The bus to collect us for our wildlife tour is five minutes late. I am only a little bit panic stricken. There are just three of us on today’s trip, with Paul in charge. We learn something of Dunedin, which contains many Victorian and Edwardian buildings. It developed due to the 1860s gold rush and used to be the industrial hub of New Zealand, until the opening of the Panama Canal, forced trade further north. The first Europeans on Otago were whalers, who arrived in the 1830s. By 1846, a permanent Scottish settlement had been created, producing cheese and lamb. Now cattle are more popular as there is a huge Chinese export market for dried milk products for baby formula. We see a memorial to Annie Dickenson, who was instrumental in extending the franchise to women. New Zealand was the first country to grant women this right, in 1893. There is also a lime kiln, reminding us of home. The ‘six molars’ is a controversial piece of public art, created at the ‘mouth’ of the river.
The first part of our four activity day, is a drive round Hooper’s Inlet, which is tidal, in search of birds. Paul, our driver and guide is a wildlife photographer and our usual ‘kiss of death’ effect on wildlife seems to be in abeyance today. We get a brilliant view of a kingfisher and also see fantails displaying, pied stilts, oyster catchers, white-faced heron, pukeko and many paradise ducks. The spur-winged plovers, which we also see, came over from Australia in the 1950s.
Next it is off to the only mainland breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses. Taiaroa Head, where the Albatross Colony is situated, was once a barracks and a stone jail still survives. Joel takes us out to see four albatross chicks on their nests. The birds only come to land in order to breed and the incubation period is eighty days. The chicks grow to weigh 9kg, heavier than the adults, before they are forced to lose weight prior to fledging. Their first flight will take them all the way to Chile and it will be about five years before they return to the Otago Peninsula to breed. The adult wing-span is approximately three metres but no adults return to the chicks while we are watching. We also see what is allegedly about 25% of the world’s Otago Shags. We have lunch in the Albatross Centre before moving on to the harbour.
We are loaned super warm jackets for our Monarch Cruise round Otago Harbour. Our guide is enthusing about what a brilliant day this is for seeing albatross in flight and we are informed that we have seen four different varieties. Just don’t ask me to tell one from another. I take a large number of photographs of the sea where there was a flying albatross a split second earlier.
Finally, it is off to the yellow-eyed penguin centre, hoping to see some come ashore. There are thought to be only about 700 yellow-eyed penguins left and numbers have plummeted recently. We walk through tunnels, which took the landowner six years to dig. These keep us out of the penguin’s view. We are told that we will be lucky to see two or three penguins come ashore at this time of year but today is a ‘buy a lottery ticket day’, as we see seven. I guess that means we have seen 1% of the population! There are also some blue penguins and fur seals to spot. We have been allowed to keep the jackets for penguin colony viewing but sadly, have to return them when we are delivered back to our camp site. Just as we are leaving the colony, the rain that has held off all day, begins. It has been a long day but probably the best of the holiday.
For those interested in bird watching, our bird roll call is as follows:- Kingfisher, Pied Stilt, Pukeko, Fantail, Paradise Duck, Mallard, Oyster Catcher, Little Black Shag, Pied Shag, Black-backed Gull, Red-billed Gull, Otago Shag, Black Swan, Spur-winged Plover, White-faced Heron, Australian Harrier Hawk, Dunnock, Blackbird, Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Buller’s Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Australasian Gannet, Cape Petrel, Giant Petrel, Blue Penguin, Yellow-eyed Penguin.
We safely negotiate our way out of Invercargill, where the street names bear testament to the Scottish/Victorian heritage. Keeping a sharp eye out for the maroon triangles that denote the South Scenic Route, we head eastwards. Today there are spells of sunshine amidst the showers, creating impressive rainbows at Fortrose. Many of the cattle are Belted Galloways and I wonder at the logistics of bringing mammals out to New Zealand from Europe by boat. How much food would be required? What would one do with the results of cows/sheep/deer consuming said food?
Our geography field trip continues. We sail up Crooked Arm, which on its own is a similar size to Milford Sound. Today we can enjoy a sound that we can actually see, as the rain stops and there is even occasional sunshine. There are also rainbows, which, inevitably, are not done justice by the photography. The majority of our fellow travellers are American university students. Some are wearing more make-up than I have possessed in a life-time. Others are clad in tee-shirts and thin cardigans – it is three degrees, still others sleep the cruise away. At one point the captain cuts the engine and generator ‘so we can listen to nature’s silence’ for about ten minutes. This was never going to go well, especially as the rain begins again during the process.
We make it back through the tunnel in time, just as snow is beginning to fall. There are a few stops on our way back to Te Anau, including a fruitless Kea hunting stop, a chance to photograph the Mirror Lakes and also to view Lake Te Anau from Te Anau Downs. By this point, the rain has almost stopped and we can actually see not just our hands in front of our faces but the lake as well.
We have been warned that there is to be no photography or noise in the caves, in order not to disturb the glow worms. Experiences whilst penguin watching on our previous visit, suggests that this may not go well. As we disembark, a fantail gives a great display but they don’t stay still for long making photography a challenge. Last night’s rain means that the underground torrents are particularly fast and we have to enter the cave by crouching under a one metre high overhang. After a short walk, we sit on a punt in order to view the worms. The people on our trip were a bit more law abiding than the penguin watchers and it turns out that the worms don’t really mind lights from cameras or noise but this instruction is just a crowd control mechanism.
A shorter journey today, down the 6 to Queenstown. This does involve travelling alongside some rather scary sheer drops. There are plenty more vineyards along this route. Queenstown is by far the largest settlement we have encountered since Christchurch. Although we have a map of the town centre, this does not include the road in which the campsite is situated. Reasoning that Arthur’s Pass Road, Queenstown, should be somewhere between Queenstown and Arthur’s Pass, we head out beyond the town, in search of the site. Our suppositions are vindicated and we locate the site without much trouble.
We head south down the 8, passing through a more barren landscape. We drive through Twizel, a town that grew up round the Hydro-electric industry and along the twists and turns of the Lindis Valley to Cromwell. This town, on the shores of the man-made Lake Dunstan, is in what used to be a gold mining area but is now better known as a wine-growing region. We take a walk round the town, most of which is housing estate and eventually reach the deserted historic quarter, which we remember from our previous visit. I was expecting to need multiple coats, gloves and hats but it is beautifully warm and despite road signs warning us that it is winter, our camper van tells us that the outdoor temperature is 21 degrees, allegedly warmer that it is at home! This is as far south as we reached on our previous visit, so from here onwards we are in uncharted territory.
We stop for refreshment at the top where, allegedly, we encounter the highest postbox in the southern hemisphere. It is a little early to post things home so we don’t make use of it. In an effort to control the caffeine intake, I have a very pleasant ginger, honey and lemon hot drink. There is free water available and my travelling companion offers to get me some while I am waiting for my purchased drink to arrive. The container is empty and whilst attempting to take it to the staff for refilling, he drops it on the floor. Fortunately it bounces. Later a small child, away from watchful parental eyes, turns on the tap at the bottom of this now full water container, so the contents runs all over the carpet. This makes our offence seem trivial.
We leave Methven at 10.25am and the dashboard tells us it is nine degrees outside (for the benefit of those who are more familiar with the other sort of temperature calibrations, about 50 degrees). With the beautiful Southern Alps on our right, we drive down the 77 and 72, crossing the Rangitata River and on to the 79 through Geraldine and Fairlie. Then it is ‘The Starlight Highway’ to Lake Tekapo. I hadn’t realised it when I planned the route but here we are in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. This is allegedly one of the best places in the world to view the night sky. It is pretty stunning by day too, with the autumn-tinted trees reflected in the clear lake. Apparently the glacial ‘rock flour’ gives the water its startling turquoise tinge. The people we speak to in shops, along with the site receptionist, all seem surprised that we are staying for two nights. Does no one normally stop for more than one night? We gather two nights may be a good thing as tomorrow is predicted to be particularly favourable for stargazing. The bad news is that snow is forecast. On this site, we have a premium lakeside pitch, only slightly marred by the boating clubhouse, if you look to the right.
The History Interpreter - Janet Few 