Dogs Are Death To Penguins

Lake Tekapo > Omarama >Oamaru > Dunedin

We left Fairlie as quickly as we stayed. We continued our adventure South towards Lake Tekapo. This lake is stunning. It is seriously the colour turquoise. Up close it is clear making the rock bed visible. After driving through rolling hills filled with sheep and cows, this turquoise wonder was a nice visual change for our wandering eyes. As we drove closer to sea level the turquoise peeped out between the hills. Once there, we couldn’t help but get closer to see if it was a mirror reflection of the sky. The water is just that clear. 

Canterbury Region Countryside

Lake Tekapo Peeping Out

Azur Sounds Better Than Blue

Reminds Me of Bluebonnets

Around the lake were these beautiful blue and purple shrubs, which reminded me of the bluebonnets of Texas. Seeing the blue lake with grey rocks all around with touches of purple and blue shrubbery all surrounded by green hills was breathtaking.

The Purple Variety

Church Overlooking Lake Tekapo

What Beauty

Testing the Waters

Sharing a Stone

Clear Waters

I Could Stare at This Forever

Enjoying Every Moment

Loving The Purple/Blue Shrubs

As we continued on the highway, the blue and purple sprouts followed along the rolling hills. We stopped at a local salmon fishing canal and found even more blue water passing through. We drove through two smaller lakes that were just as blue, but with more activity such as boaters, fishers and water skiers.

We Have Different Photos Styles

The Local Fishing Hole

Picturesque

After a lunch stop in Omarama, we left the central lakes area, finding ourselves back on the east coast to the quaint town of Oamaru. This town is was once a major settlement for fishing, whaling and trade. Now, it is famous for its seaside views and conservation of the Blue Penguin. We stopped by the conservation centre to find out that these 33cm (13 inch) birds were out fishing all day and would be back at dusk. We didn’t have time to wait for dusk as our night’s destination would be in Dunedin – over 200km away.


Instead, we walked through the historic district viewing the local artisans including a limestone sculptor, clay tile artist and a museum of the local painters.

I Want to See a Blue Penguin

Regular Occurrence in NZ

Moeraki Boulders

Our next stop was the Moeraki Boulders. “They’re gonna just be rocks” was our attitude before the stop. We stopped anyway. “When are we going to be in NZ again?” was another attitude about sightseeing.

To warm our bellies and revive us from the long drive, we shared a bowl of seafood chowder overlooking the ocean. The Boulders were just rocks, but they did look out of place. How did they get there? Why are they so smooth? No idea, but it was a good photo opportunity.

Channeling In My Inner Karate Kid

What Does This Look Like To You?

I Didn't Know Alpacas Live in NZ

First Seal Spotting

Making our way towards Dunedin, we followed our roadmap, which listed different points of interest. Shag Point was our first wildlife sighting of fur seals. We parked our rental in the car park of the reserve and read there were seals and Yellow Eyed Penguins in the area. “Dogs are death to penguins” read one of the signs. I can just imagine the fear in a penguin facing the curiosity and tenacity of a dog.

Seal Pup is Awake

We walked to the lookout point to find an entire colony of fur seals sunbathing. It was amazing. We had never seen actual wild seals. Here they were like we stepped into a BBC documentary. In a cave, there were a few seals surrounding a cute and smaller (but still the size of a full grown Labrador) seal pup.

Lazy Summer Days

They Look Like Big Turds

Algae or Spinach Fettuccini

The seals laid on rocks jutting out of the coastline surrounded by sea plants, which I called “Spinach Fettuccini” because they look like long green pasta ribbons.

First Hostel Since 2009

We finally made it to Dunedin in the late afternoon checking into the first hostel we’ve stayed in since our Southeast Asia backpacking trip in late 2009/ early 2010. We were greeted on the porch, by the same scrubby guys I knew back when I first backpacked in 2008.


Backpackers have a certain look about them. They look like they haven’t showered in a while. Clothes include linen or thin cotton t-shirts and pants that have lost their crisp and shoes that are almost always flip flops. They have a cool demeanor about them completely content with where they are physically and in life, but have a wide-eyed wonder about the next adventure. Money is rarely talked about, but they certainly know their way around a hostel kitchen. Tone of voice is either chipper (example: the backpackers who work at a hostel) or totally laid-back (the pot smoking/free spirited/the dirtiest ones on the porch).

View of Dunedin From Our Room

We had a lovely private room with a double bed and single bed. Clean sheets, down pillows and plugs a plenty. This is a different breed of hostel if I say so myself. Dunedin even provides free Wi-Fi all around the city, pretty awesome for a university town.

Delicious Dinner at Saigon Van

We had dinner at a nice Vietnamese restaurant in town. Dave of course ordered a vermicelli bowl as our Vietnamese food encounters are a constant search for the vermicelli bowl that can top the one in his hometown. It’s like the search for the Holy Vermicelli bowl. This one was actually a close second! I had the most delicious stir fried beef – medium rare with delicious onion flavor.

View of the Ocean at Otago Peninsula

Dunedin is another famous coastal town at the base of the Otago peninsula, where we read more penguins nest at dusk. So after a quick dinner, we followed our GPS app to the bay where the penguins come ashore. We had searched a beach halfway up the peninsula, but when we got close a road sign pointed in the opposite direction of the one our GPS had calculated for. We followed the road sign instead and drove another 45 minutes along a very curvy, but amazing peninsula coastline. The road was nearly at the water’s edge. We arrived to Pilot Beach at the very Northern tip of the Otago peninsula right at 9:30pm. We didn’t want to miss the penguin’s arrival especially after driving the entire peninsula. Even at 9:30pm, the sun had not fully set. The Southern Hemisphere doesn’t kid around about the long days.

Sunset at Pilot Beach, Otago Peninsula

At Pilot Beach, there were about 30 people anxiously awaiting the penguin’s arrival. We knew we weren’t late because a) there were too many people still there and b) no one had started pointing or taking photos.

By 10:15pm, we saw two penguins come ashore. It was the blue penguins we had missed in Oamaru! The pair slid on their bellies onto shore and stood up. There were flocks of seagulls all on the beach, but they didn’t care. They hopped on the rocks and continued to hop on an incline towards the bushes. And then they were gone. We knew these birds were endangered, but there had to have been more. Ten minutes later, two sets of dozen came swimming in together. They huddled together once ashore to avoid any seagull bullying and did just as the first pair did – hopping up into the bushes.

Here They Come! Can You Spot The Group?

Out of the Water

Once they were gone, we decided it was time to go. This had been a long day of sightseeing and driving. Plus we saw fur seals and blue penguins! What could be better!

While most were still at the base of Pilot Beach waiting for more penguins, we started walking back to the carpark and encountered the same penguins crossing our path! Dave and I were alone in the dark with a group of the penguins. Thankfully our eyes had adjusted and we could see them waddling. When we took photos, they were startled by the shutter sound and paused. Unfortunately, our only camera is the 8.0 mega pixel one on my Samsung Galaxy II mobile phone and it was night time. Regardless, this was our moment interacting with the tiny penguins. This moment made the drive worth it. It made the entire trip worth it and we still have 11 days to go. I still want to see the elusive Kiwi bird…


Trip Extras:

• Must See Lake Tekapo
• Walk Around Historic Centre of Oamaru
• Have Seafood Chowder at the Moeraki Boulders
• Visit the Seals at Shag Point
• Enjoy the University Atmosphere of Dunedin
• View the Blue Penguins Arrive at Sunset
• Dunedin Hostel: Manor House Backpackers ($60 for private double room)

Hello New Year. Hello New Zealand.

Only a 3 Hour Flight

Distance from Sydney to Christchurch is 1319 miles (2123 km)

After a long day and long night at the Royal Botanical Gardens of Sydney, Dave and I woke to the first day of the New Year at 10am to the most irritating sound…the alarm.

We had to set the alarm because at 2pm, our houseguest would be arriving. We decided to place an ad on Gum Tree for a short term stay at our Elizabeth Bay apartment. If we didn’t, we would be out $800 for 2 weeks rent while away in the South Island of New Zealand.

We staggered out of bed, showered and had the most amazing hangover breakfast – 2 fried eggs with rice. Dave is turning Filipino little by little.

While I packed, Dave cleaned. While Dave packed, I cleaned. We were finally finished by 2pm. We waited for half an hour anticipating who would knock on our door. 

Two days before, we had given up on the idea of salvaging our savings by renting our apartment. We had only two responses, but both had either had the wrong dates or found other accommodation arrangements. Unexpectedly, we received a call from an Aussie guy, now expat living in Spain who was here only for a month while he attempted to set up his business in Spain in Australia. Frankly, he was tired of sleeping on friend’s couches in Bondi and needed to be closer to the CBD, while in town. Believable story right?

Driving in from Campbelltown, he phoned in to explain his tardiness. He arrived a little before 3pm. We opened the door and there stood a man in his early 30s with a preppy yet relaxed boating outfit look. He explained his Kiwi background, Australian upbringing and expat life in Ibiza. He simply needed a place to set up his office closer to the city, rather than spend time and money commuting.

We left him at 3:20 after his paid us in full and we took photos of his New Zealand passport. After taking a photo of his passport, I didn't feel good about this exchange. The passport photo was in black and white and on thick cardboard paper. What do I know though, I've never seen a New Zealand passport. He did pay up front, but we still had knots in our stomachs. We kept calm and though more about the very thing we were looking forward to – our flight to New Zealand!

During the Christmas/New Year holiday period, Australia shuts down. Retail and food shops are open, but businesses especially those working in the media close until mid January. Once I found out my office would close between 22nd December to 16th January, Dave and I booked our next adventure to the land of the Kiwis. Although we haven’t hit up all the Australia hot spots, trips to New Zealand and Fiji are high on the bucket list.

We took off at 7pm for a 3 hour flight. Still recovering from a strenuous New Year’s Eve, we thought we would fall asleep, but of course we didn’t. There were great entertainment options including TV shows about New Zealand food and the Greatest Football Goals – my kind of programming.

We arrived 15 minutes to midnight in Christchurch. As we walked through the airport, we noticed netting above us. There couldn’t be birds in this airport? We later understood why.

Once out of immigration and customs checks, we were on a shuttle to our hotel only 2 minutes away from the airport. We checked in and walked into our room by 12:30pm. New Zealand has made a good impression so far. Thankfully, Dave had booked all of our lodging for the entire 2 weeks, so we never had to worry about accommodation.

Ready to shut our eyes at 1am, we laid in bed and felt a shudder…for 5 seconds! After backpacking around South East Asia, our first instinct that it must be rooms around us, but this was different. These shakes moved the entire room. Dave and I looked at each other with one question on our minds, “Was that an earthquake?”

I woke up again to birds chirping at 5:45am. There were so many and they wouldn’t stop. I looked at Dave blissfully sleeping and then again another shake. This tremor was longer. We embraced each other knowing for certain this was an earthquake.

After checkout, we hopped onto the shuttle back to the airport to grab the city bus. Our driver asked us if we had felt the earthquake. The one in the morning was recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale affecting the already devastated east side of Christchurch. According to the news, Christchurch has experienced over 40 earthquakes since Christmas. When we heard there was a strong 5.8 on Christmas Eve, we were nervous about our trip, but once we felt them we knew truly knew how the locals felt.

God Save Us with the Zip Ties!

The Rental for the Next 2 Weeks

We picked up our rental car, a lovely Nissan silver 4-door with zip ties on the tyres. After a few lost turns around Christchurch, exchanging money and laksa at the only restaurant open on New Year’s Day observed, we finally headed out west towards Lake Tepago.

For the next 3 hours, we drove through the scenic route observing rolling hills and pastures dotted with cows and sheep…many many sheep. Apparently, the sheep to people ratio is 18:1.

Despite the strange weather of grey and cloudy, spitting rain and sunshine, we took in the beautiful Canterbury region’s countryside.

Rakai Gorge

One of the most beautiful sites was our stop at the Rakaia Gorge. The area had limestone cliffs, blue water and a pebble sandbar. We managed to squeeze a stop between rain showers to skip rocks and take in the breathtaking landscape.

Blue Waters, Limestone Cliffs, Pebble Sandbar

Skipping Rocks

Flowers in a Cold Summer

How Blue is That Water!

Kiwis are Such Nice People

Sign at a Gas Station

Dark Clouds, but Beautiful Countryside

Enjoying Speights Dark & Monteith's Cider

We arrived at our night’s destination, Fairlie and was this place fairly empty. It was a small quaint town with a city centre a mere 3 blocks across Main Street. We checked into a campsite, which thankfully had furnished studio units. We were lucky to have a queen size bed, flat screen TV, full kitchen and best of all…wireless! We walked through the sleepy city centre, bought sliced bread, peanut butter and strawberry jam for the road and settled for an afternoon drink at the local watering hole…the single pub boasting the best food in town.

Upon entering, we found exactly what we expected…a small pub with a handful of old locals bantering over pitchers. It was a lovely comforting site reminding us of Australia and even home.

Skeptical of the menu, I ordered what I knew would be safe…a hamburger. This was called a Hogi burger. What came to my table was a burger with an egg, bacon, cheese, steak and pineapple slices! Dave fondly looked at my meal wishing he hadn’t ordered his steak sandwich, which was literally steak between two slices of white bread with lettuce and mayo. No sad faces here because we share our meals except he believed his sandwich was not worth sharing.

After our pub meal, we walked through the campsite taking in the cool brisk air and watching families set up their tents and camper vans, while children bicycled past us on the gravel road.

If the Rope is Wet, it's Raining

Funny Weather Barometer

I Miss Evergreens

We have a huge day ahead of us tomorrow driving to Lake Tepago to view the picturesque Mount Cook and an even longer drive to Dunedin.

Thank goodness we brought our hard drive and the flat screen as a USB port. Now it’s time for some Jurassic Park!

Trip Extras:

Christchurch Airport Hotel: Sudima Hotel ($160/night, only 700 meters from the airport and 24 hr check-in)

Car Rental: Omega Rentals Cars ($35/day)

Fairlie Campsite: Fairlie Top 10 Holiday Park ($115/night)