What has Andy gone and done now…?

OK, first of all – to all of the devoted followers of this blog, of which I’m sure there are many…I must apologise for the long delay since my last post…but alas I have been travelling to the ends of the earth (well at least the end of New Zealand) and back and connectivity hasn’t always been either A) a priority, or B) a possibility…

So, I last left you in Dunedin in the pouring rain…it ACTUALLY rained solidly for 4 days and 5 nights…mad…I was expecting the Ark to appear round the corner and take me home…but finally the rain stopped and we continued on our journey south and west.

We have basically driven from Dunedin down the east coast (after a detour out to the Otago Peninsula), through the Catlins National Park (which is spectacular) to Invercargill, then up through Fiordland National Park (which is even more spectacular) and then up to Queenstown (which is where I am now…).

So – that was the plan…and here are the photos…well, some photos…obviously I’m missing a LOT out..!!..

 

We went to Sandfly Beach (aptly named!!) on the Otago Peninsula to try to spot some Yellow Eyed Penguins – the rarest penguins in the world apparently…more about them later, but here’s a sea lion for now…these guys are just everywhere..!?..this is as close as they recommend getting – apparently the big males can get a bit frisky…reminded me of Graeme actually…

 

The Catlins are pretty amazing…we just drove round the coast, stopping when and where we fancied it and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife…it’s basically all rugged coastline, sea lions, yellow eyed penguins and other birds and wildlife…I also learnt that New Zealand Fur Seals are actually in the sea lion family and aren’t actually ’seals’, hence the confusion with my last post…anyway…

 

Lots of nice coastline…

 

We actually camped at the top of a cliff were there was apparently a good chance we’d see Yellow Eyed Penguins coming ashore in the evening to feed their chicks…so armed with binoculars and cameras we waited…and sure enough – a few came…

 

At most beaches there were signs warning people to stay of the beach after 3pm to let the penguins come ashore…though this was invariably always ignored by some W*%$@?! (usually of a particular nationality…that I shan’t name lest I be branded a racist bigot…but my perceived stereotyping before I left is all true..!!) who just waltzed onto the beach, right up to the penguins, blocking off their route to their nest, just so they could get a photo..!?..the above photo however was taken at a beach were the signs apparently encourage this…I really don’t know…I preferred watching from a distance…

 

I thought this was quite funny…this was at the ‘yellow eyed penguin campsite’ – the access to the beach was basically blocked off by this sea lion lying casual as you like at the top of the path..haha…

 

Me standing at Slope Point – the southern most point in New Zealand

 

We drove through Invercargill and called into the hardware store where Bert Munroe’s original motorbike was – the ‘World’s Fastest Indian’ – still the record holder for the motorbike land speed record.  We’d just watched the film while sheltering from the rain in Dunedin…

 

So now it was onwards and upwards – Fiordland bound – we stopped off at Lake Hauroko – the deepest lake in New Zealand (462m)

 

It was a 30km drive along a gravel road to get to the lake (and our nice campsite)…we survived – the van didn’t…quick wheel change later…

 

This little bird was a torture at our campsite near the lake – it kept flying into our van and pooping on everything..!?..very cheeky…

 

A typical campsite…the view from bed…

 

Leaving the coast and the lowlands behind…heading into the (spectacular) mountains and winding roads of Fiordland National Park…

 

Not bad scenery to occupy the driving time…

 

We went to Milford Sound – the only really easily accessible ‘fiord’ and took a boat trip through the fiord to the Tasman Sea…the scale of the whole place and the size of the cliffs from the water is just incredible…photos won’t do it justice, but here are a few from the boat…

 

That ‘little’ red and white boat is actually a massive cruise boat that takes big swarms of tourists out…look at the size of the cliffs rising up out of the water…oh, and it rains 8 days out of 10 here by the way – 7m of rain a year..!!!…

 

That’s the same big boat nosing into a waterfall…

 

Another similar sized boat against the cliffs…

 

This is the “Harrison River’ flowing through the ‘Harrison Valley’ and out into ‘Harrison Cove’…

 

We had planned to just do a cruise in Milford Sound, but the next day we got one of the 2 days out of 10 where it wasn’t raining, so we took to the skys in a helicopter…absolutely awesome…this is just looking down the Fiord on the way up…

 

The flight path took us over Harrison Cove…

 

…up Harrison Valley…hugging the cliff walls and mountain tops – so close…

 

Up to the summit of Mount Tutoko with the glaciers clinging to the mountain…

 

…where we actually landed on the Tutoko Glacier on a perfect blue sky day…

 

Awesome…and I’m not allowed to use that word lightly any more…awesome is only to be used when something actually ‘inspires awe’…

 

The flight back down took us over mountain peaks, glaciers, frozen lakes with ice bergs, then forests and valleys…brilliant…

 

The helicopter was a lot smaller than the one I was in in New York a few years ago…and the pilot liked to throw it about…flying at 90 degree angles around the edge of a glacier and swooping down into forested valleys…I wore my flying sunglasses to hide the fear…

 

After Milford Sound we drove to Queenstown – back to civilisation…passing this interesting fishing shop in the middle of nowhere..!?..

 

Looking down on Lake Wakatipu from the gondola in Queenstown – heading up the mountain for some ‘Luge’ action – little gokart things…

 

ok ok ok…so we’re now in Queenstown…and when I get back I know the first question people will ask when they hear I was in New Zealand is…”Did you do a bungy jump..??”…..

….well….YES I DID..!!!!!…I need to buy some more underwear…

 

Kawarua River – the ‘original and first’ bungy in New Zealand…43m high…ok, so there are much higher bungy jumps about in the world now, but you stand at the top of that 43m bridge and tell me how easy it is to throw yourself off it with nothing but a rubber band tied round your ankles..!!

 

Scary bikkies…

 

5..4..3..2..1..

 

“I love you MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM..!!”