Short NZ Vacation #5 - The Deep South Island

Feb. 2 – Feb 8

7 day camping adventure!

We set off from Kutash Organic with some semblance of a plan, but we really had no idea just how much there was to see all across the southern tip of the south island. After some thought and debate, we decided that heading east first, and then circling around the south to finish in the Fiordland would be our best bet, and allow for the most complete journey.

We started. Due east along the deserted, desert roads of central Otago, we finally came to the ocean. Our first stop was a simple side journey out to the coastline to view the Moraeki boulders. It sounded a bit strange, but turns out it was underplayed. What a crazy sight. 30 or 40 large, spherical boulders lay partly buried in the sand over a short stretch of beach – and nowhere else. Having eroded from the cliffs, they rolled down to their current resting place. We’d never seen anything like it, and it’s a wonder why this exact spot holds such a mass quantity of these geode rocks. A natural playground right on the beach.

Moraeki Boulders on the beach

We continued north to Oamaru, the “penguin town.” This would be our home base for the night – the best time to catch a glimpse of the yellow-eyed or blue penguin, but we first ventured out to some Maori rock art. A little disappointing, as free public (and unprotected from the elements) rock art often is, but worth a look nonetheless. Some of the drawings have been removed and are now on display at museums across NZ (which we later saw). Continuing on with somewhat of a random outing and wild goose chase for sights, in the near vicinity was the proclaimed “elephant rocks,” a site used in the Chronicles of Narnia film. This proved to be quite an epic landscape of massive, smooth cliffs in a paddock.

Display board beneath the rock art describing what's drawn.

Keris atop the elephant rocks pretending she's the ice-queen of Narnia.

The real treat was at nightfall. We made it down to the viewing area for the yellow-eyed penguins just as the sun was setting, a glorious spectacle by itself. We thought we were almost late, but there were tons of people still waiting to catch a glimpse. High on the cliffs, it was difficult to see the occasional penguin come ashore way down the beach as the sky turned dark. Most people began disbanding, as this didn’t appear to be a mass arrival of penguins, but we remained hopeful. Sure enough, without knowing how the penguins had crossed the beach undetected, the first one appeared right in front of us, 100 feet up the cliffside! It was only a few feet away, and it soon found its baby (almost the same size). We were so happy have waited for such a spectacle. A few more did eventually come out of the water, but by then it was so dark they could barely be made out on the beach far below. We headed over to the blue penguin colony location, but found that it was blocked off and could only be accessed via expensive paid admission tours (and it was too late). Oh well, the yellow-eyed penguin viewing was a success.

One of the yellow-eyed penguins that climbed the cliffside and showed up right in front of us to feed its young.

View down to the beach from the yellow-eyed penguin lookout.

Day 2 – We drove south along the coast to Dunedin, what’s been described as the most Scottish city outside Scotland – crappy weather included. It was a beautiful, sunny day for us, so we ate lunch in the park, perused the art museum, and did a little 2nd-hand shopping. We finally broke down and bought some more camping gear – 1 pot, 1 plate, and a can opener! Actually, the plate was free, and we’ve been joking that if it wasn’t free we wouldn’t have gotten it. In fact, there were several free plates available (but only one plastic one) and thus, we only took the 1 free plastic plate. Who said beggars can’t be choosers. Ah, the endless possibilities before us with our new cooking equipment. We’d grown tired of PB&J and tomato/cucumber/cheese sandwiches several times a day, despite finding really good rolls for bread. Now we could do fantastic 1-pot meals of pasta, curry, porridge. Just in time for the next 5 nights of camping.

That night, we drove out to the Otago Peninsula and pitched our tent at the only campsite in Portabella. We attempted a hike up to view the castle on the hill, but turned back about ¾ of the way. Just before sunset, we hiked out to the Chasm with a bottle of wine. We were the only ones there when we arrived, a peaceful setting to view the 300 foot vertical drop crevasse in the cliff at the edge of the water. We made the trek over to Lovers’ Leap after that, crossing the sheep paddock (wine in hand) to the lookout point. Again, suspended 100s of feet above the sea, the ominous cliffs dropped away from us. The view was magnificent, and was not shared with anyone.

Enjoying our solitude atop the "Chasm" on the Otago Peninsula

Partial view down into the Chasm (didn't want to get too close to the edge - most locations in NZ don't come with safety barricades as standard)

Looking down on Lovers' Leap. The archway alone is 100's of feet above the sea, and the cliffs climb even higher above that to our viewing platform.

The lean of this silver beech tree is a reminder of the power of the Antarctic winds.

The evening was not over though. Our incredible pace catching up with us, we were getting tired, but we drove out to the very tip of the peninsula just as the sunset faded to darkness, to join a large group of people waiting for the blue penguins to come ashore. This was our chance to view them now. For a 2nd time, penguin viewing tried people’s patience. The disheartened left too early. There was just enough light left to see a mass ripple moving towards us in the water. Then, 15-20 penguins in two separate waves came waddling across the beach. Shortly after, they made there way up the land toward their young for feeding. They were so tiny and cute! Such a great opportunity to view them in their natural habitat (but sorry no pics, it was too dark and camera flashes scare the penguins).

Day 3 – We barely made it back into Dunedin without running out of gas, and then we checked out the natural history museum (including some of the above mentioned Maori rock art), the botanic gardens, and the ornate train station. We left town and headed to the southern most tip of the island to camp in the Catlins National Park. After a quick walk to the wonderful Purakanui Falls (wine glasses in hand), we found a cozy spot next to Purakanui beach to pitch our tent for the night. At last, we found a cheap, rugged campsite on the beach instead of an expensive holiday park site with no view. We took a walk on the beach before hunkering down in the tent for a windy night.

Purakanui Falls

Purakanui Beach

Finally, a cheap campsite right next to the beach! We celebrated the find.

Day 4 – Another gorgeous waterfall walk we found along the road early in the morning.

McLean Falls (much bigger in person)

We’re uncertain how many times we’ve found amazing places to stop off and see while driving along the highway. There’s no shortage of spectacular landscape. We made it to Invercargill in time for lunch in the expansive botanic gardens. Without much to see in the city, we continued on toward the Fjordland on the west coast. It was long drive, but well worth the effort. We stopped just short of our final destination to have a look around Manapouri, a lakeside city without much proclaim in Lonely Planet. The water temp was suitable for a swim (with a wetsuit) on such a warm day. A little triathlon training and sunbathing in the afternoon was a good way to relax. It was tough to leave this spot, but we finished our journey with a 20 minute drive up to Te Anau – the launching point for most of the Milford Sound tours. Our campsite was right across from an equally stunning lake view as Manapouri. We were razzed a bit about our 1-pot meal by some elderly campers, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Beautiful day for triathlon training.

Day 5 – Up early for a long day, we were a bit slow to get going since the sky was a little overcast. We picked up the Department of Conservation hiking guide pamphlet and started the 2+ hour drive to Milford Sound. We’d booked a boat tour for the afternoon, and carefully mapped out all our hikes for the day.

Mirror Lakes

Our first stop was at Mirror Lakes, a roadside observation deck built above a small lake in which the surface was like glass this early in the morning. We snapped a few photos before even the slightest disturbance in the water rippled away the reflection. We next stopped at the start of the famous Routeburn track. We took a detour after an hour’s hike to climb to Key Summit for a fantastic 360 view of the surrounding glacial valleys. The scenery continued to impress the further along we ventured toward Milford Sound. A long drive down a side gravel road took us to Humboldt Falls – an impressive multi-tiered falls rising nearly 1,000 feet up the cliff. A short ways back to the main road, we pulled off at Marian Creek Bridge to get a view of the stunningly blue-clear glacial runoff. A quick stop-off at Moraine Falls – more of a gushing, tumultuous river, and then we were back on the road – we thought, for an uninterrupted drive to Milford. However, around every turn in the road, our eyes wandered to the valley peaks, watching cascading waters plunge 100s of feet down the sheer rock walls. Ooh and Aah around every bend, stopping for more pictures and driving at a nice leisurely pace to take in the astounding scenery. This wondrous place immediately jumped to the top of our favorites list – and we weren’t even to Milford Sound yet!!

View of Humboldt Falls. They look small from a distance (actually 3rd largest in NZ, with each tier cascading 100's of feet down the cliff.

Such pure water flowing in the rivers.

Passing through the long, 1-way tunnel we descended down to our destination along the twisty mountain road. Alas, it was time to relax on our 2+ hour boat cruise of the sounds. By now, we were so excited for what lay ahead given the sights we’d already seen. Being on the boat gave a new perspective of glacier valley walls and mountain peaks soaring 1,000s of feet overhead. Rugged, jungle forest clung to keep hold on the poorly soiled rock walls, the roots of the trees becoming entangled in 1 giant mat essentially holding up the entire mountainside. It was a bit windy and rough at first, but we’d lucked out on such a gorgeous day, missing one the common rain showers that brings nearly 7 meters of rainfall a year. The views were captivating, so we just sat and watched in awe. On the return trip, we drove right into Stirling Falls, soaking the front half of the boat (where we happened to be taking some pics). It was a must-do sightseeing trip, and well worth it. Probably the best day we’d had yet, and certainly one of the longest and most action-packed. We were exhausted by the time we got back to camp in the dark.

Just before heading into the tunnel and descending down to Milford Sound, one of the first, great "wow" moments.

Close up of the waterfalls down the glacier-carved cliff

Heading out into Milford Sound

Extreme close-up of the magnificent Stirling Falls included driving the tour boat right beneath it!

Getting a perspective on the Palisades (the stair-stepped cliffs show the levels of different glaciers over time)

Day 6 – There was certainly no rush to leave Te Anau this morning. Check out was 10am, and I think we pulled out around 1pm after catching up on some much needed internet, rest, and 1 last hot shower. It was a long drive to Queenstown, one we made without much stopping as compared to many previous trips. Lake Wakatipu was certainly stunning, a sharp, dark blue compared to the brown, rocky mountainsides surrounding. Our first impression of Queenstown was not good, likening the city to Aspen or Tahoe, and probably the least “New Zealand” town we’d seen thus far (which is just about all of them). There is certainly a lot of nightlife and adrenaline pumping activities, but we just packed in like a sardine at the campground and called it an early night.

Day 7 – Refreshed, we were up early to tackle the hour climb to Bob’s Peak, passing on the gondola ride. At the top, we found a great view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the Remarkables mountain range. It was gorgeous. Among the adrenaline rushing activities at the top of the hill… bungy jump and luge. Unfortunately, there was no one to watch take the jump (since we certainly weren’t up for it). Instead, we opted for a couple runs on the luge. It was not quite as long as the one we’d done last year in Rotorua, but it was still a lot of fun. After a long hike back down the mountain, we headed to our next WWOOF, ending this long streak of adventure and vacation. We were so happy to have taken the time in the trip to do something like this, especially taking the extra time to stop at so many side ventures.

View from Bob's Peak at the top of gondola. Queenstown is spread below along the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

Of course, we couldn't pass on the luge at the top of the peak! We just wish the luge went all the way down the hill so we didn't have to walk down...

Catching the short chairlift back to the top of the luge for our 2nd run (first run had to be on the beginner track... do we look like beginners?)