The next morning we were up and on the way early as we had a 3 and a half hour drive to Lake Tekapo. The day was fantastic and clear so we were determined to do a flight over Mt Cook and the Tasman, Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. We made it to the airport in time and were in for a treat. John was lucky enough to score the co-pilot's seat and for the next hour and a half we were in awe of the magnificent colours below us. The glaciers look so much bigger from the air, and the lakes around the mountains were a gorgeous turquoise colour from the glacial sand. It was so clear and the colours so brillant we kept pinching ourselves. Definitely another thing ticked off our bucket list!
All too soon our flight was over, but the memories will be with us forever, and the photos will too. We then drove on in to Lake Tekapo for lunch and marvelled at the glorious colours of the autumn trees, the clear mountains and sky and the glacial lakes. Just a picture!
It was then another hour and a bit to the seaside township of Timaru for the night, and after our big day it was nice to stay in and cook for ourselves tonight.
Our last day dawned too quickly and it was time to head off to Christchurch. We decided to visit the coastal town of Akaroa first however, on the recommendations of several friends and we were not disappointed. The drive into Akaroa around the Banks peninsula was noteworthy on its own for magnificent scenery but the best view is overlooking the harbours. Akaroa is the site of the country's first French settlement and some descendants of the original French settlers still live there. It was so cute and quaint to see the French street names and the French provincial village style houses. I could so live here! I only wished we had more time to stay a night or two in this area, but we only had a couple of hours.
The drive back to Christchurch was easy and my fears of not being able to find my way to the airport unfounded. Before we handed in our hire car and checked into our accommodation near the airport for the night we had one last place to visit. The International Antarctic centre. This was a really good museum, well set out and the blue penguin exhibits good. We watched them being feed, we experienced what it would be like to be in an antarctic storm (freezing doesn't do the feeling justice!) and had a fun ride on a Hagland transporter, hanging on tight up the steep hills. Definitely worth a couple of hours visit.
All too soon it was time to tidy out the car and return it to the hire company at the airport. Our accommodation for the night provided free shuttle service so the trip back was easy. We had our last night in NZ in at the hotel, enjoying a lovely last meal and savouring the local Pinot Noir for one last time. Off to bed early for our 4 am rise, after somehow managing to squeeze things back into our suitcases for the return to Australia.
It has been a magnificent 26 days in this Sth Island of New Zealand everything we had hoped for and much much more and we feel so sure we will return soon that we didn't cash in our remaining NZ Dollars!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Fiordland to The East Coast
Our last day in Te Anau was again a clear one, but also chilly. We decided to spend the day driving along the road to Milford Sound again, this time stopping off to explore the many interesting stops along the way.
Unfortunately a lot of the snow on the mountaintops had gone, so when we reached Mirror Lakes, while the scenery was stunning it was not as magnificent as it was 2 days before. From there we headed on finding Lakes and creeks, the names of which I can't remember, but there were all stunning nevertheless. Just about any interesting side track was explored, as anyone who has travelled with John before will know. As we got closer the Milford Sound the weather started to change and it was becoming foggy and slightly damp, so we turned back after Falls Creek and headed off to Te Anau for the afternoon. It was fine there, and it was nice to relax in the late afternoon sun and spend some time sorting through photos, washing and other domestic chores.
Reluctantly we left on Monday morning and headed off towards Dunedin. The day was clear, but cool and very windy from the west. We followed some magnificent mountains and through lovely sheep and cattle farming grounds and into Clutha country, named after the mighty Clutha river. We laughed as we drove through the neighbouring towns of Gore and Clinton, where they had named the highway "The Presidential Way". We reached Dunedin by about lunchtime and decided to take our lunch with us and eat it in the grounds of Lanarch castle. This castle/mansion was built by an Australian banker, William Lanarch, in 1870, on the highest point of the Otago Peninsula for his wife (he married 3 times). Unfortunately Lanarch committed suicide and his family sold the house and its beautiful grounds. In 1967 it was rescued and restored. The grounds were not as magnificent as those we have seen of other castles in Europe but the view over the peninsula was lovely.
Then we had a scenic drive around Dunedin, taking in the sights of the historic old Railway station and the interesting city layout called the Octogon.
That night for dinner we met up with our new friends Darrell and Karen Love, who we met on the Abel Tasman trip. They took us to a great restaurant with a magnificent view over the city and we enjoyed a great night reminiscing and sharing photos and stories.
Unfortunately a lot of the snow on the mountaintops had gone, so when we reached Mirror Lakes, while the scenery was stunning it was not as magnificent as it was 2 days before. From there we headed on finding Lakes and creeks, the names of which I can't remember, but there were all stunning nevertheless. Just about any interesting side track was explored, as anyone who has travelled with John before will know. As we got closer the Milford Sound the weather started to change and it was becoming foggy and slightly damp, so we turned back after Falls Creek and headed off to Te Anau for the afternoon. It was fine there, and it was nice to relax in the late afternoon sun and spend some time sorting through photos, washing and other domestic chores.
Reluctantly we left on Monday morning and headed off towards Dunedin. The day was clear, but cool and very windy from the west. We followed some magnificent mountains and through lovely sheep and cattle farming grounds and into Clutha country, named after the mighty Clutha river. We laughed as we drove through the neighbouring towns of Gore and Clinton, where they had named the highway "The Presidential Way". We reached Dunedin by about lunchtime and decided to take our lunch with us and eat it in the grounds of Lanarch castle. This castle/mansion was built by an Australian banker, William Lanarch, in 1870, on the highest point of the Otago Peninsula for his wife (he married 3 times). Unfortunately Lanarch committed suicide and his family sold the house and its beautiful grounds. In 1967 it was rescued and restored. The grounds were not as magnificent as those we have seen of other castles in Europe but the view over the peninsula was lovely.
Then we had a scenic drive around Dunedin, taking in the sights of the historic old Railway station and the interesting city layout called the Octogon.
That night for dinner we met up with our new friends Darrell and Karen Love, who we met on the Abel Tasman trip. They took us to a great restaurant with a magnificent view over the city and we enjoyed a great night reminiscing and sharing photos and stories.
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