As we drew towards Dunedin, it seemed like the weather gods were playing a cruel trick on us. We thought we had left the snow behind at Mt Cook that afternoon, but no, it was back, all over the road! This was Rachel’s first time driving in snow and she didn’t really enjoy it. We got through safely though :)
And waiting for us in Dunedin was a nice warm flat – my sister Kylie’s place. We had arrived in town with a day to spare until Kylie’s house warming party. Our sister Cara was also in town – back from Ireland for a few weeks, renewing her visa. It had been a long time since the three of us had been together in one place, so it was great to have a couple of days to spend all together.
Kylie took us for a drive out along the scenic Otago Peninsula on Saturday, in search of some rare wildlife and deserted beaches. Our first destination was a remote beach which featured a natural pyramid some 30m high, with small prickly plants covering its slopes. Maybe the ancient Egyptians used to holiday in New Zealand and left this as a clue???
We decided to avoid the tourist spots for penguin-watching, in favour of a beach that only a handful of people visited. We trekked down huge sand dunes, along the beach, then up into a shelter, from where we could observe the penguins (hopefully) without disturbing them. We waited and waited and eventually a solitary yellow eyed penguin waddled up out of the sea. It then began to hop and wobble its way 100m up the steep hill at the end of the beach, back to its secret burrow I suppose. It was a pretty special sight, but worth the hour-plus wait? I think so.
That night we met many of Kylie’s Dunedin friends and enjoyed a few beverages with them. We made our excuses and avoided being taken on a tour of the local nightclubs though.
Once we had stuffed ourselves full of café breakfast and recovered from the night’s excesses we were off again, to the beautiful Central Otago. We made our way through little old towns, cold, sheltered valleys, and past huge, peaceful lakes, stopping occasionally for photos, or just snapping them out the car windows.
We arrived in Wanaka after dark and were disappointed to find the Glendhu Bay campground closed. I had stayed there a few years earlier, on a fun trip with some University friends. But at least there was another option in town, so no freezing the night away in the car!
We woke to beautiful, clear morning skies and stunning views of Lake Wanaka and the surrounding mountains. A short drive lead us to a view of the snow capped peak of Mt Aspiring, the centrepiece of Aspiring National Park. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the trails through the wilderness there, only to admire the distant summits. We did spend a while at the lakefront in town though, enjoying the sunshine and watching the ducks, trout and eels thronging around the wharf.
The road west from Wanaka was absolutely stunning. A few lonely clouds drifted along the sky as we cruised highway 6 to Lake Hawea, then alongside Lake Wanaka again. Both lakes were stunning blue with only gentle ripples disturbing the surface. What better place for a picnic lunch? :)
Beyond the lakes, the road entered the unspoilt forests of the Southern Alps. We stopped by one of the DoC signs and walked through the forest with our eyes and ears wide open to the beautiful sights and sounds of the native trees and birdlife. We crossed a freezing cold river on one of the swing bridges typical of NZ’s national parks. I had to jump up and down a bit to see how much it would wobble, but it was too sturdy to really get going.
We made it out to the west coast just before dark and were surprised at the calm state of the usually very rugged Tasman Sea. But that also meant that the skies were clear for our walk under the stars at the Fox Glacier township, where we spent the night. We took a bottle of good Otago wine to ward off the chill and strolled along with our heads back, in awe of the shining heavens above us. We even saw a couple of shooting stars that night :)
We felt incredibly lucky to have been in the midst of such beautiful places, in the space of a couple of days, driving from east coast to west. And there were still plenty more adventures waiting for us in the South Island.
