TRAVELLING SOUTH
TRAVELLING SOUTH
We picked up our nice little RAV4 with an inbuilt GPS in Christchurch and headed towards the east coast for Akaroa. I had high hopes of Akaroa. It was settled by the French in 1840; their were rare Hector's Dolphins and the coastline looked attractive. However, the clouds were hanging low and threatening rain. The drive started well but then, as we got nearer, the land rose and the roads became more twisty. We arrived at the Summit Hotel, above the Banks Peninsular, and the views looked attractive (see picture right). We drove on down, the roads getting a little scarier until we reached the bays. The towns now had French names, such as Duvauchel. We carried on the road around the headland and then the next, until we reached Akaroa and Mullberry Cottage where we were due to spend the night. We met the owner and she showed us our accomodation, the Garden Cottage, literally at the end of her garden (see picture right), and everything seemed OK. We walked into the village along the harbour and still nothing untoward. I had thought there might be something French about the town, but according to one of the bar owners, the only French thing we might find is her barman.
It started to rain. We stopped at a shop selling postcards and the owner remarked wasn't it a shame with those two cruise ships coming in tomorrow. Cruise ships? What cruise ships? Two! Apparently, since the earthquake,cruise ships couldn't dock at Lyttleton, the previous embarkation for Christchurch. Akaroa was small, so they sent out boats to ferry the passengers to shore and about 20 odd coaches came from Christchurch to transport the passengers. We decided there and then to leave early the next day, before the cruise ships arrived. That view was reinforced during the night by the thunder, lightening and torrential rain storm directly over a cottage that had no protection against the cold and we left the next day by 6.30 a.m.
Our next stop was Oamaru, quite a long drive. We had a few stops along the way, like the Little River Tavern, an old railway station, for breakfast, a nice beach (see picture left) for a comfort break and then we were in Oamaru. Just as some places disappoint (Akaroa), so others unexpectedly provide a positive surprise. Oamaru was one such place. The hotel, Poshtel, had themed rooms. We had booked the golf room, but that was busy so we were put in the Music room (see picture right}, with a sousaphone above our heads. We were near to Harbour Street, a Victorian precinct with some very interesting shops, including one that promoted New Zealand whiskey. There was also a vintage steam train, which we took a ride on, as well as a friendly restaurant called Fat Sally's. The next day, we went to the Steampunk HQ Museum, which is a quirky and fun genre of science fiction that features steam technology. It is often used in films based on Victorian stories of HG Wells, Jules Verne and more recently Dr Who. Well worth a visit.
We were only in Oamaru for one night, we could have stayed longer.
Next day, we drove to Dunedin, taking the scenic route through Kakanui. This was a lovely road, with many bends and the road crossed back and forth over the railway line. We arrived in Dunedin on George Street, the main arterial road of the city and where our Motel was situated. We had a nice large room, with separate kitchen and comfortable bed. I hadn't expected much of Dunedin, but I was very wrong. There was a Royal Albatross centre, a vintage railway station, a quality dark chocolate factory that did tours and the Toitu museum which told the story of the settlers to the area. The road to the albatross centre was very scary. It was called the Highcliff Road and I've never seen Linda so tense whilst driving. We eventually found that there was a much better road around the bay which,needless to say, we used for the return. The centre itself was on the Taiaroa Head peninsular and Sir David Attenborough, no less, believes that every visitor to Dunedin should go there, so we did. It was amazing, there were four Albatross breeding and we saw another five flying so elegantly in the sky (see picture left) on a quite windy day. Port Chalmers is where the cruise ships arrive at Dunedin . It is a natural harbour and well protected from the elements (see picture right). The Ocho chocolate factory is very interesting and gave us a very good tasting. They produce good quality dark chocolate. It has replaced Cadbury as a chocolate manufacturer in Dunedin. It is only small at the moment, but watch out, it will get bigger. The Toitu museum is probably the best interactive museum that we have seen, telling the story of the first settlers to Dunedin and the way they interacted with the local Maoris.
Dunedin was much better than expected, but now we are on our way back to the west coast and Lake Te Anau for our trip to the Milford Sound.
We picked up our nice little RAV4 with an inbuilt GPS in Christchurch and headed towards the east coast for Akaroa. I had high hopes of Akaroa. It was settled by the French in 1840; their were rare Hector's Dolphins and the coastline looked attractive. However, the clouds were hanging low and threatening rain. The drive started well but then, as we got nearer, the land rose and the roads became more twisty. We arrived at the Summit Hotel, above the Banks Peninsular, and the views looked attractive (see picture right). We drove on down, the roads getting a little scarier until we reached the bays. The towns now had French names, such as Duvauchel. We carried on the road around the headland and then the next, until we reached Akaroa and Mullberry Cottage where we were due to spend the night. We met the owner and she showed us our accomodation, the Garden Cottage, literally at the end of her garden (see picture right), and everything seemed OK. We walked into the village along the harbour and still nothing untoward. I had thought there might be something French about the town, but according to one of the bar owners, the only French thing we might find is her barman.
It started to rain. We stopped at a shop selling postcards and the owner remarked wasn't it a shame with those two cruise ships coming in tomorrow. Cruise ships? What cruise ships? Two! Apparently, since the earthquake,cruise ships couldn't dock at Lyttleton, the previous embarkation for Christchurch. Akaroa was small, so they sent out boats to ferry the passengers to shore and about 20 odd coaches came from Christchurch to transport the passengers. We decided there and then to leave early the next day, before the cruise ships arrived. That view was reinforced during the night by the thunder, lightening and torrential rain storm directly over a cottage that had no protection against the cold and we left the next day by 6.30 a.m.
Our next stop was Oamaru, quite a long drive. We had a few stops along the way, like the Little River Tavern, an old railway station, for breakfast, a nice beach (see picture left) for a comfort break and then we were in Oamaru. Just as some places disappoint (Akaroa), so others unexpectedly provide a positive surprise. Oamaru was one such place. The hotel, Poshtel, had themed rooms. We had booked the golf room, but that was busy so we were put in the Music room (see picture right}, with a sousaphone above our heads. We were near to Harbour Street, a Victorian precinct with some very interesting shops, including one that promoted New Zealand whiskey. There was also a vintage steam train, which we took a ride on, as well as a friendly restaurant called Fat Sally's. The next day, we went to the Steampunk HQ Museum, which is a quirky and fun genre of science fiction that features steam technology. It is often used in films based on Victorian stories of HG Wells, Jules Verne and more recently Dr Who. Well worth a visit.
Next day, we drove to Dunedin, taking the scenic route through Kakanui. This was a lovely road, with many bends and the road crossed back and forth over the railway line. We arrived in Dunedin on George Street, the main arterial road of the city and where our Motel was situated. We had a nice large room, with separate kitchen and comfortable bed. I hadn't expected much of Dunedin, but I was very wrong. There was a Royal Albatross centre, a vintage railway station, a quality dark chocolate factory that did tours and the Toitu museum which told the story of the settlers to the area. The road to the albatross centre was very scary. It was called the Highcliff Road and I've never seen Linda so tense whilst driving. We eventually found that there was a much better road around the bay which,needless to say, we used for the return. The centre itself was on the Taiaroa Head peninsular and Sir David Attenborough, no less, believes that every visitor to Dunedin should go there, so we did. It was amazing, there were four Albatross breeding and we saw another five flying so elegantly in the sky (see picture left) on a quite windy day. Port Chalmers is where the cruise ships arrive at Dunedin . It is a natural harbour and well protected from the elements (see picture right). The Ocho chocolate factory is very interesting and gave us a very good tasting. They produce good quality dark chocolate. It has replaced Cadbury as a chocolate manufacturer in Dunedin. It is only small at the moment, but watch out, it will get bigger. The Toitu museum is probably the best interactive museum that we have seen, telling the story of the first settlers to Dunedin and the way they interacted with the local Maoris.Dunedin was much better than expected, but now we are on our way back to the west coast and Lake Te Anau for our trip to the Milford Sound.
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