Our final day in Dunedin began with cloud, which soon cleared to another beautiful day. Hence the title, a little number for NZ group L.A.B., all the way back from 2021. Have a listen. We dragged ourselves out of bed to prepare for departure and the drive to the Otago Peninsula. What I thought would be a 10 minute drive turned out to be something much more substantial. Distance does not always equate to time travelled.
Of course the unknown factor of travel in NZ, well perhaps not unknown, but certainly difficult to work into time plans, is their penchant for carving roads into the side of a land mass so the road follows the contour of the water. For those of you who have driven the North Island, think Coromandel. The road to the Albatross Centre on the peninsula was the same. The speed limit was regularly limited 40kph and the road followed the harbour's edge. Beautiful to look at, if you weren't driving.
 |
| The view from the Royal Albatross Centre back towards Dunedin. |
We wended our way along the edge of the harbour and spotted two cruise ships in dock. They were a long way from Dunedin itself, so one assumes the passengers from these floating viral microcosms were transported to the city by bus. So happy to be on the other side of the harbour.
 |
| They came from nowhere. |
The Albatross Centre is at the very end of the peninsula. It's a commitment to get there. And like many things in life, once achieved, is a disappointment. There is a lookout that is free. Quite a spectacular view of the coast and where I snapped the seals. However, entry to the good bit is an escorted tour that costs over $60 per person and takes an hour - from memory. We were here because we thought it was a viewing platform arrangement, we did not have time to take an hour tour. Truth be told, dear reader, I didn't want a tour. A few photos were taken, and I made friends with a juvenile red-billed gull; actually it tried to land on my head twice. It knew a bird lover.
 |
| My friend. |
Back to the car to commence the slow drive toward Invercargill, except we thought we would stop along the way at Lanarch Castle, also on the peninsula. Once again we tackled the narrow winding roads to the top of the escarpment only to be terrorised by a helicopter appearing, seemingly from nowhere and disappearing again and then reappearing. It was spraying, something, and scaring the sheep, and us. At the castle gate we arrived, to find that the entry price to walk in the gardens was $22 a person. To look inside was even more! Perhaps if we'd had another day in Dunedin we would have checked it out. When you're on a tight timeline with a big drive ahead, nope. Not interested.
 |
| Sandfly Bay |
Driving back towards Dunedin to find Highway 1, I decided to check out Sandfly Bay. This was a gutsy decision, as Jayne and sand flies are not friends, dear reader. Not even frenemies. It's like arch nemesis stuff, Prince Planet and Warlock (oh, whatever, google it). Anyway, Sandfly Bay is beautiful, but travel times precluded me getting all the way to the beach. I had to be content with seal photos from the headland. Still cool. Jayne survived. No sand fly bites. Fortunately for me.
 |
| Just playing around in the wash. |
From this point the drive to Invercargill commenced. Nothing to get excited about. We stopped for petrol, at $2.40 a litre for 91. Stop whingeing about fuel prices Australia. We arrived at the Quest Apartments and everything went smoothly. The people at Quest are absolutely lovely and so helpful. It hasn't been a go to for us, but it could become so. The recommendation for dinner was excellent and, despite being on a busy corner in a car dominated city, the double glazing kept the noise out.
On arrival we had intended to go the supermarket to purchase some wine. Yes, I knew you'd be shocked, dear reader. Only it was us who were shocked when we were informed that Invercargill has a problem with alcohol and supermarkets are not permitted to sell it. In a logic defying move, bottle shops still exist where you can go and buy all the take home alcohol you want.
We walked 10 minutes down the street to the bottle shop, made our purchase and walked home again. In a city ruled by cars this was unusual behaviour, not a lot pedestrian traffic. After all the main attractions here are car and motorcycle museums. Not quite what I am into.
The discussion that evening was around the plan for the next day. Originally I thought Stewart island might have been the thing to do, but this gave way to exploring parts of The Catlins. There is not much to say that photos can't illustrate better, so here are the places we visited, and yes, dear reader, Jayne did go bushwalking (or tramping as it is called here).
1. The lighthouse at Waipapa Point
2. Curio Bay (Porpoise Bay)
 |
| Just surfing the break |
 |
| A fossilised forest - one of three in the world |
3. McLean Falls
 |
| Jayne climbed these steps |
4. Tautuku Estuary Boardwalk
 |
| Not really that interesting. |
 |
| Oh, look, mud flats! |
5. Lake Wilkie
 |
| The view from above. |
 |
| The reflective lake perspective. Excellent for an afternoon shot. |
6. Florence Hill Lookout
7. Purakaunui Falls
 |
| So famous they are on a Kiwi stamp. |
Goodness. I'm exhausted just reading back over all of that. Tomorrow our destination is Te Anau in the region known as Fiordland. Think Heidi, no, Song of Norway, a film from 1970.
Until next time ...
No comments:
Post a Comment