Dunedin, here we come

It was time to move on again, so we drove back over the Presidential Highway again to Clinton, stopping again when something else caught our eye.  Clinton's Clydesdales is a famous five horse sculpture on the main street. It reflects and represents the town's agricultural history. The Scottish Clydesdale draught horse is the gentle giant of the horse world, and was the most popular animal for hauling wagons, and pulling ploughs and other cultivation equipment.  This monument, at Clinton in South Otago, is testament to the debt farmers had to Clydesdales, before they were replaced by trucks and tractors. 

The Clinton Clydesdales

The landscape was gentle rolling farmland, in the typical Otago golden grasslands.  As we drove along many, many motorbikes were heading towards us, roaring by as they made their way to Invercargill and the annual Burt Monroe Challenge.

Rolling countryside

I just love interesting old bridges, and we drove over the Balclutha bowstring bridge, built in 1935 to be earthquake and flood resistant to safeguard  against the two most common natural disasters to occur in southern New Zealand.  THiss bridge, spanning the Clutha River in Balclutha, South Otago, is one of the best-known road bridges in the South Island, and  is often simply known as "The Clutha Bridge".

Balclutha Bridge

Carrying on to Dunedin, 158km later we were at our stop for the next two nights, Woodhaugh NZMCA Park. This is quite small, but has all the necessary facilities, water, dump station and rubbish bins, and is very close indeed to the city.  The rain came down and chased the sunshine away, and the weather turned rather chilly indeed.  Most noticeable after all the sunshine and high temperatures we have had lately. 

Now in Dunedin

The main reason for our visit to this very Scottish city, was to spend time with my old school friend Merilyn and her husband Colin.  We spent an enjoyable afternoon/evening at their home the day we arrived, and the following day they came and collected us to go out for lunch.  But first, they took us for a look around the Otago Settlers Museum.

Dunedin was founded in 1848 by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland.   The city has a rich  Scottish connection. It’s name comes from the Gaelic word for Edinburgh, and Thomas Burns, nephew to famous Scots poet Robert Burns, was among the early settlers.

Museum exhibits

A roast lunch was next, and Colin and Merlyn took us to a local pub.  It was certainly very popular, with most of the tables already reserved, but luckily we managed to find a spare table.  The roast of the day was pork, so that’s what we all ordered, and very tasty it was too.

Me with Merilyn in the pub

.Next we were taken for a drive up to the headland overlooking St Kilda Beach.  But what’s this?  In the carpark beside us were people milling around outside a motor home.  Not only had they locked themselves out, leaving the keys inside, but a baby and toddler were locked inside, and getting rather agitated.  There was nothing we could do to help, and a locksmith was on the way.  Lesson learnt I’m sure, be sure you have the keys in hand when you exit the motorhome! 

We went and peered over the cliff edge at the pretty beach below.  But my goodness, it was blowing a gale, and we could hardly wait to get back inside the car.  Just as well that Robin took his cap off before he stepped outside, otherwise it could have been blown down to Antarctica!.

St Kilda Beach

We enjoyed a final coffee  together at the local garden centre and then  it was time to drop us back at the caravan.  Merilyn and Colin had grand-dog sitting duties to do over the weekend and had to hurry back home.  It was so nice to have such a great catch up with them both, hear all their news, enjoy a lovely meal in their beautiful home, and lunch out the following day.  Old friends are great friends indeed, and Merilyn and I go back to primary schooldays.

Colin and Robin  at coffee time

Three Days in Gore

Time to move on again, so it was goodbye to Manapouri and we headed down SH94 to Gore, 140km trip.  On the way we saw plenty of examples of the farmers “making hay while the sun shines”.  Just as well, as the rain came down later in the day, luckily it is all baled up and covered in plastic wrap.

We had stayed at Gore previously at the A & P Showgrounds, and this time thought we would try a different venue.  So here we are at the Gore Town and Country Club.  It’s a little snug when full, but very good value at $15 a night for a power site.

Gore Town and Country Club

The club restaurant was open that night,  Sunday, but closed the following two nights.  So we decided we would go over for a meal, and hopefully a Sunday Roast would be on the menu.  Sorry, no roast tonight, we were told, so we had a look at the menu and thought again.  Robin chose a steak, no surprises there, but I decided I couldn't face a big main  meal.  So I went with fish chowder (yes, once more) and an entrée of crumbed prawns.  It was all so delicious.

Dinner at T & C Club Restaurant

Gore is an attractive town with tree lined streets and pretty parks.  Named after Governor Gore Browne, it is Southland's second largest town.   It lies on the banks of the Mataura River, famed for its brown trout and is  known as  New Zealand's capital of country music and  the world's capital of brown trout fishing.

Gore, famous for country music and brown trout fishing

Generations of New Zealand children grew up eating Flemings Creamoata porridge for breakfast.  The Flemings "Creamoata Mill" is an iconic local building in town.  Production of all products was moved to Australia in 2001, and Creamoata was discontinued in 2008 after declining sales.  The building's famous "Sgt Dan" remains because rights to it have been purchased by the buildings current owner "Sgt Dan Stockfoods Ltd”, and the  building has a Category I listing with Heritage New Zealand.

Sgt Dan standing tall

We went out exploring one afternoon, driving an oval shaped route from Gore and back through the countryside, a road we hadn’t previously traveled on.  And goodness me, on reaching Clinton we discovered this sign, we had just driven along the Presidential Highway!

This stretch of highway between Clinton and Gore acquired unexpected fame in the 1990s when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were respectively president and vice-president of the United States. When Clinton visited New Zealand in 1999, a photograph of the road sign was presented to him by the United States ambassador, Josiah Beeman.

How about that!

The hot weather has moved on for a while, and we have wet and windy conditions for a few days, it seems.  That is certainly a change from those extra hot temperatures we have been experiencing lately.

Manapouri

It was goodbye after four nights at Te Anau,  just a skip and jump, 24km drive to our next stop at Manapouri. 

Goodbye, Te Anau

We are staying at the Manapouri NZMCA Park, recently purchased by NZMCA.  We can remember staying at this newly opened commercial motor camp back in 2012 when we were on a South Island holiday with several other vans.  Licensed to 50 sites, there is a choice of power or non power, plus toilets, showers, laundry, e-bike charging stations, dump station and rubbish available.  Normal NZMCA rates apply for non power sites,  with extra for power, showers and laundry and e-bike charging.

It was reasonably quiet when we arrived, but with the long Waitangi weekend coming up, the caretaker told us he was expecting the camp to fill up very quickly.  And it did, one after another the vans kept rolling in.

Manapouri NZMCA Park

Manapouri derives its name from a Maori word meaning “lake of the sorrowing heart,” with reference to a legend that its waters are the tears of dying sisters.  It is situated in the World Heritage Site Fiordland National Park, with fiords and lakes all carved out by ancient glaciers.

Lake Manapouri

Those of us with long memories will remember in the 1970s when a plan was proposed to raise the level of Lake Manapouri by 12m to provide more water storage for the Lake Manapouri Power Station.  The prospect of irreparable damage to this most beautiful lake outraged New Zealanders, leading to a nationwide protest and a huge petition presented to Parliament.  Eventfully the idea was scrapped, and meanwhile John Hanlon’s song “Damn the Dam” became the rallying call to stop the travesty.

  Damn the dam cried the fantail,
  As he flew into as he flew into the sky,
  To give power to the people
  All this beauty has to die…

Down at the lakeside is a monument showing just how high the water would have been raised if the plan had gone ahead.  You can see the lake in the distance.

“Manapouri Saved”

We have stayed here before so I was aware of the name “Pearl Habour” just out of town where the boat trips leave from.  By why this name, I wondered?  We called into the Info Centre/booking office to find out.  Seems that the name was given to the harbour soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941 when during a particularly  low tide many of the boats were found laying on their sides in the mud as if they had been attacked.

Pearl Habour, New Zealand

Fellow campers had recommended The Church café/bistro in town, so we took ourselves there for Saturday lunch, and what a lovely place it was.   Originally Otautau St Andrews Anglican Church St Andrews, this lovely old building was re-sited at Manapouri and found a new purpose in life.  We were joined at our table by another caravanning couple, who, like us, didn't want to eat a meal perched up on bar stools.  Sad to say, but at our age, a dining table and chairs suit us much better.  I’m pleased we arrived early, as family groups soon arrived to fill the place.  Our meals were very tasty indeed, I’m so pleased we came.

Lunch at The Church

I love the misty mountains in this area

Another Day, Another Cruise

While in Te Anau we decided to book another cruise  to visit the Te Anau Glowworm Caves.  Way back in the mists of time (about 35 years ago) we did this same cruise after the completion of our four day Milford Track walk, we were much younger and fitter then, of course.  I must admit I couldn't really remember too much about it after all this time, just vague memories of a boat ride there, and a boat ride through the caves.  The trip was leaving at 4.30pm so we had a lazy day relaxing in camp, then drove down town to find a car park.  There were plenty of people milling about – the boat arrived at the wharf, disgorged the passengers from an earlier trip, and our group climbed aboard.

The trip took us for a 30 minute cruise to the western shores of Lake Te Anau. After the necessary safely briefing we had a commentary pointing out places of interest as we cruised along. 

View along the way

On arrival we walked up to Cavern House.  There was a full contingent of 72 people, and we were split into groups of twelve, and away we went into the cave for a guided tour.

No photos are allowed in the caves, and when in the boat, we must be silent, we were told, otherwise the glowworms take fright and their lights go out!  Luckily there were handrails to help us walk through the cave, and in some parts we had to bend our head and shoulders to get under the low ceiling!  That was a bit tricky.  What I had forgotten was just how loud the rushing water was in the cave, it was so noisy the guide had to shout to get her messages across.  The rushing water exited the caves, and our boat ride thankfully took us across still waters deep inside the caves.  With just a torch to guide us as we clambered into the small boat and then we moved slowly along in silence and complete darkness.  And there they were, tiny dots of light on the roof of the cave, certainly a sight to behold.  The boats have no motors and our guide told us later that she moves the boat along, standing in the front and  pulling on a chain, all in complete darkness. 

From the brochure

After our cave experience we walked back through the wet cave, water drip, drip, dripping down on us, to return to Cavern House where we helped ourselves to a hot cuppa and listened to a presentation on the life of a glowworm.  The pair of us found the cave trip a little uncomfortable with many steps and having to bend to scuttle along under the low ceilings.  Robin also had a problem with bending his knee to get into the boat, but we were certainly pleased we had repeated the trip after all these years.

On our return to shore  we decided to take ourselves out for dinner to the Te Anau Club after our wonderful trip and as it was our last night in Te Anau.  A  beer for him and a bottle of bubbly for her while we waited for our orders to arrive.  The meals were huge, neither of us could finish them.  It had been a great afternoon.

Meal out at the Te Anau Club

Big Day Out

Our  recent longer drives and one night stop-overs were because we were making our way to Te Anau to tick an item off our bucket list.  Arriving on Sunday, we are staying four nights at NZMCA Te Anau Alpine Park.

Staying at Te Anau

On Monday we booked a Southern Discoveries coach trip from Te Anau to Milford which included a cruise through Milford Sound plus a visit to the Underwater Observatory. 

There were several photo stops on the way up, the first being the Eglington Valley. 

Eglington Valley

The next photo stop was at the very pretty Mirror Lakes.  The lakes were just off the roadside, and it was a nice easy 5 minute  boardwalk there and back.  People everywhere, we certainly weren’t the only bus in the car park.

Mirror Lakes

Monkey Creek was the next photo stop, and the passengers were encouraged to fill up their water bottles with the cool, clear water from the creek.  It was so named by William Homer (of Homer tunnel fame) way back in the late 1880s when his dog Monkey splashed about in the creek.  The coach driver kindly took out photo for us.

Monkey Creek

There were roadworks on the way, and we passed workmen and a large machine slicing into the road as they were laying fibre cable for internet.  At the moment this is a black spot for internet coverage.

I was looking forward to going through Homer Tunnel.  It is 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long, and was  opened in 1953. State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown, by piercing the Darran Mountains at the Homer Saddle.  William Homer and George Barber discovered the Homer Saddle in 1889, and Homer suggested that a tunnel through the saddle would provide access to the Milford area.  Government workers began the tunnel in 1935  The tunnel and the associated Milford Road were built by relief workers during the Depression.  The men had to live in tents in a mountainous area where there might be no direct sunlight for half of the year.   Progress was slow, with difficult conditions, and work was also interrupted by World War II, and an avalanche in 1945 which destroyed the eastern tunnel portal. These problems delayed the tunnel's completion and it was finally opened in 1953.

So there we were, waiting at the red traffic  signal to start our trip through the single lane  tunnel.  And out the other side where we drove under an avalanche shelter, certainly a danger on parts of this road.

The Homer Tunnel

Milford wasn’t quite what I expected, I must say, not much there except a hotel, car parks, and a large Visitors Centre.  Several excursion boats were moored up, and we followed the crowd to board our one.  After a welcome and safely briefing we were on our way.

Lady Bowen

Most people had rushed upstairs to sit on the outside deck, but we secured a table downstairs under cover.  First things first, we redeemed the ticket for our picnic lunch.  Wonder what was in them?  We were pleasantly surprised – sandwiches, two pieces of fruit, cheese and crackers, small bag of chippies and a Whittakers chocolate Sante Bar.  There was plenty of help yourself tea and coffee available too.  We ate the sandwiches, cheese and crackers and a mandarin each, and took the rest back to the van for later.

Picnic lunch box

Nothing says Milford Sound more than the iconic Mitre Peak, named by Captain John Lort Stokes of HMS Acheron in 1851, who found it’s shape reminiscent of the mitre headwear of Christian bishops. The Māori name for the peak is Rahotu, and the mountain is 1683m high.  The Captain pointed out places of interest and wildlife  as we cruised along, as we gazed at awe at the shear granite cliffs, then taking us right out to the entrance of Tasman Sea.  

Mitre Peak and a view from the stern

A medium sized cruise ship passed by as we traveled along, and the Captain commented that much bigger ones make their way into the Sounds too. Waterfalls abound, and the Captain nosed into Stirling Falls, giving those on the bow quite a splashing.  Never mind, getting drenched is meant to make you look 10 years younger, we were told.

Stirling Falls

On the way back we stopped at Underwater Observatory, one of the highlights of the trip.  The Underwater Observatory was built in 1995. The construction project involved building the viewing chamber in 3 sections in Invercargill and assembling them in Bluff. This unique floating underwater observatory is the only one of it’s kind in New Zealand.   After an interesting talk about the facility and wildlife we descended the spiral staircase to 10m beneath the water – 50 steps down. 

There were lots of viewing windows, and we all moved around, checking out the marine life.  And to see the black coral, which is actually white.  The fish swimming nearby are not fed, they are just going about their business, and no doubt looking in the windows at all these strange creatures looking out.

Black coral and fish life 10m down

Cruising back to the dock, we all disembarked and made our way to our bus.  This was a non stop ride back to Te Anau and I’m sure several were nodding off as we drove along.  And why not, it had certainly been a big day out, from 10.30am to 6.30pm with lots of lovely sights along the way.  It was a great trip indeed, we would certainly recommend it.