As we made our way back south down the Milford Road we
made a stop for a longer trek up to Key Summit, so named because three rivers
flow south, east and west to three different seas from the peak. Fabulous views
and alpine bogs at the top. We stopped for lunch as we passed through Te Anau
again and then made for Gore – not for any specific reason but just because it
happened to be there.
There were no DOC sites but we did manage to find a
municipal campsite about 10 km out of town in Dolomore Park. It was one of the
best places we stayed – for NZ$6pp we had a kitchen and a HOT shower and a
lovely soft almost untouched lawn to make camp in, plus there were only one
other set of campers. There was a huge playground to one side and a little trek
in the evening lead us to a river with hundreds of glowworms on display.
We were however woken up by the sound of many children.
I poked my head out of the tent to see that the campsite had turned into a car
park and the park had been invaded by about 50 five year olds about to go on a
nature walk. As one little fella walked by he asked his friend “why are those
people camping in the playground?” I didn't have an answer for him but 2 people
hurriedly taking down a tent did provide the kids with lots of entertainment.
We had a little walk in the woods, up beyond the glowworms after breakfast and
left the kids to their climbing frames and swings.
Dunedin is New Zealand's Scottish city and it seemed
like a sensible enough place to celebrate St Patrick's day. We checked into a
super modern hostel with absolutely no atmosphere (On Top) and went out to see
what was going on. Before too long we found an Irish bar and joined the local
student throng listening to the diddli-idle band. It was all very plastic paddy
but that's what was on order so we joined in with gusto.
Bleary eyed, we left Dunedin the following afternoon
and made our way up the coast to Omaru. A pit stop on the way was the unusual
Moeraki boulders. They are perfectly spherical large boulders laying in the sea
having been created over time in the nearby cliff and falling out as it erodes.
They are quite otherworldly and make some interesting arty photo opportunities.
Back in the car and a few hours later we hit Omaru, a small town with lots of
restored turn of the century buildings, one of which contained our hostel, the
Empire. It was a very welcoming place and friendly place and although we didn't
see any, had penguins in the car park. We had a very lazy evening, watching the
second installment of the Lord of the Rings.
We packed up and made for Christchurch, our final
destination in New Zealand. Jailhouse, a hostel in a former prison, still in
operation in the 90s, was our accommodation for the first night. It was well
done with very authentic cells for rooms, plus they left a few cells as they
had been, complete with graffiti. An incredible luxury was a TV and DVD in the
room which we used to complete the Tolkien trilogy.
So it came to pass that I woke up in a prison cell on
my thirty first birthday. I did however have an uncomfortable realisation that
my camera was nowhere to be found as we packed up for the last time in New
Zealand. Working back to when I had it last ... I determined that it had fallen
out of my pocket unnoticed as we came back to the car from the Moeraki
boulders. That is the reason why there very few photos of the South Island in
the galleries. I was livid with myself but nothing could be done after calling
the police, local restaurants and the Omaru hostel proved futile. A new record
for me – this camera had only lasted about 2 months.
We checked into a more centrally located hostel and
dumped our large collection of equipment in a storage room before arranging to
drop the car off at the airport. Despite its age and high mileage it hadn't
given many problems. we did make a quick stop-off in a suburban shopping centre
to pick up a South East Asia guide and reluctantly to replace my camera. A new
model had been brought out – so I think I have had every incarnation of the
Olympus waterproof range bar one at this stage. Grrrr. Still, they managed to
sort it out to charge by USB now so that would mean a few grammes of baggage
less.
As we were at the airport we stopped into the Qantas
desk and rearranged the flights, brining forward the trip to Bangkok by a week
and arranging dates for the India and dare I say it homecoming legs of the
trip.
Christchurch is used as a base for Antarctic missions
by a number of countries including the US and an Antarctic centre has grown up.
In order to capitalise on the tourist dollar an Antarctic experience has also
been constructed, winning Christchurch's “best tourist attraction” twice. It
had a cold room which allows you to experience -18°C for a few minutes – good
fun in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt! It also has a collection of disabled
little blue penguins which have been rescued from various accidents – some have
gammy legs, others are blind or only have half a flipper. Feeding time seems to
be the only exercise they get as they are an inherently lazy species, content
to do nothing. There's an opportunity to put on some cold weather gear and pose
for photos and see what the bases are like. The best part of the day was a
drive around an assualt course in a Haaglund, a Swedish specially designed
amphibious polar vehicle. Don't get me
wrong it was good, just not great.
The hostel, Coachman was a very friendly place and the
management were very amenable to the fact
that we had way more stuff than we should have as backpackers. We were
planning to sell or give away what we could and as I was photocopying the flyer
I had made, made the discovery that everyone else was doing exactly the same
thing. All the noticeboards were full with pots, pans, tents and campervans for
sale. Thank god we had rented and not bought a car!
Claire had started getting a cold a few days back and
it really kicked in here so she spent a lot of time sleeping while I read up on
SE Asia and generally chilled out. Then the big one came – very early on a
Sunday morning I went down to a jam packed English pub to watch the final game
of the six nations. There was a majority of Irish but a smattering of loud
Welsh with which to banter. It was the
most tense game I can ever remember and the relief and joy at the final whistle
was tangible. The place erupted and spilled out on to the early morning street.
Myself and the fellow supporters I had made friends with were in no mood to go
home or back to bed so we made for an Irish bar someone thought was open. It
was and I don't think a bar maid was ever as surprised to see thirty people
dressed in green looking for pints of Guinness before 9 on a Sunday morning. She
hadn't even put money in the till. The morning carried on in celebration before
we moved on to another place, where one of the lads worked. I suspect this was
the only reason they let us sing rebel songs for hours on end before the time
came to pour ourselves into buses and taxis and go to bed. It was fabulous to
be able to celebrate it in such style but for the first time on the trip I did
miss being at home on the occasion of the first 'slam since 1948.
The flight to Bangkok was fast approaching and my ad
hadn't brought as many enquiries as I had hoped. One English chap took the gas
stove of me for $10. We started to pack up bits and pieces to send home or
throw out – my yellow hoody bought in Uyuni would no longer be needed. On the
last day I managed to give a lovely English couple most of our gear for $40. A
great deal for them. The second hand bookshops wouldn't touch The Lord of the
Rings or the NZ rough guide at all so we left them in the hostel along with the
hoody and our blankets. Hopefully someone will get some use out of them. With
the package sent home all that remained to do was do the final pack for SE
Asia. I had managed to clear out a lot so my pack was quite a lot lighter as we
walked into the Cathedral Square for the last time. Christchurch is pretty,
reminding of Oxford or Cambridge but we didn't really do it justice at all. You
can't win 'em all. Next stop Asia!
