The Traveling Sput

February 21, 2019

We woke up to cloudy skies. We took our time checking out of the room since I did not have much planned for the day other than get to Christchurch (estimated 2 hours 20 minutes drive time) and then get ready to leave for home.

We stopped at the Caltex station to fill up on gas, and then we drove to a lookout on the Kaikoura Peninsula. Low clouds over the mountains blocked most of the view. We’ll have to come back there again in the future.

Then we drove to South Bay in hopes of seeing the dolphins again. Alas, they were not there. We drove back to the Kaikoura Peninsula to the Point Kean viewpoint. It was low tide, and we could see some fur seals lying on the rocks in the distance. The only good view of them was with binoculars. True to what the lady had told us at the I-site the day before, the seals were not very active. The viewpoint was better for looking at the mountains in the distance. At that time the clouds were beginning to clear and I was able to get some decent views. There was also a nice trail that went along the top of the peninsula and led to some great viewpoints of other bays. I walked it for a little way before turning around. Another hike to save for the future.

We left Kaikoura and headed south. Heinrich drove to Gore Bay, which is on a nice little detour road from SH 1. There we found a picnic table along the beach and had lunch. I walked along the beach for a little bit. The sand was dark brown with a lot of gravel, but it was a pretty spot with the Cathedral cliffs in the distance.

I took over driving and drove up the steep road from the beach to the Cathedrals, which resembled the badlands in their formations. There was a nice view of Gore Bay and the beach in the background. There was no trail to walk around the cliffs, so this was just a short stop for the view.

I drove further south to the outskirts of Christchurch, where we checked into our room at the 219 On Johns Holiday Park. We had a chalet cabin with a private bathroom and kitchenette, and air conditioning! It had turned into a nice warm sunny afternoon, so the air conditioning was much appreciated. The cabin had a second bedroom that we used as a packing area to get ready for the plane flights home.

We pulled everything out of the car and repacked the luggage as best as we could. We may have to shuffle items around after we get to the airport and weigh the luggage.

After packing we had some free time and decided to visit The Groynes park that was only a couple of kilometers from the cabin. It was a nice place to walk around. We viewed some ducks on a lake and a river with a weir. There was a swinging bridge over the lake outlet. This was a final goodbye to swinging bridges, one way bridges, and the New Zealand forest.

Afterwards we drove to the Z gas station for one last fill up. I paid part in cash and the rest by credit card to get rid of the remaining New Zealand money. Unfortunately after we left the gas station we discovered we did not get a good fill. We will need to visit a gas station one more time the next morning before turning in the car to top off the tank.

Back at the cabin we had ham and cheese sandwiches and salad for dinner, steamy puds and Whittier’s chocolate for dessert. We were hoping to finish off the remaining food items as much as possible to avoid having to throw things out.

I spent the evening uploading pictures to Facebook and writing blog posts.

February 20, 2019

The itinerary for today was to take a whale watch cruise in the morning and then explore Kaikoura and a few surrounding areas in the afternoon. We woke up to a cloudy day. We were able to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast since our whale watch cruise check in time did not start until 10:00.

We walked over to the I-site where I bought a magnet and asked the lady at the desk about road conditions to Ohau Point, which was a spot 25 km north of Kaikoura that contained a fur seal colony. She said there were a few areas of road construction, but nothing too bad and the drive would take about 25 minutes. She also said that Ohau Point was a much better place to view fur seals than the closer Point Kean since Ohau Point was a breeding colony with lots of pups. Point Kean was the equivalent of a retirement community where the adult seals came in to sleep on the rocks.

We took the 10-minute walk to the Whale Watch Kaikoura building. We were still early so we spent some time walking along the beach. This beach was pure gravel and there was not much interesting to view. We checked in for the boat cruise promptly at 10:00 and were told to wait another half hour before reporting to the safety briefing room at 10:30. I was not thrilled about the long drawn out check in process, and I think it was designed to maximize people’s time to view all of the overpriced souvenirs and buy things.

A passenger train arrived at the train station that was next door to the Whale Watch Kaikoura headquarters. The last car was open deck, and I was able to talk to a few of the passengers while they were waiting to move on. They said they were enjoying the ride, but the train went very slowly. I would think that is good for viewing all of the scenery. We took videos of the train as it left the station.

We were in the briefing room promptly at 10:30. After the safety briefing we boarded a bus that took us to the South Bay where we got on the boat.
The weather for the boat cruise was partly cloudy with light winds. We had been warned that there was a south swell on the water, so there might be potential for getting sea sick. The waves did not bother me or Heinrich, but a few people on the boat did get sick, and I felt sorry for them because they looked utterly miserable.

The boat stopped at an area where we were able to see a few dozen dusky dolphins from the boat deck. We could see their backs arcing in and out of the water as they swam around the boat. Just as we were instructed to go back inside to take our seats for the next part of the trip, the dolphins started jumping and twirling out of the water! I was not able to get any pictures, but it was great seeing them up close.

The boat stopped for our first sighting of a sperm whale. It stayed on the surface of the water for about 10 minutes before diving back down, when we were able to see its beautiful tail. I did manage to capture its tail on video. I had my sunglasses on which made it harder for me to see what I was filming on the cell phone screen. Many times I just pointed the camera and hoped I was capturing something.

The boat moved to another position where we hoped to see a whale, but it did not surface. Later in the tour we got to see one more sperm whale. This one stayed on the surface for about 15 minutes before diving down, and I got better videos since I remembered to remove my sunglasses.

The tour had advertised one or two whale sightings per trip, and we got two so I was happy. Considering the whales are on the surface for only about 10 minutes followed by 45 minutes to an hour when they are down, I thought that the boat crew did a great job locating the whales for us to see.

The return trip to the dock was uneventful. On the bus ride I looked out the window and saw another group of dusky dolphins jumping and twirling offshore! We noted the location, walked back to our car and drove out to the South Bay where we had several minutes of fun watching the jumping dolphins. I was able to get videos of them using the camera zoom.

Afterwards Heinrich drove us north to Ohau Point to see the fur seals. The drive was a bit slow due to the road construction and took about 30 minutes. There were indeed many fur seals and their pups playing in the water and sunning themselves on the rocks, and they were close enough to watch and get good videos.

We drove back to Kaikoura and walked back into town to the Coopers Catch restaurant to order some fish and chips, coleslaw and drinks for dinner. We had planned to eat at the table at the restaurant but did not realize we were getting takeaway food that came in a big paper wrap with no plates. So we walked back to the lodge and ate outside on the picnic table.

After dinner I took a walk along the wharf to a city park and spent time there viewing some whale bone sculptures. Later in the evening there was a full moon, and after it rose above a low cloud bank it made a beautiful reflection in the sea water.

February 19, 2019

We wanted to get a very early start since it was a 5-hour drive to Kaikoura. But we woke up to gray skies. The clouds were very low and threatening rain. So we took more time to check out and left at about 7:15 AM.

Heinrich drove to Lake Brunner. We wanted to hike to Carew Creek Falls, but there was a 4 km dirt road to get to the trail head and it was raining, so we decided to skip the hike. Instead we drove to the town of Moana along the lakeshore. We stopped at a park and hoped the weather would clear. The clouds were so low that we were only able to see the bottom of the lakeshore and none of the surrounding mountains. This was supposed to be a good viewing spot for the Southern Alps. Not today.

We stayed in the park to eat breakfast. We checked the weather forecast, and it was predicted to stay rainy all day there. Since the forecast for Kaikoura was much better (partly cloudy) we decided to move on.

We stopped in the town of Reefton to fill up on gas at the Mobil station. There the attendant gave me a free Mobil card that was good for a 6 cent per liter discount when spending at least $40. I wish I had known about this card earlier in the trip.

I took over driving. Next stop was a waterfall hike near the Maruia Hot Springs resort. I had found this hike listed in Roadtrippers and in the Campermate app. I did not know the name of the waterfall but later found out that the locals referred to it as Five Mile Creek Falls. There was no sign for it along the road, and there was a small area to pull off the road and park the car. There was a blue arrow on a tree that pointed to the trail head. It was a wonderful 15-minute hike through a lush forest to reach a 50-meter high waterfall. Impressive! The trail was a bit narrow and overgrown, and there were two stream crossings due to bridges being washed out, but it was no big deal since we were able to hop rocks. The hike was definitely worth the time.

The road up and down Lewis Pass was a much gentler grade than Arthur’s Pass. The scenery was not as rugged, but I thought it was very pretty with forests dotting the hills. We stopped at the summit to take the 20-minute alpine nature loop hike. The summit was only 864 meters altitude (2,835 feet) and we were still below tree line. The summit vegetation consisted of beech trees, mosses, and grasses. By this time the weather was clearing and only partly cloudy, so we had some nice views of the surrounding mountains.

At the pass we also took the Tarn Walk which was a 1-minute stroll to an alpine tarn with lovely views.

To get to Kaikoura we decided to take the inland route 70 through the town of Waiau. There were many one lane bridges on that road, and a really long one just before reaching Waiau that had 2 passing bays. I ended up having to use the first passing bay on the bridge to avoid oncoming traffic (a truck). A car and a campervan were following me, and the car behind me was able to pull into the passing bay, but the campervan had nowhere to go so he stopped parallel to me on the far right side of the lane. The truck was just barely able to squeeze by both of us. It was a little scary. I don’t understand why these long one-lane bridges were built when they don’t have clear sight lines all the way to the other side. It seems like a ripe spot for lots of accidents.

After passing through Waiau we took a shortcut road to get back to the main state highway 1. There was a twisty section of paved road that climbed to the top of a hill where there was a nice view. We stopped there for lunch.

Heinrich took over driving the rest of the way to Kaikoura. After we reached state highway 1 we encountered road construction and small delays. This was the part of the country where much road rebuilding was needed after the earthquake in 2016. Fortunately all of the roads are open now, but they go down to one lane where the repair work continues.

Near Kaikoura the road passed by close to the ocean where we saw many pretty bay areas but no wildlife. We checked in at the Dolphin Lodge which was located at the top of the hill overlooking the town and the ocean. We had reserved a room for two nights. It had a private bathroom, and there was a shared kitchen down the hallway.

After getting settled we decided to drive to the New World supermarket at the end of town to pick up some dinner food and a few lunch supplies for our final few days. We prepared a spaghetti dinner and salad in the kitchen. We ate dinner outside on the picnic table where there was a nice view of the ocean and surrounding mountains. The resident cat came to investigate. It was very friendly. I had to keep it from climbing onto the table.

After dinner we strolled down the hill and looked at the shops and restaurants in town. We found a fish and chips place that had reasonable prices, and we made a note of it for tomorrow. We found the Whale Watch Kaikoura building and browsed the gift shop, but I found nothing of interest. We walked back to our room, and I spent the evening reading and posting photos to Facebook.

February 18, 2019

Today was one of the longer driving days. Our itinerary was to drive northeast to Otira via Arthur's Pass National Park (estimated 4-1/2 hours drive time).

We woke up to clear skies and were out early shortly before 7 AM. First stop was the Lake Pukaki Lookout, the same one that we went to 2 days earlier. This time we got to see Mount Cook in the early morning light with very few clouds. I drove to a second viewpoint at the Pukaki Kettle Hole Track. This was up a short and steep gravel road, the end of which I don’t think I was supposed to drive up since the road suddenly got very rough. But the car made it up and down okay. It was a gorgeous view from there, with the morning sun on the golden hills. I drove to one final lookout of Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook, and then it was time to say goodbye to that area.

Next stop was Lake Tekapo. We stopped at the town park and got some nice photos of the lake with reflections from the surrounding hills. The water was very still. We stopped at the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is a famous tourist spot. The church did not open until 9 AM, so we were too early. But I got some good pictures of the outside with the lake in the background. It was also nice seeing it with very few other people, before the tour buses arrived.

We drove onward to the town of Methven where we filled up on gas and went to the grocery store to buy food for dinner. Then we headed for Rakaia River Gorge, or at least I thought that was where we were going. It turns out that the GPS coordinates in the Roadtrippers app for the gorge were incorrect. It routed us onto some farm road in the middle of nowhere. By the time I figured out what was wrong, we had driven about 10 km out of the way. Moral of the story: double check the directions with a second source whenever possible.

We finally reached the gorge, and it was beautiful. The water was the turquoise blue color that I had expected to see at Hokitika Gorge. We took a hike up the river toward the lower gorge viewpoint. The first 10 minutes of the hike were great, with many scenic vistas of the river. Then the trail started climbing... and climbing... with no views. After 15 total minutes on the trail, we got a good view of the river and the highway bridges in the background, and we decided that was far enough to go. According to the sign at the trailhead, we still had another 15 minutes or so of hiking uphill before we would have reached the viewpoint.

Next stop was a fun one: the town of Springfield where a giant doughnut sculpture had been placed in the city park. D’oh! We ate lunch at a picnic table, and afterwards I asked Heinrich to take some pictures of me next to the doughnut. What a great place for some stupid selfie poses!

Heinrich took over driving, and we went to Castle Hill. This was an area similar to Elephant Hill with very large limestone rock formations. We walked around and found a few small arches! Of course we had to take pictures of all of them. The area was quite extensive and we only saw a small portion of it. On a cool day I could see easily spending a half day or so exploring all of the nooks and crannies. When we were there it was blazing hot and uncomfortable to be out in the sun for very long.

Next stop was Arthur’s Pass National Park. The scenery gradually changed from dry grasses to trees as we got closer to the pass. We took the hike to Devils Punchbowl Falls. There was a nice view of the waterfall at the bridge across the river, and then we hiked up many steps to reach the base of the falls. The hike was worth it! This was one of the nicest waterfalls I have seen.

Back at the car park we were entertained by a bevy of kea birds, at least 8. Two were playing with some black thing that might have been a camera case. One decided to jump onto the roof of our car, and another jumped onto the front and peered at us through the windshield. Crazy!

We continued on to reach the actual pass on the road. Just beyond the pass was the Otira Viaduct which replaced a very nasty set of switchbacks and landslides. We stopped at an overlook to the viaduct and watched more kea birds. The viaduct was steep with a 16% grade at the bottom and avalanche sheds. It was time to put the low gear of the car in action!

We arrived at the Rata Lodge Backpackers in Otira. We had reserved a small room with a private bath. Down the hall was a shared kitchen.

The host told us there was a spot very close to the rear of the property that led to a small area where glowworms could be seen at night, so after we unpacked the car we took a walk to find the start of the trail and where the glowworms should be. Then we went back and used the shared kitchen to cook our dinner: chicken with honey mustard sauce, red pepper, carrots and onion over rice.

After it got dark, we returned to the trail and spotted a few glowworms that appeared shortly after 10 PM in the area we expected to find them.

February 17, 2019

At 6 AM Heinrich reported it was overcast outside, so we slept in for another hour. By 7 AM it was partially clear. We were up and out by 7:30. It was cold outside, the coldest I have been since the Tongariro Crossing hike.

We planned to spend the entire day exploring Mount Cook National Park. It was about a 45-minute drive from our motel room in Twizel to Mount Cook Village where the visitor center was located. I drove up the west shore of Lake Pukaki and stopped at an overlook. There was a low band of clouds surrounding Mount Cook, but the mountain top was clear. The sun was too low to give the lake its usual intense blue color.

I drove into Mount Cook National Park and we stopped near the entrance to take some photos. The mountains were gorgeous in the morning light with wisps of fog as the clouds were starting to clear. At the visitor center I bought a day walk guide for $2. We decided to hike the Hooker Valley Track. The NZ Frenzy book recommended to take this hike if the weather was clear. The forecast at the visitor center was partly cloudy until noon, then increasing clouds followed by rain in the afternoon. Since it was a 3-hour return hike, we had time to do it before the conditions deteriorated.

It turned out to be a great hike! The views of Mount Cook were stunning. The weather actually improved until it was partly cloudy. The trail was easy and wide with a very gradual ascent. Along the way there were three long swinging bridges to cross. There were several ribbon waterfalls cascading down from the mountain glaciers. The view of the glaciers was much better than at Franz Josef. We could see patches of blue ice, and some of the snow was tinged pink.

Near the beginning of the hike we heard a distant booming noise. It sounded a bit like thunder but we knew it was not due to the nice weather. I think we heard a rock fall or maybe a small avalanche. A few minutes later there appeared to be a small cloud hanging over the mountain. It dissipated quickly. This may have been a dust cloud resulting from the fallout.

The trail ended at Lake Hooker. Across the lake we could see the glacier moraine, and in the lake there were a few icebergs. We stopped near the lakeshore for snacks and then went down to the lakeshore for pictures.

This was a crowded trail, not as bad as the Tongariro Crossing but there were no periods of solitude. On the way back the numbers of people increased due to the time of day. Shortly after we left the lake just before noon, clouds started rolling in over the mountain tops, partially obscuring the view. We timed that well.

We took a second hike to the Tasman Valley Glacier view. It was a short steep walk up many steps to a viewpoint of the Tasman Glacier and its terminal moraine. The lake in front was gray colored from all of the silt and littered with icebergs. It was well worth the hike. We skipped the walk to the lakeshore and boat jetty. Later we found out this was a good hike as well since it got closer to the icebergs. We will save this for our next visit to New Zealand.

Heinrich drove us back to the hotel. On the way we stopped again at the Lake Pukaki Lookout, and the water was much more blue. Time for more pictures!

Back at the hotel we used the laundry facilities. This should be our last load before we reach home.

The hotel had a grill, so we stopped at the Four Square grocery and bought some porterhouse steaks, a couple of potatoes and coleslaw. The dinner was delicious, and it was still much cheaper than dining out. We chatted for a while with a couple from Canada that had been touring for four weeks, and we compared our experiences.

We spent the rest of the evening planning for the next day and making blog updates. We saw nice pink cloud colors of the sunset outside the room.

February 16, 2019

The itinerary for today was to spend the morning visiting some areas near Dunedin and then drive north and inland to the town of Twizel, near Mount Cook National Park (estimated 3.5 hours drive time).

We woke up to partly cloudy skies. We had the heat turned on in the room, which was a good thing since it was very chilly when we opened the door. It appeared that a cold front had come through the night before.

Heinrich drove us back through Dunedin to see Tunnel Beach. There was a very steep walk down the hillside. It was clear, cold and windy. For the first time since the Tongariro Crossing hike I put on my hat, gloves and rain pants to stay warm.

We had a great view of the sea arch during the descent. The final drop to the beach went through a tunnel, hence the name. This was a beach accessible at low tide, and we were there at the right time. There were stunning cliffs and alcoves surrounding the beach, and they looked very pretty in the morning light.

Heinrich drove back through Dunedin and north to the next spot: Doctors Point. This was another area accessible only at mid or low tide. There was a 10-minute walk down the beach to a natural cave. There were two sea arches that we were able to walk through, and a third very small arch on the side. It was a nice peaceful place. There was a sign at the beach saying that penguins were in the area, but we did not see any.

Next on the agenda was to take a detour from the main highway: the scenic coastal route. This was several miles of somewhat narrow and twisty road that climbed to a viewpoint at Puketeraki Lookout. When we arrived at the lookout, it started to rain lightly: just some localized weather. The view out to the sea was nice, but I did not think it was worth the time needed for the detour.

The road rejoined the main highway and we continued on to Shag Point. At the end of the road was a short walk to see fur seals. There were many of them on the rocks, some napping and others diving into the water. There was a pair that were continually playing together in and out of the water. It was a lot of fun to watch them, and I had a very good view.

As we were getting ready to leave, a guy told me there was a little blue penguin in the cove near the car park! We found it easily. It was standing quite still near a large rock and did not move while we were watching. I wondered if it was asleep or maybe it was sitting on a nest, but it was in a wide open area and not an ideal place for a nest.

Further north was the Moeraki Boulders. This place was more touristy with a cafe and gift shop, and tour buses in the car park. We were asked to pay $2 per person to access the path to the beach and the boulders. There were many boulders scattered along the edge of a narrow beach, and some were partially covered by the waves due to the rising tide. They were really weird looking: they reminded me of bowling balls. Heinrich commented they looked like huge geodes.

I took over driving and we headed inland and west on the road to Twizel. It was an easy road to drive, nice and wide with many straight sections. There was not much interesting to see as we drove through sheep pastures and grasslands. The surrounding hills became golden as we entered a drier region.

We stopped to see the Elephant Rocks. This was a series of limestone outcroppings in various weird shapes. It did not take too much imagination to see animals in the shapes: definitely an elephant was there! Heinrich could see one with a small hole in it: a mini arch!

Next stop was a limestone cliff at the Waipata / Earthquakes Scenic Reserve where partial fossilized remains of a whale had been found and were on display. Access was via a long and narrow gravel road. Nobody else was there. It was somewhat interesting but I did not think worth the time and effort needed to get there.

I drove to Twizel and we checked into our room at the High Country Lodge and Backpackers. It had a private bath, small refrigerator and a sink. There was a shared kitchen on the property that was being used by several people when we got there. Neither of us felt like cooking, so we walked over to the town mall and went to a restaurant to order a pizza, salad and beer for dinner.

The weather was completely clear and we had great views of Mount Cook while driving into Twizel. I checked the weather forecast for the next day, and it was cloudy for Mount Cook, not at all what I wanted to hear. So after dinner we filled up on gas and then drove to the southern edge of Lake Pukaki where there was a great sunset view of Mount Cook and the surrounding mountains across the lake. I snapped several photos. No matter what tomorrow may bring, at least I finally have a few shots of the Southern Alps with no clouds.

February 15, 2019

We woke up to a clear day. I watched the sunrise over Porpoise Bay from the upstairs kitchen at the Lazy Dolphin Lodge. It was beautiful!

I wanted to spend a little more time in the area since the weather was so nice. Back at Porpoise Bay I saw several more Hector’s Dolphins playing in the waves. They were out in the center of the bay since the water was calmer there than yesterday.

The objective for the day was to see the Catlins area and then drive to Dunedin (2 hours 50 minutes estimated drive time). First stop was McLean Falls. It was a 40-minute round trip hike through the Catlins Forest Park to reach the falls, which were impressive.

Next stops were at Florence Hill Lookout (great view of a golden sand beach below) and at Purakaunui Falls. This was one of the most photographed waterfalls in New Zealand, and there was a tour bus already there when we arrived. It was an easy 10-minute walk to the falls through a nice rain forest.

Then we drove on to Cannibal Bay. There was a long and narrow twisty dirt road to get to it. The wind was very strong there, and the surf was up. We walked along the beach and counted seven sea lions in the area. Most of them were sleeping. Two of them were rolling around in the sand.

We drove to Nugget Point. This was another popular tourist stop. We hiked to the lighthouse. At the point there were great views of the ocean all around. On the way out we spotted several fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks at the bottom of a cliff.

View From Nugget Point

Next we stopped at Roaring Bay, which was only a few kilometers down the road from Nugget Point. We were hoping for a chance to see penguins which frequented the area. A display sign said the most likely time was after 4 PM. Since it was shortly after 3 PM, we waited for a while and ate sandwiches in the parking lot. Then I realized we really would not have time to wait longer, since the bed and breakfast place we were staying in Dunedin wanted us to check in before 6:30, and it was almost a two-hour drive to get there.

I sent a message to the property with an estimated checkin time of 5:45. Heinrich took over driving. We arrived in Dunedin early, so we filled up on gas at a Z station and then found a Countdown supermarket next door. This was our first time in a Countdown store. I picked up discount card, but their gas discount worked differently: there was a minimum spend of $40 in order to get the gas discount. We went to the deli and bought ready made meat lasagna, coleslaw and potato salad for dinner.

Heinrich drove to the Piringa Bed and Breakfast, which was past Dunedin and on the Otago Peninsula. We had to drive up some very steep hills to reach it. There were great views of the peninsula from the front of the B and B.

Piringa was a self contained cottage with a refrigerator and microwave, and continental breakfast fixings were included. It was very nice and spacious.

After dinner I wanted to go to Sandfly Beach for a chance to see more penguins, but we found out we had to navigate a twisty road to reach the beach and we would have to drive back in the dark. Then I read some reviews of Sandfly Beach in the CamperMate app. The penguins came out earlier there based on recent sightings, between 4:30 and 6:30, so we were already too late.

February 14, 2019

The next phase of our trip was to spend time in the Catlins area near the southern tip of New Zealand. This area was renowned for its wildlife: penguins, dolphins, and sea lions. Our destination in Curio Bay was an estimated 3 hours 40 minutes drive time from Manapouri.

We woke up to the sound of steady rainfall. We had heard it come down hard during the night. This was the first day of our vacation where the rain really affected our plans. The forecast for the area was rain for most of the day, partially clearing sometime in the evening.

We checked out of our room and headed south in the pouring rain. Our first stop was the Clifden Suspension Bridge that crossed the Waiau River. This was New Zealand’s longest wooden suspension bridge. It was still raining, but we donned our rain jackets, read the interpretive signs, and walked across the bridge.

Afterwards we drove further south to the coast where we had wanted to spend time exploring some beaches. We stopped at McCracken’s Lookout, which was supposed to have great views of the coast. It was still pouring rain, and the cloud cover was so low that we saw nothing but pounding surf. So we sat in the car for over an hour hoping it would clear. It never did. Finally we gave up and drove on.

The next stop was Gemstone Beach. This was a place where people hunted for real gemstones such as sapphire and jasper. I was skeptical that I would find anything but figured I could take a look even in the rain. There were lots of stones but I did not find anything worth collecting. There was one other guy there that had a shovel and was picking up some stones. He showed me what he had collected: some yellow colored stones, and he identified them but I don’t remember the name.

We drove on to Monkey Island. The description in the Roadtrippers guide said that at low tide, this small island offshore can be reached on foot. A staircase leads to the top of the island where there are great views of the mountains of Fiordland. Not today! Although it had finally stopped raining, the cloud cover was still very low so there were no views. And it was not low tide. I snapped a few pictures of the island, and we drove on.

There were a few more lookouts that we did not bother to stop at due to the weather. We reached the city of Invercargill and stopped at the New World supermarket to buy groceries for the next few nights, and then we filled up on gas.

Finally at about 3 PM the weather started to clear. We drove to the Waipapa Point Lighthouse. This was the site of New Zealand’s worst shipwreck where 131 people lost their lives. The lighthouse was built after the disaster. We walked down to the beach where we saw a pair of sea lions! They rolled around in the sand for a while and then stopped to clean themselves. We were able to get fairly close to them for photos and videos.

Next on the agenda was Slope Point, the southernmost point of the South Island, but we decided to skip going there since it was a 40-minute round trip walk and it was getting late in the afternoon. Maybe next time!

We drove to Curio Bay, a central point in the Catlins area. We checked into our room at the Lazy Dolphin Lodge which was located directly on the beach of Porpoise Bay. The room was very small, but there was a shared bathroom and kitchen directly outside. There was also an upstairs area that had a separate kitchen that was shared with the dorm rooms. It had a nice view of Porpoise Bay.

Shortly after we arrived we met a girl who was staying in one of the dorm rooms. She told us that she had just returned from Porpoise Bay where she had gone swimming with a pod of Hector’s Dolphins. I asked her where we could find them. She told me to take the path to the beach from the lodge, which would lead to the right side of Porpoise Bay. I walked out there and after a few minutes saw 5 or 6 dolphins swimming near the shore. They were far enough away that I was not able to get any good pictures, but viewing was good through binoculars. Swimming was not an option for me: the water was too cold. Afterwards I walked up the bluff to where there was a car park and a campground. There were some nice interpretive signs for the dolphins. I walked up a road that led to the headlands area. There was a good view of Porpoise Bay from above, and on the other side of the bluff was Curio Bay, which was a nesting site for yellow-eyed penguins.

I walked back to the lodge, and then we used the shared kitchen to make our dinner: spaghetti, bread, and hummus. One of the girls staying at the lodge told us that currently there was only one yellow-eyed penguin residing in Curio Bay, and he usually returned to his nest between 8 and 9 PM, before dusk. There was a viewing area set up for people to wait and watch for the penguin at the bay.

So we walked to Curio Bay and arrived there shortly after 8 PM. The bay itself was quite interesting since the beach was strewn with petrified logs. The penguin viewing area was across the fossil forest logs. A yellow rope designated where we were not allowed to get any closer. We waited 45 minutes with about 50 other people when we finally saw the penguin. He put on quite a show, preening himself and standing in one spot so it was easy to take photos from a distance. We watched for about 15 minutes before he disappeared into his nest.

February 13, 2019

We got up before dawn to get ready for our 7:15 AM trip to Doubtful Sound. The weather was partly cloudy. The boat dock was only a few km down the road and there was plenty of parking since we got there early. At the boat dock we saw amazing bright pink and orange colors from the sunrise.

The first 45 minutes of the journey was a boat ride across Lake Manapouri. The early morning sun lit up the surrounding mountains and cliffs with a nice orange color. I went up to the top deck and took numerous photos and videos.

We docked at a visitor center facility that had nice display panels of the area geology and wildlife. After a few minutes we boarded a bus for the second leg of the journey: a one hour drive up Wilmot Pass. The road went through dense rain forest. As we got closer to Doubtful Sound, the weather progressively deteriorated from mostly cloudy to full cloud cover and a lot of mist. I took pictures of a couple of waterfalls near the road. These were narrow ribbon waterfalls cascading off the mountains.

There was a very misty view of Doubtful Sound near the top of Wilmot Pass. I did not take any pictures there.

We boarded the Go Orange boat. It was not filled to capacity: I am guessing about 50 total people were on the cruise: no tour groups and no children. I spent most of the time standing on the top deck. Despite the weather which was initially drizzling, it was not that cold or windy. The water was quite calm. That also led to the very misty conditions at the start of the cruise.

It was a very different experience from Milford. The morning light through the mist made the surrounding mountains look ghostly. I thought it was pretty cool. As we progressed through the sound toward the Tasman Sea, the weather improved. The light through the clouds was lovely, and there were patches of blue and periods of sunlight. At the entrance to the sea there was a faint rainbow. It was windy there but still not too rough on the water. On the way back there was one spot that had sun rays coming down from the clouds that looked wonderful with the mountains as a backdrop.

There were several ribbon waterfalls to view throughout the sound, but nothing as large as Stirling Falls or Bowen Falls that we saw at Milford. We also did not see any wildlife. That was surprising to me since I thought we might see dolphins or seals. Still, overall it was a fun experience.

I am glad we took the morning cruise instead of afternoon. The morning light on the mountains was a highlight. On the bus return trip the overcast conditions returned and it was not as interesting. The tour guide stopped the bus at Helena Falls for a short photo break. We also stopped at the outlet tunnel from the power plant, where the water from Lake Manapouri was let out into the river. At the top of Wilmot Pass the view into Doubtful Sound was a complete whiteout, so there was no reason to stop there. We passed four full bus loads of the Real Journeys folks for their afternoon tour.

The boat trip back across Lake Manapouri was uneventful. It was very nice being in a small group of people. Everyone was friendly and well behaved.

After the tour we drove back to the hotel room and walked over to the restaurant. They had a takeaway menu where we ordered 2 servings of the blue cod fish and 1 scoop of chips. We discovered that 1 scoop was plenty for 2 people. Total cost was $17. The hotel also gave us coupons for 2 free beers which we were allowed to take outside of the restaurant to have with our fish and chips. We ate at the picnic table outside our room. The weather that afternoon and evening was very nice: partly cloudy.

We spent that evening relaxing. I had taken so many pictures and videos that it took a while to go through all of them and select the ones to post to Facebook. The internet at the room was very slow (almost as bad as in Yellowstone) so I used my cell phone data connection most of the time.

I was hoping for nice weather for a sunset walk at the lake, but we did not get it. The clouds rolled in and the mountains in the distance were fogged over.

February 12, 2019

I did not have much scheduled for today, so we slept in and did not leave the room until 8:30. It felt good not to rush around. The morning was mostly cloudy, and the weather was predicted to be partly cloudy in Te Anau and at Manapouri where we were headed (a 40-minute drive). Overnight it had rained hard. Maybe it helped the waterfalls in Milford Sound.

Morning View of Lake Te Anau From Our Room

Instead we decided to drive back to the Te Anau bird sanctuary where the birds were scheduled to be fed at 9:30. The naturalist was very knowledgeable and gave an interesting talk on the history of the takahē birds and efforts to increase their population. These birds have been victims of the stoats that were introduced to New Zealand in order to control the rabbits (which were also introduced). The stoats preferred eating the bird eggs and chicks to the rabbits, which drove the takahē and some other native bird species to near extinction.

We got to spend about 20 minutes inside the takahē enclosure, and then we watched the naturalist feed the ducks and some of the other birds. She gave us food to feed the ducks, and they pecked it right out of my hand.

Afterwards we drove into the town of Te Anau to fill up on gas, and we bought a few groceries at the Fresh Choice market.

Since it was only a half hour drive to Manapouri where we were staying for the night, I thought it would be fun to scout out some Lord of the Rings film locations that were along the way. We stopped at the Rainbow Reach car park that accessed the Kepler Track. We walked over to the swinging bridge at the beginning of the trail and admired the view over the Waiau River. About 1 km from the car park was where the opening aerial shot for the Fellowship of the Ring was filmed: the River Anduin. We drove up the road from the car park and found a spot to pull over next to the location. It was a very short walk to the bank of the Waiau River where the shot was taken.

Back on the main road there was another film location only a few km away: the Dead Marshes scene. This is where Gollum guides Frodo and Sam through a swamp and saves Frodo when he falls under the spell of the dead people within it. Someone put a rock cairn at the edge of the road and an arrow to mark the spot. It was dry season, so there was not much water in the swamp and the area was overgrown. I walked as far as possible without getting my feet wet in the mushy ground. According to the GPS coordinates I got to within 150 feet of where the scene was filmed.

After that bit of fun we drove to the town of Manapouri. It was still too early to check into our hotel room, so we drove to find the car park where the Doubtful Sound cruise was leaving the following day. Then we drove to the Frasers Beach car park, found a picnic table and had lunch. We walked down to the lake and snapped some photos. The weather was still mostly cloudy, but it was warm.

We checked into our room at the Manapouri Lakeview Motor Inn. The room had a small refrigerator and private bath, and there was a nice view of the lake. There was a shared kitchen on the property where we used the microwave to make baked potatoes for dinner. We also had a chef salad with chicken, carrots and tomatoes.

We relaxed for the remainder of the evening.