Thurs. 10-10-13 Dunedin
Onward and upward ! It took us about four hours to drive to Dunedin. Gavin became excited when he saw signs for a moonshine museum so off we went. As the whole trip has been, the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Dunedin late afternoon. I think ol’ Gavin was sad that his vacation was over, but Rhys was back in town ! Rhys the professional guide stopped by. I asked Rhys if he had the new van with him, he told us had used it for his family during the funeral activites, and that it had to go in to get some adjusting, - very big uuugghhh we are all so tired of the old van. Tomorrow we scheduled for a tour of a penguin colony, then onto to tour an albatross colony. Ryhs informed us that the Albatross colony had closed due to breeding – hhmmpphhh where had I heard this before ? He suggested that instead of going to the penguins, we take the half ay trip on the Taieri Gorge train, so the train it is. Rhys was unable to give us any suggestions for dinner so we went out and ate at a spot D & D had found earlier in their wandering a about. For whatever Gavin was or was not, we are actually missing him - he really did do some off the beaten trail things with us, and had great suggestions of things to do and places to see. Up this AM to a cold day, snowing in the northern part of the island. Rhys piched us up and brought is to the railroad station. We already had enough of Rhys, so we told him just to meet us the next day and we would figure the rest of the day out our own. Both the railway and the Dunedin railroad station were built in the 1800’s. There was a lot of craftsmanship in the railroad building of stained glass, woodwork and tile mosaics. We boarded the train and our car was half adults and half screaming kids – how long can this blasted school vacation be ?! We were enjoying a very scenic trip through the woods, fields and a gorge when it started to rain, the rain turned to snow, then out of nowhere the train came to a jolting stop ! The conductor then came on line and told us that we would be stopped for “a wee while” as apparently we had wiped out a herd of cattle that were on the track. The conductor said they were in the process of trying to find the farmer. It was somewhat amusing that we then were informed not to worry because the buffet was now open – perhaps beef on the menu? I did not look at what happened but Jon did and reported there was one cow on the side flopping around and banging his head on the train, another cow had gone over the cliff and was flopping around in the tree tops below, and there were dead cows on the track. With all this time on our hands we did write a new verse to the Chattanooga Choo Choo song – “Pardon me boys – is that the train that killed the cows – Moo Moo ! “ About ten minutes later we were informed they had found the farmer who would be arriving shortly with a back ho to get the cows off the track and we would be on our way. They cleared the track, we continued on about another 15 minutes until we reached the point to turn around. They moved the engine from the front of the train to the back of the train for out return. It was not a pretty sight to see the cow guts all over the front of the train which required the staff to throw buckets of water on the train to wash the cows off. We got home later than expected and it was raining so we scrapped our plans to tour the Cadbury chocolate factory and the Speigths Brewery, and headed straight for the pub at the Speights brewery. Tonight we were on our own again to figure out where to go so with the help of Tripadvisor we ended up at a rally great Italian restaurant. We head to Oamaru tomorrow and since our professional guide had no idea about it, we also have mapped out some things to do there once we arrive.
Onward and upward ! It took us about four hours to drive to Dunedin. Gavin became excited when he saw signs for a moonshine museum so off we went. As the whole trip has been, the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Dunedin late afternoon. I think ol’ Gavin was sad that his vacation was over, but Rhys was back in town ! Rhys the professional guide stopped by. I asked Rhys if he had the new van with him, he told us had used it for his family during the funeral activites, and that it had to go in to get some adjusting, - very big uuugghhh we are all so tired of the old van. Tomorrow we scheduled for a tour of a penguin colony, then onto to tour an albatross colony. Ryhs informed us that the Albatross colony had closed due to breeding – hhmmpphhh where had I heard this before ? He suggested that instead of going to the penguins, we take the half ay trip on the Taieri Gorge train, so the train it is. Rhys was unable to give us any suggestions for dinner so we went out and ate at a spot D & D had found earlier in their wandering a about. For whatever Gavin was or was not, we are actually missing him - he really did do some off the beaten trail things with us, and had great suggestions of things to do and places to see. Up this AM to a cold day, snowing in the northern part of the island. Rhys piched us up and brought is to the railroad station. We already had enough of Rhys, so we told him just to meet us the next day and we would figure the rest of the day out our own. Both the railway and the Dunedin railroad station were built in the 1800’s. There was a lot of craftsmanship in the railroad building of stained glass, woodwork and tile mosaics. We boarded the train and our car was half adults and half screaming kids – how long can this blasted school vacation be ?! We were enjoying a very scenic trip through the woods, fields and a gorge when it started to rain, the rain turned to snow, then out of nowhere the train came to a jolting stop ! The conductor then came on line and told us that we would be stopped for “a wee while” as apparently we had wiped out a herd of cattle that were on the track. The conductor said they were in the process of trying to find the farmer. It was somewhat amusing that we then were informed not to worry because the buffet was now open – perhaps beef on the menu? I did not look at what happened but Jon did and reported there was one cow on the side flopping around and banging his head on the train, another cow had gone over the cliff and was flopping around in the tree tops below, and there were dead cows on the track. With all this time on our hands we did write a new verse to the Chattanooga Choo Choo song – “Pardon me boys – is that the train that killed the cows – Moo Moo ! “ About ten minutes later we were informed they had found the farmer who would be arriving shortly with a back ho to get the cows off the track and we would be on our way. They cleared the track, we continued on about another 15 minutes until we reached the point to turn around. They moved the engine from the front of the train to the back of the train for out return. It was not a pretty sight to see the cow guts all over the front of the train which required the staff to throw buckets of water on the train to wash the cows off. We got home later than expected and it was raining so we scrapped our plans to tour the Cadbury chocolate factory and the Speigths Brewery, and headed straight for the pub at the Speights brewery. Tonight we were on our own again to figure out where to go so with the help of Tripadvisor we ended up at a rally great Italian restaurant. We head to Oamaru tomorrow and since our professional guide had no idea about it, we also have mapped out some things to do there once we arrive.
Jon sampling the moonshine at the moonshine museum/factory
Interestingly, not only are there sheep farms and cattle farms, there are also deer farms everywhere with tall fences to keep the deer from jumping out and running away
Gardens at the Olverson house in Dunedin
Jon and I - dinner in Dunedin
Dorothy and Dick
As soon as I saw that we would be filling our desserts with these syringes - I knew mayhem would follow - Dorothy and Dick show us how it is done
We went for the direct inject
Downtown Dunedin
Rhyce, Dorothy, me and Jon at the train station
Chugging along the Taieri Gorge
Taieri Gorge
Jon and Dorothy
All aboard……...
This shepard dog's name was Sue
The front of the train is covered with cow splatterings
Just wash those cows right off of the train
Liquid relaxation - D and D
Dorothy's face says it all - did I mention it was school vacation week ??!!
Downtown Dunedin
Jon - beer sampling at the Speight's Brewery
Dorothy and Dick at Speights
Sunset at Dunedin
Sat. PM 10-12-13, Christchurch
Friday up and north to Oamaru. As noted, Rhys had not been there before so we were winging it a bit (Something new and different for this whole tour). It was a pretty ride through the country side, except for the person in the way back who could only see out of one side of the car. We stopped to see the Moeraki boulders best explained: “The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden. They occur scattered either as isolated or clusters of boulders within a stretch of beach where they have been protected in a scientific reserve. The erosion by wave action of mudstone, comprising local bedrock and landslides, frequently exposes embedded isolated boulders. These boulders are grey-colored septarian concretions, which have been exhumed from the mudstone enclosing them and concentrated on the beach by coastal erosion. Local Māori legends explained the boulders as the remains of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara washed ashore from the wreck of Arai-te-uru, a large sailing canoe. This legend tells of the rocky shoals that extend seaward from Shag Point as being the petrified hull of this wreck and a nearby rocky promontory as being the body of the canoe's captain.” Next on to Oamaru. “Oamaru is a gorgeous harbour town centrally located on the South Island’s east coast 3 hours south of Christchurch or 90 minutes north of Dunedin. Visitors can explore museums, shops and galleries within some of New Zealand’s best 19th century architecture. With one of the country’s oldest public gardens, two penguin colonies, four golf courses and many walking and cycling trails there are plenty of opportunities to experience nature at its best. Oamaru has a very proud heritage which is told through the Victorian Precinct and tours at a variety of locations in town.” On route I told Rhys we did not want to stay at another Beauty Feel. He told me it was already booked – I guess that was the end of that story. We checked in, had lunch on the waterfront then wandered about town. It was a wonderful Victorian town that seemed like all had stopped in time. The architecture was spectacular and there were little streets full interesting shops and galleries. They also had a steam punk museum that closed when we arrived, but we were able to enjoy several animated displays they had outside. We had dinner in town that night – which consistently served chips with all meals, and all looked forward to the fact that Sat. would be our last day of riding in the dreaded van! Sat. we finished up our tour with Rhys – can I hear an AMEN ! He brought us to our hotel, and our last touring was for Rhys to bring us on a city tour to see some of the earthquake destruction of Christchurch. Rhys actually lived in Christchurch and said he had knowledge about it. After e dropped out luggage off we returned to the van. Rhys told us D & D had decided to head out on their own – we cod not get out of it at that point, but also could not blame D & D for their tactical maneuvering. The damage from the earthquakes was overwhelming, and the earthquakes were over one year ago ! The city is still rebuilding. We went to the coast where houses were literally hanging off of cliffs where the foundations had fallen away during the earthquakes. We shortened up the tour, assured Rhys we would find our own way to the train statin and said our final good bye. D & D were apologetic for the switch and bait, but I figure we are still lucky they are even talking to us after this most interesting ten day tour. D & D will be returning home on Monday. Tomorrow, Sunday we head to the North Island of New Zealand for a week.
Friday up and north to Oamaru. As noted, Rhys had not been there before so we were winging it a bit (Something new and different for this whole tour). It was a pretty ride through the country side, except for the person in the way back who could only see out of one side of the car. We stopped to see the Moeraki boulders best explained: “The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden. They occur scattered either as isolated or clusters of boulders within a stretch of beach where they have been protected in a scientific reserve. The erosion by wave action of mudstone, comprising local bedrock and landslides, frequently exposes embedded isolated boulders. These boulders are grey-colored septarian concretions, which have been exhumed from the mudstone enclosing them and concentrated on the beach by coastal erosion. Local Māori legends explained the boulders as the remains of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara washed ashore from the wreck of Arai-te-uru, a large sailing canoe. This legend tells of the rocky shoals that extend seaward from Shag Point as being the petrified hull of this wreck and a nearby rocky promontory as being the body of the canoe's captain.” Next on to Oamaru. “Oamaru is a gorgeous harbour town centrally located on the South Island’s east coast 3 hours south of Christchurch or 90 minutes north of Dunedin. Visitors can explore museums, shops and galleries within some of New Zealand’s best 19th century architecture. With one of the country’s oldest public gardens, two penguin colonies, four golf courses and many walking and cycling trails there are plenty of opportunities to experience nature at its best. Oamaru has a very proud heritage which is told through the Victorian Precinct and tours at a variety of locations in town.” On route I told Rhys we did not want to stay at another Beauty Feel. He told me it was already booked – I guess that was the end of that story. We checked in, had lunch on the waterfront then wandered about town. It was a wonderful Victorian town that seemed like all had stopped in time. The architecture was spectacular and there were little streets full interesting shops and galleries. They also had a steam punk museum that closed when we arrived, but we were able to enjoy several animated displays they had outside. We had dinner in town that night – which consistently served chips with all meals, and all looked forward to the fact that Sat. would be our last day of riding in the dreaded van! Sat. we finished up our tour with Rhys – can I hear an AMEN ! He brought us to our hotel, and our last touring was for Rhys to bring us on a city tour to see some of the earthquake destruction of Christchurch. Rhys actually lived in Christchurch and said he had knowledge about it. After e dropped out luggage off we returned to the van. Rhys told us D & D had decided to head out on their own – we cod not get out of it at that point, but also could not blame D & D for their tactical maneuvering. The damage from the earthquakes was overwhelming, and the earthquakes were over one year ago ! The city is still rebuilding. We went to the coast where houses were literally hanging off of cliffs where the foundations had fallen away during the earthquakes. We shortened up the tour, assured Rhys we would find our own way to the train statin and said our final good bye. D & D were apologetic for the switch and bait, but I figure we are still lucky they are even talking to us after this most interesting ten day tour. D & D will be returning home on Monday. Tomorrow, Sunday we head to the North Island of New Zealand for a week.
Jon and Dorothy at the Moeraki boulders
Moeraki boulders
And we arrive at another Beauty Feel - note the sign at this one - "We only look expensive" that is a stretch !
Jon going nowhere fast
Victorian architecture throughout Oamaru
Coastline at Oamaru
Just because I can
More of the old section of Oamaru
Heading to Christchurch
A happy Jon sitting in the front seat with Rhyse
These were some hungry babies
They flew missions out of Christchurch to Antartica - Anartica is also on my bucket list
Still lots of damage and repairs going on from the earthquakes last year
Example of the damage to this church
Houses teetering on the cliff side
Christchurch coastline
Christchurch coastline
Our last dinner together for this adventure - Jon Susan Dick and Dorothy. I will get to planning our next adventure soon, hope D and D will still be willing after this whole experience !