Day 36 Moeraki Boulders and Tekapo

Todays started with a minor heart attack when my camera wouldn’t turn on, a quick trip to a local camera store fixed everything though so it wasn’t too much of a big deal – not the best start to the day though.

Once my camera was up and ready I went to meet Axel at the Dunedin Chinese Gardens, the only truly authentic Chinese garden outside of China, every sculpture, plant and pebble has come straight from China while the design was fashioned by traditional Chinese gardeners in Shanghai for Dunedin to acknowledge the contribution Chinese immigrants have made to the formation of the city. It was overcast but that didn’t diminish the serenity of the gardens, everything was incredibly tranquil and beautiful with no detail being overlooked.

It was relatively small, or compact, so after exploring the garden I went to the tea rooms where me and Axel had some green tea and sampled some of the bits and pieces they offer, from dumplings, steam buns and, of course, fortune cookies.

 We spent much longer than planned but it was a beautifully peaceful spot to while away some time reading and sipping tea.

Eventually we hit the road though, George and Cara had already driven off to Akaroa but me and Axel were taking a detour through the middle of the country to see some of the stunning lakes. First stop on the road was the Moeraki Boulders.

 Just ignore my hair... it's a long story, and I haven't the slightest idea what it's doing 

 Some of the boulders have cracks while others have eventually shattered 

It was sadly more touristy than we’d expected, and hoped, but they were great to see and snap a few touristy pictures with. We also timed it pretty well as we ended up there at low tide so we got to see them in their full glory.

After that little stop we drove for a few hours inland. The weather couldn’t seem to make up it’s mind along the coast, varying from boiling hot to freezing in the space of 20 minutes, in land was a different story, the weather had most definitely decided to be miserable. I personally didn’t mind too much as the misty weather gave the whole region a particular feel and it’s own sort of beautiful – it’s a bit of a shame though as I imagine on a sunny day the lakes would have been even more impressive.

 The first lake we saw, excluding some dams we passed, was Lake Ohau. We didn’t linger too long here as it started to really rain, there was absolutely nothing around, and we really wanted to see the other lakes while it was still light.

Our first glimpse of Lake Pukaki

Then it was the turn of Lake Pukaki to take our breaths way, mainly because it was so incredibly windy here! But also because of the crazy turquoise blue of the lake.

Then we finally made it to Lake Tekapo and the village that hugs it’s southern shore. We knew Tekapo was always busy, and we knew we were coming into high season, and we knew we ought to book a hostel… but we didn’t. We rang every hostel, B&B and campsite in and around Tekapo but everywhere was completely full. We did a slight detour to the Good Shepard’s Church which was really beautiful and then, sat in the car we decided we didn’t like the idea of sleeping in the car so we head off for Geraldine another hour or so away.

 The Church of the Good Shepard on Lake Tekapo 

A statue to acknowledge how essential the dogs are in farming these lands

The drive to Geraldine was incredibly beautiful and I'm actually really glad we ended up going there instead of staying in Tekapo as the light was perfect!

 The sky was surreal at times

The drive to Geraldine was beautiful and the hostel, although kind of deserted, was welcoming. A quick dinner with some Americans and we hit the hay. It’s ridiculous how tired you can get by just being sat in a car all day! 

Day 35 The Taieri Gorge Railway

After being woken up at 5, by the weird man that moved into our room last night, we set off down to the Saturday Market that showcases locals crafts in the heart of Dunedin. It was tiny, but cute, and after browsing for a while we started exploring the Octagon itself.

So weird seeing christmas trees when it's over 30 degrees!

A statue of Robert Burns (with a bird on his head)

St Paul's Cathedral 

First up was St Paul’s Church, in case you haven’t noticed I love looking at the architecture of different churches! I loved how the higher your eye rose the more impressive, bright and airy the architecture became to the point that when you looked up it was truly stunning, more so for it’s lack of intricate decoration and color, allowing the actual structure to speak for itself.

 The beautiful arches 

Next up was the Dunedin Art Gallery which is just next-door and had free entry. I’d forgotten how much I love art galleries. I spent hours wandering around admiring and contemplating the various exhibitions and just enjoying the pieces. It was also relatively interactive in sections with a yellow blowup ‘forest’ you have to push yourself through as well as giant rocking toys you need to try and make ring. It was nice to have the classic works, such as the painting the ‘ebbing tide’ that I loved, new modern pieces as well as the kind of alternative interactive pieces. Me and Axel then decided to go to the adjoining café, of course. And after a coffee we decided we might as well have lunch there. But that turned out to not be the wisest decision as we the salad took longer than expected meaning we had to have a mad rush to catch our train!

 Setting off!

 We saw some gorgeous views as we followed the river

(I'm assuming they have a stall here occasionally and they're not actually conning poor tourists into buying rocks...)

We’d booked, this morning, the Taieri Gorge Railway which takes you from the beautiful Dunedin Railway Station to Pukerangi along some of the most inaccessible but stunning country. It was in the guidebook as one of the 29 things you absolutely had to do in NZ so we decided to give it a go, and it was beautiful.

I love walking around and seeing old buildings - it's definitely one of the things I've missed while being in New Zealand 

The First Church

The trip took at total of four hours which was the perfect amount of time as it gave us chance to see everything and yet didn’t feel too long. Today was really fun and we’ve finally agreed on what to do tomorrow so I can’t wait to set off. From here onward we’re all doing different things so all four of us won’t really we travelling together too much as we all have different dates me need to be back in the North Island.

Day 34 The Catlins

We were woken up by sheep that decided that standing right next to our tents ‘baa-ing’ was the perfect way to wake up sleepy campers. The morning was beautiful though and we spent it on the beach soaking up our surroundings, listening to music and having breakfast. We’d only planned to spend the morning there but we spent a good portion of the afternoon too as it was so peaceful and beautiful.

 I love how the tropical forest just merged with fields and the beach 

The weird rocks that occasionally peeked through the golden sand 

After yesterday’s ‘incident’ George won’t drive on gravel roads unless absolutely necessary (by that he means he’ll drive us from the campsite to the main road but no further) so once we finally left Purakanui Bay we just drove to the falls, which are on the path back to the main road. They were beautiful and we dawdled there for, again, longer than planned. Mainly because me and Axel decided to scramble over the rocks to see it up close.

Next up was Nugget Point, George drove us half way there then we parked up Bernard and all jumped into Axel and Cara’s car to get to the point as it was on gravel roads. It was on the drive to Nugget Point that the weather seemed to suddenly shift and the previously clear blue skies turned overcast. The weather didn’t really detract from the short walk to the lighthouse or the ‘nuggets’ though as the views were pretty spectacular.   

 On our way to Nugget Point

 The lighthouse from the beginning of the walk

 My favourite photo of the lighthouse and the nuggets

 The 'Nuggets'

 Axel in his standard pose 

(And showing off his glasses tan line!)

We didn’t spend too long at Nugget Point, just enough to enjoy the views without getting cold, before heading off to Dunedin. The weather seemed to miraculously clear up as we approached Dunedin, proving the phrase that Dunedin gets all four seasons in a day pretty true. We found our hostel pretty quickly for once and checking in we made ourselves at home in the 12 bed room which we have to ourselves in the old house, stroking and playing with the three resident cats.

 Entering Dunedin 

Diesel one of the resident cuties!