Print

Banks Peninsula and Christchurch

Written by Nadine Zangerle on . Posted in New Zealand

We still had another day before we were heading towards Christchurch so we cruised along the Banks Peninsula with its Summit Road. I bet it is an awesome view but it was so foggy that we were happy to see our front mirrors.

At Akaroa we got a bit of French spirit since the small town was founded by French settlers. The ambience was relaxed and charming but even here you could see the impact of the big earthquake in 2011.

Time was running fast and our time in New Zealand came to an end. Fortunately the last 2 days we could stay at Kate’s parents and we really enjoyed it. They have a beautiful house nicely set in the landscape, surrounded by bushes.

Ceri’s cooking was fantastic and good that we only stayed two days otherwise we would have gone fat. Would have been bad for our bikini time in Fiji. One evening we even relaxed in their whirlpool with a glass of wine. The next morning Ceri and I went for a walk with the two dogs before we got ready for packing.

Half a day we spent in Christchurch but the center is completely closed due to the earthquake damage. What a shame for all the old, beautiful buildings. We had quite a hard time to find a bank where we could change some Fiji Dollars. In the center there are only banks left in containers and they do not have any currencies.

So in the middle of the night – 3 o’clock – we got ready to drive to the airport. Great that we could keep the campervan till the end and just drop it off at the airport. Now we are ready for Fiji!

Print

Arthur’s Pass

Written by Nadine Zangerle on . Posted in New Zealand

Since the Arthur’s Pass road is supposed to be the highest and most spectacular highway across the Southern Alps we had to do it. And it was really spectacular.

Unfortunately the water level at the Cave Stream was too high to do the cave. Given that we are not experienced cavers we decided to walk around and have a look at the exit. It was good that we didn’t decide to enter the cave since the water was pushing out of it angrily at the exit.

Castle Hill with its large limestone rocks was impressive so we climbed up to have a beautiful view at the surrounding snow capped mountains. The Otira Viaduct – a long bridge - was worth a picture even if we had to watch out for the curious kea – the mountain parrot – which loves to nibble away the rubber from your car.

At the Lake Pearson we set up camp and enjoyed the mountain reflections in the lake.

Print

Dunedin and the steepest street

Written by Nadine Zangerle on . Posted in New Zealand

On our way up to Dunedin we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders. Those big boulders are scattered along a 50m stretch of the beach. Due to wind and weather some of them were cracked open and you could see that they are hollow. They were formed in the sea bed about 60 million years ago.

South of Dunedin is the Otago Peninsular. We wanted to explore the rough nature, long beaches and wildlife. So we followed the narrow, windy streets to the Albatross Encounter. We were lucky to spot one of those big, majestic birds. It was just gliding above our heads. At the beaches we found yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions. Just great.

Since we wanted to meet Vic the next evening in Dunedin we walked around the city. In 2011 Vic had been working for us as a diving instructor on the island.

We didn’t know that Dunedin has the steepest drivable road in the world. With its steepest gradient of 1 in 2.86 was quite an effort to climb but a must do.

Afterwards we wandered around the botanical garden and the big aviators. Most of the birds we had seen in Australia live in nature. From the garden we had a great overview of the city.

Dunedin is a city with charm and character. The city appeared older through its Victorian and Edwardian style of the houses. Especially the University and the Railway Station were very impressive.

We met Vic at the Octagon and with wine and yummy pizza we exchanged some stories. She told us about here experiences diving with sea lions and I was almost ready to jump in the water. But the rain and the cold just stopped me.

The next day we continued our trip to the Arthur Pass, seeing our last snow caps for the next weeks.

More Articles...