SOUTH ISLAND
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We began our explorations of the South Island on February 7
after arriving via ferry from the North Island. Our first destination was Nelson. However, en route, we took a side trip to Havelock, the
“green lip mussel capital of the World.”
Well, Lindy has never been a fan of green lip mussels (in the U.S. they
arrive frozen and they’re served primarily on oriental buffets) but that’s
not the case any longer. Ed steamed
these fresh fellows in a New Zealand champagne and they were outstanding! As far as sightseeing while in Nelson, we enjoyed going to
PuPu Springs at Takaka where the water was so clear that in places it was 12’
deep and appeared to more than 2’.
We next went to Christchurch via rental car.
We stayed in the city and were able to walk to the sights here.
In particular, we enjoyed seeing the Cathedral and Ernest Rutherford’s
Den. On the 12th of
February, we took the TransAlpine Train which traverses the mountains in the
north of the South Island to Inchbonnie. There
we were met by representatives from Lake Brunner Lodge where we began our first
week of fishing on the South Island (see, THE FISHING).
On February 19, we once again returned to touring the South Island.
We began on the northwest coast at Greymouth.
While there we drove north to Pancake Rocks, a beautiful spot where the
ocean has carved some great formations and where spectacular waves crashed into
the shore and blow holes spewed spray up to 50’ in the air.
We then drove south to Franz Josef Glacier.
It was quite spectacular and the beginning of our explorations in the
“Southern Alps.” The following
day we visited Lake Matheson, set high in the mountains with Mt. Cook behind it.
We also visited Fox Glacier, again quite spectacular.
On February 22, we toured Roaring Billy Falls, Fantail Falls and the Blue Pools
before beginning our final New Zealand fishing, again trout fishing but this
time via helicopter, at Cedars
(see, THE FISHING).
On February 26 we returned to touring at Queenstown, a well-known resort city in
the south, central part of the South Island.
Here we relaxed and had great fun at a park dedicated to preserving Kiwi
birds, the national bird of New Zealand.
We then drove to the west coast to Milford Sound.
En route, we went through Homer Tunnel which is an adventure in and of
itself (no lighting, narrow lanes, lots of dripping water – actually, a bit
scary). We arrived at the Sound in
late afternoon in time to board an overnight cruise ship for the evening.
We had great views of the Sound, especially at dawn the following
morning. Wow, it was great!
After leaving the cruise, we drove back to civilization and spent the night at
Te Anua. We also had another great
mussel dinner (this time Ed cooked them in a red sauce).
Te Anua is part of the Southern Scenic Route which we began the next day.
We drove to the southern most city in New Zealand, Invercargill, and then
proceeded back up the east coast to Dunedin.
It was a beautiful drive with very few tourists (or natives for that
matter).
We next drove to Christchurch where we ended our New Zealand adventure.
From there, we caught a flight back to Auckland.
We routed home via Hong Kong (we spent two nights there) and then back to
the U.S.
All and all, SIMPLY BRILLIANT!
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