Auckland - Harbour & Skytower

Late evening and the boats are out in the harbour. From the revolving restaurant on top of the Skytower the Hilton roof can be seen - the far end of the right hand building on the wharf. Not what one would expect!

 

 

We booked this meal long before we left the UK - good weather a bonus. The location is good but the food in the Orbit Restaurant but does not quite live up to the surroundings.

Bungee jumping from the tower available until 18:00 (why?).

A 15min walk down hill back to our hotel for a nightcap on our harbour room balcony.

 

Waitomo

We were taken to the location of one of the many caves in the area by Spellbound Tours. Our guide, Peter, was very knowledgeable about the geology and local flora and fauna.
The eel was encouraged to appear using some raw fish that Pete just happened to have with him!

 

The trip into the cave complex on the quite boat was magical. The entire cave ceiling was covered with brightly shining pale green glowworms. This is quite impossible to convey here.
Once your eyes accommodate to the dark, you can see that there are strands hanging from each glowworm, waiting to attract and catch anything flying about.
It is even possible to see the little glowworms turning round!

The NZ glowworm is an arachnocampa luminosa, the larval stage of the fungus gnat, which is similar to the mosquito. All the glowworms require is a good food source, an overhanging wall and damp conditions. Out of the 11 month life cycle, 9 months is the larval stage and is the only time they can feed.
Our afternoon walk familiarised us with the location and our evening walk took us back to view the glowworms in the over hanging rocks by the stream. Not so concentrated as in the caves, but the little larvae glow very nicely. From the path Ian was able to use a long exposure from a tripod to get some images.

 

Craters of the Moon

The whole area is just steaming. There are a few craters with a bit of bubbling and some steam spouts. A pleasant walk but a shame the weather was a bit dull.

 

Orakei Korako

Just north of Taupo is the Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park - very steamy indeed.

There are geysers that perform on a regular basis, but all the big ones were having a rest during our visit!

 

 

 

The apartment was really well located almost half way up the hill behind the yacht harbour. Both the daytime and evening views were lovely.

It's up for sale, but the bottom has fallen out of the NZ property market too.

It took about 15 mins to walk down into the city centre - hardly any traffic in this capital city.

 

 

Picton to Nelson

 

Nelson and Wines of the Marlborough region

Nelson is a very nice little town with quite a lot of charm.

The vines all need to be protected from birds when close to ripening.

Lake Chalice wines must take the prize for the most tasteless entrance - the wine quality more than makes up for this fortunately.

Pelorous Bridge

 

We enjoyed a lunchtime picnic before waking through the forest, across a swinging suspension bride over the river and a nice circular walk in the woods.

The whole area has so many enticing spots to visit that it is really disappointing to have to miss them.

 

Pancake Rocks

 

The limestone layers are separated by mudstone, which has slowly been dissolved by carbon dioxide rain over millennia. The subterranean caverns become blowholes that send water spouts many metres into the air in a high tide with rough water. We saw spouts from a long way away but were an hour or so late for a close look.

Punakaiki Beach

 

Our walk from our beach fronting motel room took us past many rocks laden with minute mussels.

Down the beach we walked towards the boot like rock - only to find it was on the far side of the river.

Walking back we enjoyed a lovely sunset.

We did go back to the Pancake rocks at high tide the next day, but the sea was calm so no water spouts at all.

 

Ross

 

 

A chance lunchtime stop at the information center in Ross resulted in a most interesting time looking at the gold rush of the late 1800s. Gold was successfully mined for about 40 years, but required a lot of water which was pressurised to separate the gold from the other material. Water course owners usually made more than gold miners.

The Information Center did provide gold panning items for those who wished to have a go in the old river (gold is now mined successfully on the other side of town). Ian had a go with his hands in a "Gold Fossicking Area". He was reluctantly persuaded to walk up the mountain to look at the old water courses and mines.

 

Glacier Flight

The pictures don't do justice to the wonderful views from the helicopter. We flew up Franz Joseph glacier then around Mount Cook and landed on Fox glacier.

Franz Joseph has been expanding for the past 5 years (El Nino, lots of rain) but will start to contract for the next 5 or so (La Nina, less rain). Thousands of years ago it reached beyond the current coast.

 

 

Glacier Walk

We took a guided walk up Franz Joseph glacier - crampons required.
The worm hole walk was a novel experience.

 

Fox Glacier from viewpoint

Driving south we were on the Fox glacier side and drove up to the view point - looks to be a more interesting walk than Franz J - guides are essential as it changes all the time.

Our helicopter landed on the flat bit at the top - it was a huge area when we were there.

 

Flight/Cruise to Milford Sound

A 6 seater Cessna took us to Milford sound in 40mins, the alternative being a 4 hour drive on twisty roads.

We flew past one of the main Lord of the Rings filming sites with the notable peak.

A cruise down the fiord showed the very steep sides, which go down 200m or so.
It rains about 220 days per year, the rainfall being about 5m. If there has been a lot of rain then it's awash with waterfalls, otherwise only 3 are permanent.

 

 

Milford is dominated by the view of Mitre Peak.

Milford misnamed as a sound as it is really a glacial fiord.

The flight back over the Southern Alps reinforced how much more massive they are than the European Alps.

 

 

Pounau Apartment

Pouanu Apartments - very comfortable! Looking across to Kelvin Peninsular and 5 mins from Queenstown.

Kelvin Peninsular

Our one hour walk around Kelvin Heights golf course on the peninsular was a lovely mix of forest and shore.

The peninsular seems to be the best housing location near the city - superb views in all directions.

 

Jet Boating - Shotover River Canyon

This was 40mins of driving rather close to the sides of the long canyon, and lots of 360° turns. It's only the first two that cause any concern for physical well being.

Driving close to the edge of the sharp rocks ... never did get over that.

Otherwise quite scenic!

 

Glenorchy

Our walk to Lake Rere started after a 4WD journey to Kinlock.
We walked along the side of the lake and river before climbing up through woodland to the beautiful Lake Rere.
This took 1 hour.
The journey round the mountain and back along the river took 3 hours!

 

 

We found many patches of Fly Agaric mushrooms on our walk.
Decided against investigating their hallucinogenic properties.

These mushrooms are foreign immigrants that originate from the northern hemisphere.

 

Otago Peninsula

We managed a walk across the narrow bit of the peninsula when the weather cleared. There's a lot of uphill and down for such a small peninsula!

 

The Royal Albatross Centre was very informative and at dusk we were able to see many royal albatross returning to the cliffs to roost.

We had hoped to see blue penguins too, but they shut the access to the beach at 16:30 and the penguins don't return from the sea till about 19:00.

It was a NZ national holiday when we visited Dunedin city so it was very quiet and we drove north.

 

Moeraki Boulders

 

The boulders, up to 4m in size occupy a 50m stretch of the beach.
They were formed 60 million years ago as lime salts accumulated around a hard core. Over time the different components dissolve and the boulders crack open to reveal their component parts. The centre is hollow.
There are more boulders waiting to appear as the ground behind erodes.

 

Oamaru

New Zealand fur seal resting on the beach.

Yellow eyed penguins frequent the same beach and the high steep bank onto it. They hide in the bushes to breed and for their annual molt. Only those who have completed their molt go back to sea to feed.

Yellow eyed penguins are unique to New Zealand.

 

Akaroa

Akaroa Harbour was wonderful to see from the mountain pass.
Our waterfront motel was superbly located.
A short walk along the waterfront brought us to the main town and harbour. It's a delightful recreational area that was formerly a safe harbour for the whaling ships.
Some of the former whale oil cooking pots are on show.

 

 

The advantages of self catering!
We found a lovely butcher close by, and his beef complemented the wine very well (Lake Chalice, Platinum Edition Merlot).

 

Walk to Pulpit Rock

 

 

We used our 4WD to get us up to the farm to start our walk (route shown in orange). As we walked over the first hill, Pulpit Rock dominated our view. It's a steep walk up! An hour from starting, we arrived on the top of the rock to enjoy our picnic and the view.
The walk back was along the hill behind us. Rounding the corner, the whole Akaroa Harbour came into view.

We also spotted a goat that clearly knew that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. She was very skilled at turning her head so that her horns did not tangle in the wire. We could perceive no difference to the grass on either side!

 

Onawe Promontory

 

 

We had seen this promontory so many times, but only stopped to visit it as we left for Christchurch.
It is possible to drive round the first section, then walk the next part and if the tide is out, walk the last large land section.
The rock formations in the part that floods when the sea is in are really fascinating and very colourful.

 

The City

 

The city centre is just like many others, where the high rise buildings dwarf the older properties. From the top of the cathedral tower there were no real views - just tower blocks.

 

The Avon River runs through the centre of the city and offers a lovely walk with many crossing bridges. Oxford Terrace is the south bank and Cambridge Terrace the north. Punting is popular, particularly on a graduation day when we visited.

The city has a pleasant feel and lots of rebuilding of pedestrian space is currently being undertaken.

 

Skytower views

Our hotel room gave us a good view of the Skytower. From the ferry boat you could see its significance to the skyline.

 

Waiheke Island

This is the most popular to visit - for its scenery. After the South Island it disappointed us.
We had a good walk but the hop on/off buses are not very reliable.