Albatross and Blue Penguins

Feb 27
With the sun shining and blue skies, I hiked up Fox Glacier for the second time. It was much clearer than yesterday, but the sun was so bright that I couuldn't take a good picture. So you'll just have to believe me.

It was a travelling day, travelling to Wanaka about a 3.5 hour drive. As I drove out of Fox, I saw a sign... last gas station for 121 km. So that had me thinking.... did I have enough gas? will 3/4 tank get me to the next town, Haast? Of course it will! It's only 1 hour and 30 minutes and I wasn't going to pay $1.96 per litre. So once I arrived in Haast, I head over to the gas station know that I need to fill up before heading out to Wanaka. I paid $2.06 per litre for gas!!!! Should have filled up in Fox!!!!
Here are a few pictures I took along the way

I noticed that the scenery changed as I drove inland. The West Coast was green and lush, the landscape now was getting dry and brown.... still stunning. I passed rivers and lakes and crossed over many one lane bridges to arrive in Wanaka. It's a beautiful lake town, the town centre is busy with outside cafes and restaurants, people sitting lakefront enjoying the beautiful 22 c day.
This is Lake Wanaka

Feb 28
I spent the morning sitting by Lake Wanaka not wanting to leave even though it was cloudy and rainy. Today's destination is Dunedin. Dunedin is located on the East Coast. The town looks like it's somewhere in Europe. There are buildings that look like cathedrals and also a real castle.

The City Centre is set up in the shape of an octagone, one way traffic to the right only left turns can be made. Had lunch in a sidewalk cafe in the spitting rain. Headed up to the Dunedin Botannical Garden for a look around, then went up the steepest street in the world... Baldwin Street. It was steep!

After I settled in, I took a short cut to the beach. St. Kilda beach.... as I walked up over the crest of the hill and slid down the sand path my heart skipped a beat! First impression was WOW!!!! I walked and walked and walked.... wrote messages in the sand. I'm thinking I might take a run on that beach tomorrow morning.

It's hard to believe that today is the last day in February already. I left home 20 days ago and have put on thousands of km on Chateau Jucy. I still have some beautiful places to see before i leave next week.

March 1
I got up and had a great run on St. Kilda beach. It was so good to run bare feet with the sound of the waves. Packed up and headed out to the Ortago Peninsula (Portobello, a very small town). Found a great beach at the end of a gravel road.... Sandfly beach. In order to get to the beach, one has to go through a farmer's field (special steps put in for this use and signs posted advising you). As I come up the crest of the grassy field, I see a black cow staring at me, licking her lips! I very gingerly side stepped to the left and kept on walking. There was a loud, long moo that came from her. The beach was amazing (as usual). Not too many people on it and 2 sea lions sun tanning.

I drove back into Dunedin for a walk downtown... window shopped and even stopped in a church (an Anglican Cathedral) to listen to an organ concert. Back to Portobello, got settled into my site and took a walk in town. Town consists of a corner store, Ric's Galley Fish & Chips, a bar/restaurant, a museum, a gallery, a cafe, and an ice cream/candy store. I bought an ice cream cone, sat on a park bench at the beach. That was my lunch and dinner combined.

I then headed off to the Royal Albatross Centre. The tour was great, I saw albatrosses soaring in the sky. Albatross' wing span is 3 meters long (9 feet 6 inches), after their first year they fly for 5 years never to land on land. Toroa is the Maori name for Albatross.

Then a tour of blue penguins. These penguins are native to New Zealand. They weigh 1 kg and are the cutest things I have seen in a while (but stinky!). We went to a special platform to watch the penguins. You look out to the ocean at dusk, first you'll hear them talking to each other. Then you'll see a dark shadow in the water moving towards the shore, as they come on shore you see the white of their little chests. They head up to their homes to feed their babies (you can hear the babies calling for food). As they come by the platform, they stop and look at you... then head off to feed their babies. There were no flashes allowed, all lights on the cameras had to be turned off for fear you'd scare them.

March 2
Up and out on the road early. Heading out to Te Anu and had a long drive ahead of me (5 hours). On the way out of Dunedin I got so totally lost, but this time I managed to find my own way to the motorway! Yeah!

Te Anu lies beside the lake and boasts spectacular mountains and beautiful trails. It's a very busy little town as it is the departure point for Milford Sound. I've booked myself into a tour (bus and cruise) tomorrow. Milford Sound is a 5 hour drive (one way) so I thought it best to let someone else do the driving and I just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

The weather is very much like Tofino. It rains a lot here... and it did! I ventured out on a hour hike then walked into town.

That's it for now. Until next time....