour guides!

Final days in Aus.

Yesterday we took a bus to Bondi beach and walked to Coogee. Bondi itself was unimpressive but the walk was great and arriving in Coogee via Gordon's Bay was outstanding. The views, the power of the sea and weather all combined to make for a perfect day. Great for people watching as well!

We ended the day with guess what, another walk via the Centennial Park and the famous Sydney Cricket Ground. We returned exhausted but what a great day and sore feet soon recover!!

And so to our final day..........

An early morning stroll through the Botanical Gardens and round to Mrs Macquaries chair, followed by a bay walk to the famous Sydney Opera House. "Pictures" that will stay with us for ever!

It was then a ferry to Watson's Bay, taking in yet another walk, this time to Hornby Lighthouse and amazing views out to the Pacific Ocean. One "view" we tried to avoid, however, was the nudist beach en route! You wouldn't get that at Blackpool!

Our "Grand Finale" meal was fish and chips (Phil) and BBQ fish (Maggie) at the famous wharf side Doyles' cafe - established for over 5 generations.

We're going to be leaving Sydney with some fabulous memories of an amazing city, probably one of our favourites. We've been welcomed and befriended by some lovely people who have gone out of their way to show off their city and country, of which they are clearly proud. And not once did we have to remind them that Yorkshire won more gold medals than Australia in the London Olympics four years ago!

Goodbye Singapore, hello Sydney!

On our last day in Singapore we visited the iconic Skypark at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which provided some great views of the area from the 57th floor including the Grand Prix track, the Marina Bay golf course and endless ships, coming or leaving a port that is second only to Shanghai in terms of size.

Gardens by the Bay sits below the hotel and was spectacular to walk and spend time in.

We left for Sydney late in the evening with great memories of some wonderful people, a clean vibrant city, a fantastic hotel and a fine introduction to Asia.

Australia for us meant Sydney and our first two days have been great. The city is easy to get round and like Singapore, public transport is fantastic. The highlights have included the convict museum which told some amazing stories of endurance and survival, but today has been truly spectacular. We walked from Spit Bridge to Manly, returning on the ferry in the evening. We experienced great views, new friends in the form of lizards and bird life (see below, and Maggie is still alive!), and witnessed some terrific surfing waves at Manly beach. We finished the trip with beers and food at a local craft beer place called Four Pines which was good as it gets! Returning on the ferry to Circular Quay was a great end to the day. The only disappointment has been no sign of kangaroos, koala's, Nicole Kidman or even Kylie but you can't have everything! Bondi and Coogee beach walk tomorrow!

Valentine's Day!

This morning saw us tackling the Singaporean transport system, taking trains and buses to and from Changi museum out near the airport. All went amazingly smoothly, testimony to the efficiency and ease of all the transport networks rather than our navigational skills! Excellent value, too, with a 20km journey costing less than $2 (£1!)

The Changi museum tour continued where yesterday's Fort Canning bunker tour left off. The museum is on the site of the original POW camp and the museum is dedicated to the thousands of prisoners for whom Changi was "home" from 1942 to the end of WWII in 1945. Not surprisingly it was a poignant and sad visit but one that was also full of amazing stories of bravery, resilience and friendship. 

On a lighter note, we ended the day taking a nosey at how the "other half" live in the Raffles Hotel then meandered back along the marina, where the Chinese New Year festivities were in their final throes. The Esplanade (and route of the Singapore F1!) was awash with stalls and with families celebrating and having fun. 

Tomorrow, our last day in Singapore, will see us visiting the "Gardens by the Bay" before we head to Sydney. More piccies to follow.