Sony A99 – Page 4 – The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

New Zealand Day 19 – Invercargill To Dunedin

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Today we woke up to a bit of rain, which was disappointing as the drive was through a spectacular piece of the Southern Scenic Route. Happy to say that after a few hours it cleared up quite nice. The wind, though, was very strong. At one point we parked to take in the view and when we opened up the doors of the car the crosswind was so strong it flung the doors open and almost sucked all our loose items out and into the sea.

Along this drive we encountered Niagara Falls

A rare Yellow-Eyed Penguin near Curio Bay

The beautiful Matai Falls

And toward the end, before finding our way to Dunedin, we drove several miles along a gravel track and hiked for a bit to visit the lighthouse at Nugget Point

From which we had some spectacular views of the ocean

We have a full day tomorrow to explore the area around Dunedin and we’re hoping for favorable weather

New Zealand Day 18 – Te Anau To Invercargill

Today we drove south to Invercargill. This is the furthest south we are traveling on this trip. More fine weather and stunning scenery as we drove

When we were filling up with petrol before getting underway the gas station attendant asked about our journey. He indicated we should stop at two places along the way. The first was a place called Monkey Island

And the second was a tiny fishing village called Cozy Nook

Both of these locations were well worth a stop and we enjoyed them immensely.

We made good time and were in Invercargill just after lunchtime so we decided to drive onto Bluff. Bluff is pretty much as far south as you can get on the mainland. There’s not much there, but Stirling Point is quite pretty on a pretty day with its lighthouse, giant anchor chain sculpture and an amusing signpost.

We then drove back to Invercargill and checked into our hotel. Once that was complete it was off to E. Hayes & Sons Ltd which is like a cross between Academy and Ace Hardware. We wanted to see Burt Munro’s “World Fastest Indian” motorcycle which is on display in the store.

They had quite a collection of other unique motorcycles on display as well

I don’t think I ever knew the Chevrolet made a motorcycle

All in all, a great day. Tomorrow we drive to Lake Tekapo

New Zealand Day 17 – Milford Sound

This was the day I really wanted sunshine, and New Zealand delivered! We woke up to clear skies and a bit of frost and the forecast indicated the sunshine would continue and it would get a bit warmer.

Our schedule was to drive the Milford Road for 2 hours to meet our ship to cruise around Milford Sound (actually it’s a fjord) for 2 1/2 hours.

We decided to allocate 3 hours drive time just to be on the safe side.

We got underway and as we climbed into the Southern Alps we were in great spirits as we marvelled at the scenery. We came to an overlook and decided to pull over because there was a great view. When I got out of the car I noticed a Kea Parrot on the railing.

I was really hoping to see these birds. The Kea is the only mountain parrot in the world and is only found in New Zealand.

Kea Parrots are known for their destructive nature and they frequently chew the rubber bits off of cars, causing extensive damage if left to their own devices. As we got back in the car and were getting ready to leave we heard something on the roof. The Kea and hopped on to the top of our car and was up to no good.

We shoo’d him off and got on our way before he could cost us our deposit on the rental.

We arrived at the terminal to catch our cruise and got checked in

The weather continued to shine and we had an awesome time cruising around Milford Sound.

We really enjoyed the cruise and we enjoyed taking a leisurely drive back to Te Anau.

Tomorrow we drive to Invercargill. This will be the furthest south we get before turning back to drive up the east coast of the North Island.

New Zealand Day 16 – Queenstown To Te Anau

We woke up early, as usual, and packed up to drive to Te Anau. This drive was relatively short and will put us in position to visit the magnificent Milford Sound tomorrow.

On the road we encountered llamas, deer and a group of curious cows

The drive took us through more magnificent countryside.

We arrived in Te Anau before lunch time, but we were able to get checked into our hotel without a problem.

We took the day to relax and walk around Lake Te Anau

Cynthia managed to get the best bird photo of the trip, the Tui Bird seen here eating from this bush.

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Tomorrow, the Milford Road and a cruise on Milford Sound. Weather is looking good for this.

New Zealand Day 15 – Queenstown

Today was ours to explore Queenstown. We had breakfast and went for a walk around Lake Wakatipu to take in the sites.

The weather was really nice so we opted to take a cruise on the TSS Earnslaw, a 1912 Edwardian vintage twin screw steamer. It was a beautiful boat and a wonderful experience to take in the sites of the lake from this vessel.

When we got back to Queenstown we had a nice lunch and then headed up to the Skyline Gondola to take in the views of the city and the lake from Bob’s Peak.

The ride up may have frightened Cynthia a wee bit…

Tomorrow we we have a relatively short drive to Te Anau which will be our launching point for the drive to Milford Sound.

New Zealand Day 14 – Franz Josef Glacier To Queenstown

Sadly, The Fanz Josef and even the Fox Glacier were a bust. Rain was coming down pretty steady and it was just not conducive to making the trek out to see them. Even the helicopters were grounded. We had a long drive ahead of us and decided to make our way to our next destination which was Queenstown.

Despite the rain and gloom, there was still some amazing sites to see, especially the clouds and mist as it came over the mountains.

The rain did begin to subside as we moved on and we made a few stops along the way, like this one to see the Thunder Creek Falls

As we drove down the Haast River we had our first Lupin sighting

Our midpoint on this leg of the journey was Wanaka where I wanted to see the most photographed tree in New Zealand

We also saw some purple lupins, Cynthia’s favorite.

We then made our way up New Zealand’s highest sealed road, Crown Range Road which rises up to 3530 ft above sea level

We then descended into Queenstown just as the sky began to clear.

Also, today is Cynthia’s birthday. To celebrate we had dinner at an amazing restaurant called the Blue Kanu which serves food that mixes both Pacifica and Asian style, and blending the two cultures it aims to create a style and feel that they call “Polynasia”. Simply put, it was fantastic.

Tomorrow we explore Queenstown.

New Zealand Day 11 – Abel Tasman National Park

We were not holding out much hope for today as it the forecast called for rain and possibly hail. But when we woke up there was some sunshine and a patches of blue sky. We decided we would go for it and make the drive some 60 miles to Abel Tasman where we had a cruise and hike booked for the day.

We made our way to Kaiteriteri and checked in and quickly boarded our boat, a medium sized catamaran that would take us up the coast to a series of secluded bays.

We were scheduled to get of at Bark Bay and do some exploring, but the weather was still “iffy” so we opted to stay on the boat and just ride the route till we got back to the point of origin. We did see some nice things like a seal colony

And Split Apple Rock

We ended the cruise about mid-day and drove back to Nelson and explored a bit before having dinner.

Tomorrow we drive to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks and the weather looks to be great.

New Zealand Day 9 – Tongariro National Park To Wellington

We woke up to some gray skies and fog up in the mountains for our drive to Wellington. It was a long drive ahead of us and was more of a functional day to position ourselves for our ferry ride to the south island tomorrow rather than a sightseeing tour. Frankly, there’s not much to see on the way and the weather wasn’t helping.

When we arrived in Wellington we checked in to the hotel and then went to see the Gallipoli: The scale of our war exhibit at the Museum of New Zealand. The exhibit is simply staggering. To mark the World War 1 centenary, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa joined forces with Weta Workshop to create this exhibit. The central focus of the exhibit is the six rooms holding expertly crafted human figures at 2.4 times human scale. The lifelike recreations and the attention to detail are just mind boggling.

We also got to see the colossal squid, captured alive by the crew of the San Aspiring in 2007

Tomorrow we take the Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton. For now, we enjoy the city affectionatly known as Windy Welly