Kaka Point to Dunedin

Photos: Milford Sound waterfalls;Milford Sound Lodge; drowned rat; Kea bird; speed bump; Dunedin Harbour; Dunedin Train Station....most photographed building in N.Z.






Great sign entering Waihola on Highway 1! Small town of probably no more than 200 people. The sign reads: "PLEASE SLOW DOWN! No doctor, no hospital, one cemetery!"

We arrived in Dunedin by noon, did laundry then walked downtown. Another San Francisco kind of day! The streets are incredibly steep and walking downtown didn't take much effort....it was the climb back up that almost killed us.

This is where we logged on to update the last blog and although the staff were (as always) wonderful, the computer keyboards desperately needed replacement. It was the most frustrating blog update I've done yet. I type pretty quickly and found I couldn't look at the screen while typing because the words appeared about a minute after I'd typed them. I was moved to another computer and of course, it had the same problem! By the time I'd typed the blog I just couldn't spend another hour in there uploading photo's so I'm hoping they'll upload easily from this internet cafe.

We left the cafe after 2 1/2 hours and found that it had begun to rain so we debated whether to take a cab back or walk. Walking won out and off we went, up those incredibly steep streets. Rain turned to sunshine then back to rain, then as we neared the campground, it began to hail. We were soaked and laughing. Just after climbing into the van, the largest hailstones began pounding the van.

The next morning (Nov 27) we left Dunedin but not before visiting Baldwin Street which is purported to be the steepest street in the world (hey, after Niagara Falls, who am I to argue?). It certainly is steep and there is no way you can drive a van up it, so we walked it. We saw a fellow running up the hill then skipping down then back up, then back down. Turns out it was his 60th!!!!! time and he does it every day. Bob thinks (old cynic that he is) that he does it for the tourists and the accolades he receives. The legs on the dude (he looked about 50 or so) were like tree trunks!

Off we went, up Hwy 1 to Hwy 83 then Hwy 8 (for those of you with the perseverence to track us as you seem to be doing), on our way to Mount Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand. We decided to stop in the town of Twizel, about 55 km from the mountain and stayed at a little quaint campground. Very sweet couple who own it with a beautiful black lab dog. We suppose that travellers feed the dog because there was a sign in the office saying: "Please don't feed Shade! He only thinks he's hungry". We can't get over the sense of humour here...it's everywhere!

After dinner, we walked around the village. It was around 7:45 p.m. and a lovely evening and we noticed something quite disconcerting. No one was outside! No children playing (well, not quite....we only saw two little girls playing together)! Loads of playgrounds, a fair sized town and no children. No sounds of laughter, tv...anything coming from the houses. Very strange!

The next morning, we left for Mount Cook and on the way, passed over a river and slammed on the brakes then pulled over the side of the road, as everyone else was doing. Along the river banks and on little islands in the middle of the river were millions of lupins (I'm not exaggerating this time!). Every colour imaginable and the scent was fabulous! Even Kiwi's were stopping by to take it all in. Apparently here, they are a weed but such a beautiful weed!

Mount Cook is actually on the east side of the mountains from Franz Josef however once again, there is no direct route from one to the other and it's a good thing. The terrain is different again and now we saw lakes that were brilliant turquoise. We passed Lake Pukaki and the entire lake is the same colour with no variation from light to dark. We discovered that this colour is due to rock flour sediment in the water. The flour was created when the lake basin was gouged out by a stony-bottomed glacier moving across the land's surface. The rock on rock grinding created fine particles that ended up being suspended in the glacial melt water. The sediment gives the water a milky quality and refracts the sunlight, giving it the brilliant colour.

Half way to the mountain, we were stopped by a film crew working beside the lake. It was for a Volvo commercial and must be intended for a country where they drive on the same side of the road as Canada because as we sat and waited, we watched them bomb toward us on the same side of the road as we were. Saw them in another location again this morning. Fun!

We booked a campsite at Glentannen Peak then drove to Mount Cook and did the Hooker Valley Hike (moderate....without any headwinds!) which was 4 hours return. We set off in pleasant conditions however once again, it began to rain. We crossed two swing bridges with signs that warned "Falling rocks! No stopping between the signs", giving us such a sense of security as we scrambled over rocks to get to the bridges and across before being knocked senseless by the imaginary rocks tumbling down above us. Amazing what those little mind monkeys can do to you over a wee sign!

Approaching our ultimate destination, the Hooker Glacier fed lake, the winds were bitter cold and we had sleet in our faces. Our Tilly hats were fantastic (caught sight of my reflection and kind of thought I looked like Bono with my sunglasses on....not certain if that's a good or bad thing) as were our merino wool inner clothing. Body was hot, hands were freezing. The effort was worth it as we bent into the very cruel wind because the lake was filled with icebergs that broke away from the glacier and were floating down the river. It was very amazing.
200 hikers and climbers have been killed in this park since it was established and we could see why. Avalanches are a common occurence and even experienced climbers have not made it out of the park. Mount Cook, framed by smaller peaks was spectacular, even in the rain!

Back to the campground where we dried out and reunited with a terrific couple we'd met at the Maori event in Rotorua; Nellie and Herman from Holland. There they were, a few campsites away from us. Nellie prepared a huge plate of fruit and we sat in the sunshine behind our camper, getting to know each other better and exchanging email addresses. We know we'll see them again. Such joyous people and such world travellers. Nellie has cycled so many countries of this planet ....Herman too but he declares to not having done as many as Nellie.

Speaking of cycling; we learned last week from our friend Margaret, that fellow boaters from Crates (Dwight and Wendy Powell; boat name "Beyond the Barrier") are here on a cycling trip.
All we can say to that is "Good on ya!" and "Yiikes!" We know they are very fit and have cycled many countries however this one must present unique challenges. Dwight and Wendy, we wish you a safe trip!