The Burnhams in Kiwiland 2001-2

Wild Things and Farewells

Skip to Episode 7: Page 2 Mt Somers to Christchurch

Yes, we are at the end of our trip. It doesn't seem possible but we will soon be back in wintry Canada. I can't say we have had an especially warm and sunny Kiwi summer, but there have been enough good days for us to accomplish nearly everything we wanted to.

We bid a fond farewell to Alice. She served us well and we made sure she went to a good home. We managed to sell her within 24 hours of arriving in Christchurch, so I guess we were lucky. There were many other advertisements for backpacker cars for sale. Alice is now exploring new locales and reliving familiar ones with her new owners, two young Israeli girls.

But back to our adventures. The last you heard from us I was moaning about not seeing any penguins. You will be glad to hear that they do exist in NZ. We finally got to see the little critters after one more false promise.

Most Southerly Point of NZ South Island

We took the scenic route from Invercargill along the south coast of NZ. Just to say we had done it, we stopped en route to walk to Slope Point, the most southerly point on the South Island. It is kind of like visiting Land's End in England. Now we can say we have been from the north to the south in NZ.

Remains of Petrified Forest

Permanently Windswept Trees

Just a little farther up the road is Curio Bay. We walked down a cliff path to the beach where there are the remains of a petrified forest. There were big chunks of tree stumps and fallen logs strewn along the beach. This gives proof to the theory that the South Island was once joined to Stewart Island 58 Km to the south. Right next to the petrified forest was a rocky shelf that is the landing spot for the Yellow-eyed Penguins, but there were none to be seen. We left disappointed again, but just around the corner, we were in for a treat. About a dozen Hector's Dolphins were frolicking in the aptly named Porpoise Bay. There were notices at the beach instructing people how to swim with the dolphins (you don't approach them, you let them come to you). It sounded like fun but the day was windy and cold and I don't have a wet suit. We contented ourselves with watching them from the shore as they bounded along the surf.

That night we stayed in a very nice backpacker's in the tiny village of Owaka, still in the Catlins. The owners have put a lot of time and effort into restoring and decorating an old three-bedroom cottage. A Kiwi-German family arrived after driving from Dunedin. They told us they had just come from Nugget Point, about a half hour away, where they had been watching the Yellow-eyed Penguins come ashore. Apparently they wait until late afternoon or early evening to come ashore. We didn't need any more encouragement. It was already 7:00 PM but we were out of there like a shot, driving down a typical Kiwi dirt road to see those little devils. The Department of Conservation (DOC) has build a small wooden cabin as a blind to watch the penguins without disturbing them. It was great. The penguins swim to shore through pounding surf, landing on a rocky shore at the base of a steep hill. The penguins would stop at the water's edge for a rest, preening and wiggling to dry off before doing their Charlie Chaplin walk over the beach to the hill. From there, they would hop from rock to rock, making their way up the hill to their nests in holes on the side of the hill. They live in a colony but they like their own space for their nests, so they are willing to travel long distances to find just the right spot. We watched transfixed as one penguin after another landed and started their long climb. Some rushed right up the hill while others were still resting at the bottom of the hill when we finally left.

There was even more wildlife to see at Nugget Point. We drove farther up the point and walked along a path to a godforsaken rocky point 100 M above the ocean. This is the site of one of the earliest lighthouses in the area. Opened in 1870, it is still working, but automatically. Far below us was a colony of fur seals lounging on the rocks. We laughed to see a few of them using a small pool as their private spa. They are amazingly graceful in the water, putting the best synchronized swimmers to shame. We had a late dinner that night, but it was worth the wait.

Nugget Point

Natural Arch at Tunnel Beach

Cliffs at Tunnel Beach

The next day we continued on to Dunedin. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Tunnel Beach. A previous landowner, John Cargill, wanted his family to have access to a small beach at the base of high limestone cliffs. He manually dug a 20 M long tunnel, complete with stone steps, through a cliff to provide access. There is just enough beach to swim or have a picnic at low tide. When you finish swimming you can go back through the tunnel and walk on top of the cliffs and admire a huge stone arch formed by the wave action.

We arrived to cold, rainy weather in Dunedin. We tried to follow a self-guided tour of the historic downtown area, but the rain drove into some shops instead. It was an expensive but rewarding walk for me. We took advantage of the rain in the afternoon to have some down time until the weather improved. I spent most of the afternoon finishing the sweater I was knitting while Ray read his book.

Baldwin St, world's steepest street

Dunedin Backpackers on second steepest street

Dunedin boasts Baldwin St, the world's steepest street, with a grade of 1:2.86 at its steepest spot.When the weather cleared we walked up it. It lived up to its reputation, but I think our backpacker's hostel was on the second steepest street. Little View St was just a block away from the Octagon in center of Dunedin. We had a tiny parking spot next to the hostel. Ray said that he was afraid the car was going to tip over when he parked there.

Taieri Gorge

A trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway sounded like a good activity for less than perfect weather, and it was. The railway was built by hand through an impossibly steep gorge from 1879-1889 to open the interior country to farming. By 1921 it covered 235 Km from Dunedin to Cromwell, near Queenstown. Like our North American railways, it gradually became uneconomic to run and was finally shut down in 1990. The City of Dunedin became a major stock holder in a company that decided to run the train as a tourist attraction and is making a good profit from the operation. The four hour return trip climbs 58 Km up the gorge, then at the end of the track, the engine shuttles from the front to the rear of the train and pulls the train back down the valley. It was a most pleasant trip with photo-op stops along the way. There was even time to order afternoon tea to be delivered to your seat. Decadence plus.

The Otago Peninsula is right next to Dunedin. It boasts a scenic drive along the coastline and an Albatross Center at Tairua Head overlooking the mouth of Otago Bay. Royal Albatross started coming to the head to nest between 1914-1919, but they were not protected until 1937. The Albatross Center, established in 1972, is a privately run operation under the sanction of DOC.

We made it out to the center in time to join a 2:30 PM tour. We all trooped into a lecture room to learn about the Royal Albatross, which must be one of the largest birds in the world. Found only in the Southern Hemisphere, it has a wingspan of 3 M and does not really fly, but glides low over the ocean. Its wings lock into place allowing the bird to use the updraft from the wave troughs to move it along almost effortlessly. They have been known to cover as much 6,000 Km in a few days at speeds up to 100 Km/Hr. After the instructive talk, we walked up to an observation house at the top of the cliffs. From there we could see about six nests, each with an Albatross perched atop a baby chick. One parent at a time guards the chick while the other is off for as long as two weeks searching for food. We were told that the Albatross need strong winds to return to land and since it was a relatively calm day, we might not see much flying. We were in luck. As we watched, one Albatross came soaring into view, circling the cliff top. It was the oldest female in the colony, at 41 years, returning to her second mate, a 16-year old (a toy boy?), who was babysitting. It was fascinating to see her land and go through a 'Hello Honey' routine, just like the Gannets we had seen near Napier. The fluffy, white chick got into the act too, peering out from beneath its father and flapping its wings. We were sorry to leave, but the next group of tourists was at the door.

After leaving the center, we spent more time walking along the paths bordering the cliffs, watching the other birds in the area. The real bonus was seeing at least two other birds soaring around the complex right over our heads. It was probably Dad preparing to go out to sea and one of the resident adolescent birds practising its flight, but the sight was impressive. They are so large and graceful.

We took a different route back to town along the opposite shore of the peninsula. I had heard that Sandfly Bay was a possible Yellow-eyed penguin landing spot, so that is where we headed. We drove as far as we could along a dirt road, then parked and headed across sheep pastures to sand dunes we could see in the distance. It was supposed to be a half hour walk but we managed to explore new territory (i.e. we couldn't find the trail markers) and it took us about an hour to reach the dunes and then the beach. It just looked like a long sandy beach and we almost gave up and went home. We didn't, thank goodness. At the end of the beach we came to a sign directing us to a penguin Viewing Hide. As soon as we got inside, we looked out to see a yellow-eyed penguin resting on top of a rock just at the sea edge. Soon, another penguin swam into the bay and climbed ashore. The second penguin wasted no time climbing up the rocks and up a path to the top of the hill. Some movement in the grass half way up the hill alerted us to two young penguins coming out to greet the new arrival. I guess they thought it was Mom returning home, but they were disappointed. Mom kept going higher still until she was about 50 M above the sea, where she found her own chick. We heard a terrible squawking near the Hide and looked out to see two more young penguins just a few feet away. They must have been telling their parents to hurry up with dinner. Soon it was time for us to leave, reluctantly, but we did find a more direct way back to the car.

Sandfly Beach

Moeraki Rocks

Even Ray can't move the rock

The next day we drove farther north to Oamaru. We stopped for lunch at the Moeraki rocks. They really are strange looking. The beach is strewn with giant bowling balls about four or five feet in diameter. They were formed millions of years ago in the mud cliffs at the edge of the beach. The rocks formed by chrystallizing equally around a nucleus, creating a perfect ball. As they dried, they cracked and the crevices were filled with calcites, which hardened in turn into crystal veins. The result is a huge sphere with veining like to a turtle's shell. All the tourist buses stop here to have a look but it is worth while seeing.

The manager of our backpacker's in Oamaru was quite a character. He has two hobbies. He makes and sells Penny farthing bicycles and participates in an annual race in Oamaru. In addition, he is a member of an historic militia group that dress in the uniforms of a hundred years ago. That weekend his group was travelling to Christchurch to do battle with a Chinese community regiment. Since they are a pacifist regiment, the weapons were to be jello, chocolate pudding and spaghetti. Three Israeli backpackers who had stayed at the hostel previously were so taken with the idea that they were going along as participants. Sounds like more fun than many other hobbies.

The real reason we came to Oamaru was to see more penguins. There is a large colony of Blue penguins, the smallest variety, just on the edge of town. A private organization has taken over the protection of the colony and built nesting boxes in a small field for the birds. The penguins climb up a rocky cliff, cross a gravel road to reach their nests. They have cordonded off the area and built viewing stands for tourists to come and watch the birds come ashore. The Blue penguins are later arrivals than the Yellow-eyed penguins. They wait until dark to make their landings. By the time we arrived for the nightly ritual, there were already scores of people assembled. I couldn't believe the penguins would still come ashore with so many people watching them. They must be quite used to the attention by now for come in they did. Right on cue, the birds fought their way through the very high surf and made their way up the rocky cliff. One penguin got swept onto an old cement loading ramp. He waddled up to the top, right next to a fence where everyone was standing, and sat down to wait everyone out. I thought he looked rather lost, but one of the guides told me he is a show off and lands there every night. Meanwhile, there was a lot of squawking from the waiting chicks in their nests in the field. Soon there were several little penguins scuttling across the path in front of the viewing stands and hurrying to their nests.

The one thing that is forbidden is to take flash photographs of the penguins as it scares them. I made sure the flash was off on my camera and took a few pictures. Then I tried a 'nighttime' setting and to my surprise, the flash went off. There was a collective 'ah' from the crowd. I was glad it was dark and I could sneak away undetected. Thank goodness it didn't really seem to bother the penguins at all.

Blue Penguin

The next day we took off to see Mt Cook National Park. There are 27 peaks in NZ over 3050M and 22 of them are in this park, including Mt Cook itself. At 3755 M it is the highest mountain in NZ. More than one-third of the park is in permanent snow and glacial ice. We stopped a few times on the road leading into Mt Cook village just to take pictures of the awesome sight of the glaciers and the mountain peaks.

Huddleston Mountain, Mt Cook

Hermitage Hotel

 

Mt Cook village as you might expect, exists solely for the tourists who come to see the mountains and Conservation people who try to protect the area. The choice of accommodation is the very expensive Hermitage Hotel, some rental cottages or the Youth Hostel. The Hermitage recently bought out and closed the only other reasonably priced accommodation. That means it is a sellers market. We paid on average $40 for a double room in NZ, and the $68 charged for a double room in the YHA was the highest rate we paid for our entire trip. At least it was a comfortable and well-run establishment and we loved Mt Cook.

View down to Mt Cook Village

Sealy Tarn

The day after we arrived, we packed our backpacks and hiked up to Mueller Hut. You can make the trip up and back in the same day, but we had been advised to stay overnight to truly appreciate the area. We fully agree. The walk up was almost three hours of steep walking, but the views made it worth while. It was a hot sunny day and we were treated to the sight and sounds of parts of the glaciers across a narrow valley from us breaking off and cascading down the mountain. Halfway up the trail are the Sealy Tarns, small glacial ponds. A few of the trampers jumped in for a swim to cool off, but it didn't look quite inviting enough for me.

Mueller Hut outhouse

Mt Cook Warden's Hut

Mueller Hut, at 1800 M, was perched on the top of those big, jagged rocks we had encountered on several of our other alpine walks. You wonder how they ever made enough level ground to build the hut. It was quite breezy when we arrived, so we found a sheltered spot in the rocks for our picnic lunch. Ray had left my cotton scarf I use for a brow mop on the ground beside him. Suddenly, a large gust of wind took the scarf into the air and whirled it around in higher and higher circles. I though it was lost, but luckily the wind, just as capriciously, dropped it right on the edge of a precipitous drop. I quickly retrieved it before it went on another trip.

Mt Cook Snowfield

Mueller Trail

Mt Ollivier, a small rocky peak right next to Mueller Hut made a good afternoon excursion. We boulder hopped our way up to some rock cairns marking the high point of the peak at 1920M. We could see another cairn on another peak not far away, but the route seemed to be down to a saddle and up a steep pitch. We decided we didn't need to bag another peak. Instead we took an alternate route back. There were no cairns or markers in sight so we just headed in the right direction. We picked our way down the steep slope over loose scree and walked across a small snowfield before finding some trail markers indicating we were on the right path.

The next day there were some clouds over the highest peaks, but the weather was still fine for our descent. We made it back to our car in two hours. Going down is much easier. We stayed another night in Mt Cook village just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. We walked over to the Hermitage and had tea and cake on their balcony overlooking Mt Cook. Ray says he looks forward to returning to this area another time and exploring more territory.