New Zealand (6) - West Coast

We continue our way to the North, along the West Coast.

Photo: before Lake Wakatipu, in Queenstown.
Queenstow is a resort town, with its shops (cloths, sport equipment...), its adventure tourism centres (jetboats, bungy jump, skiing, river surfing, canyon swing, sky diving, mountain biking, paragliding), its hotels... and its fabulous restaurant 'Ferburger': try the Holier Than Thou. One of the best vegetarian burgers in the world!

Yesterday, we had a half day glacier experience at Franz Josef Glacier or Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere, which is a 12 km long glacier located in Westland National Park.
Together with the Fox Glacier (where we also tramped) 20 km to the south, it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 240 metres above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest.
It's just awesome!
Crampons attached to the shoes, we climbed the glacier with our guide who, equipped with a ice-axe, re-carved the stairs as and when we advanced.

This morning, halt in Ross, a gold mining town. It was an important centre during the West Coast goldrush of the 1860s and still has a large operating open cast mine adjacent to the town.
The largest gold nugget ever found in NZ was discovered in Ross. It was a massive 3.1 kg with a current value $112,000. The nugget as later purchased by the government of the day and presented to King George V, who turned it into a golden tea set!
We didn't find any nugget, but just in front of me, on the ground... a $100 banknote! The legend continues...

New Zealand (5) - Milford Sound

Yesterday morning, Scenic Cruise in the Milford Sound fjord.
Enchantment among these imposing mountains that fall down in the clear water.
Waterfalls cherish the cliffs and spash strongly.
Some Bottlenose Dolphins gave us a so nice spectacle!
Swimming close to the boat, jumping out of the water, playing together...
They are very beautiful animals.

New Zealand (4) - to the West Coast

On Saturday, we were joigned by Jason, a New Yorker, arrived in New Zealand 2 days ago, after 3 weeks in Australia. Beginning of his 7 month all-over-the-world trip.
A couple, met by Cal in the Church on Sunday morning, offered us hospitality. What a pleasure to sleep in a bed! The back seat of the car is not what we made the most comfortable...
Have taken yesterday morning (Monday) the direction of the West Coast. Still so many sheep. Fields of sheep! There would have been up to 70 million sheep some tens years ago; there are only about 45 million today! for a population of about 4.2 million New Zealanders (plus some 2 million overseas).
On each side of the road, the landscape is alike: flat fields of grass, separated by alignements of pines (probably windscreens), and also sometimes fields of apparently cabbages, some hills, and in the distance mountains, often brownish, sometimes more verdant.

After a rainy morning, the sun reappared.
We arrived in the end of the afternoon in Te Anau, just in time to book fo the Te Anau Glowworm Caves Exploration. First an half-an-hour scenic cruise across beautiful Lake Te Anau, the New Zealand's second largest lake, which lays more than 200 metres above sea level. Disambarking by night and visit of the Caves, within which a guide made us discover these strange inhabitants which are the glowworms. In a complete obscurity, hundreds of tiny green points seemed to hang above our heads, as as many stars in a summer night sky. The Caves are also remarkable by the passages and tunnels that a mildly acid river has dug in the limestone, over 12,000 years.
NB: No photos, because not allowed, especially in order not to disturb the glowworms.

New Zealand (3) - Dunedin and Otago Peninsula

Dunedin is a charmant city on the South-East coast of the South Island. Centered on a octagon-shaped square, it has among others the world's steepest street: Baldwin Street.

Over the 161.2 m length of the top section, it climbs a vertical height of 47.22 m, which is an average gradient of 1 in 3.41. On its steepest section the gradient is 1 in 2.86 m!
Every year, during Dunedin's Festival, take place social and competitive foot races to the top of the street and back. These races are known as the "Baldwin Street Gutbuster".

Arrived yesterday night on the Otago Peninsula.

Today, on the beach of the Sandfly Bay, we surprised some sea lions sleeping under the sun... Pretty improbable encounter, but delicious. The New Zealand Sea Lion is one of the rarest in the world and indisputably the most threatened species because of its restricted breeding range.

The male attain weights of up to 400 kg and a length of just over 3 m.

It's recommended not to approach them to less than 5 m. If disturbed, they can may rear up and roar.

Not seen any penguins, because they only come to the beach when the sun sets.

Then visit of the Larnach Castle gardens.

New Zealand (2) - from Christchurch to Dunedin

Start from Christchurch on Wednesday 11th, with my 2 new travelmates: Heydi, from Finland, who has lived in Berlin for 13 years, and Cal, from USA (he lives near Boston, on the East Cost). They've bought a Mazda in Christchurch and it's a lot of fun together!

2 nights in a tent, the first one on the side of a road, the second one on a little lawn, at the far end of a no through road in a little town. With very noisy trains passing at least 5 times during the night, and making the whole ground shaking!

Landscapes are very diversified: in the centre of the island a montainous semi desert, around beautiful lakes with "milky blue waters - the colour is due to sediments which come from glaciers: "rock flour" - , then hills more planted with pines, till a more luxurious and diversified vegetation while driving nearer to the East Cost again.

The county own probably 100 times more sheep, cows and deer than inhabitants! Oh! and rabbits have also succeeded in their invasion!

Yesterday, hiking near Mount Cook. At the top in clouds, but a great surprise: some Edelweiss!

Then , like a theatre screen, the clouds withdrew, letting us discover a wonderful scenery: glaceirs, a big lake on which some big ice blocks float, a huge plain...

On the beach of a little fischerman village, South of Oamaru, odd rocks seem to have fallen from nowhere: the Moeraki boulders, sp"herical concretions, which took some million years to form, from a mineral called calcite. The Moeraki boulders are not unique, but they are certainly remarkable for their large size (usually more than 2 metres in diameter), their high spherical shape and their concentration.

Arrived this morning in Dunedin, charming town, celebrated by may autors. I'll write about it later...

New Zealand (1) - Christchurch

melindainaustralia becomes melindainnewzealand for a few weeks...

The country of Kiwis! Fruit, animal, inhabitants... all of them are called kiwis!

Landed in Christchurh, plaisant city. In particular, Cathedral Square was very animated on this sunny Sunday: people playing a giant chest game, orchestra offering a classic outdoor concert, young Irish tap dancers, ...

The building of the Christchurch Art Gallery has been build in a very modern architecture: very light, with big glass curved walls and spacious. 2 floors of modern art exhibitions.

The alleys of the Botanic Garden were a bit shivering at the end of the afternnon. Temperatures are really lower than in Brisbane and skirts are out of season now here!

Barrington Outdoor Adventure Centre (3)

Kayaking afternoon on Wednesday. Under the sun.

A 3 hour trip on the Barrington River.

With Arthur and Albert, an Italian Wwofer - not very nervous! -.

We frightened many ducks and annoyed a lot of Water Dragons, which were just sunbathing on rocks or low branches.

Quiet, very plaisant spot. Splendid scenery.

But, after many drought episods, the water level was a bit low, and the kayaks rubbed on rocks. And sometimes even got stuck.