Christchurch - Dunedin - Te Anau
Travelling involves making decisions. We can’t do and see everything, but we try nonetheless. The past few days, we’ve journeyed across the southern part of New Zealand, which many people consider the best place for nature lovers. Because of the short time we have in the south, we will have to travel fast. In the past week, we visited different cities and drove long hours. So buckle up for a fast story about what we have done so far.
We began our trip in Christchurch, a city that feels surprisingly familiar even though it’s on the other side of the world. The temperature reminded us of a Belgian summer, and the city has a distinctly European vibe. It feels youthful, artistic, and cosy. You can stroll or sit by the river, admire various artworks, wander through the botanical gardens, enjoy some excellent food, and take a ride on an old tram. We would have loved to stay a bit longer, but we had to move on to the next destination.
In the middle of the South Island lies Lake Tekapo. A Crystal clear blue lake surrounded by mountains. The beautiful blue colour comes from glacial meltwater from the mountain peaks. We arrived in the late afternoon and saw the warm red glow of the sunset reflecting off the mountains. Tekapo is also famous for stargazing, thanks to its minimal light pollution. The first time I, Arnaud, went to see the stars but the moon was too bright, so I got back in bed and set the alarm at 3 AM. It’s not a randomly picked hour, according to a convenient website, the moonset was around that time. Waking up at that hour wasn’t easy, but stepping outside to a sky full of stars was worth every effort. I tried to capture it, but it was magnificent to see the galaxy with the naked eye!
The next morning, we started our first hike in New Zealand to the top of Mount John to get a panoramic, but windy view of the lake. The difference in colour between lake Tekapo and the smaller lake next to it is fascinating to see.
Going even further south, we arrived in Dunedin. A harbour city that Arnaud wanted to visit for mostly one big reason, albatrosses. Taiaroa Head is home to the only mainland albatross colony in the world. Specifically a royal albatross colony, the biggest kind. They can have a wingspan of 3 meters! Knowing this was our only chance to see these giant birds without taking a boat, we took it. Especially Delphine was happy with this opportunity. These birds are magnificent! Getting to know them and seeing them fly, makes us appreciate them even more. Did you know that albatrosses mate for life? Every two years, they reunite with their partner to raise a chick (which takes a year), then spend the next year apart at sea. It is crazy! After that they come back to each other a do the same. How cute! When the chick is old enough and learns to fly, it takes off, glides above the water and immediatly leaves for 6 years until going back to their birthplace.
These are not the only animals that live in Dunedin. Two kinds of penguins come here to breed. The fairy or blue penguins like we saw in Australia and the yellow-eyed penguin. We didn’t spot them but found something else, seals! Tens of fur seals were enjoying the sun on the rocks. Can you find all the seals in the photo? Next to that we also saw a sea lion making its way to the sea. Fun fact: sea lions in this area often venture far inland to rest, and it’s not uncommon for locals to find one in their backyard!
Dunedin is also known for something less natural but equally fascinating: the world’s steepest street, Baldwin Street. Of course, we had to see it for ourselves! It is truly very steep and hard to capture on camera. Naturallu, we walked to the top and back.
Again, we had to go to our next stop, Te Anau, a small village at the edge of the Fiordland region. The perfect stay to explore the mountains and fiords. There are only a few options that are reachable by car and we went for Milford Sound. It is one of the smaller fiords with a length of only 14km, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t impressive. Getting there was also easy because there is only one road with plenty of views along the way, which makes driving back on the same road just as interesting. Because the kayak company needed to train specifically on the two days we were there, we had no other choice than to take a cruise to explore the fiords. Delphine was stressed to get seasick and was prepared with medication and a plan B. Luckily, the sea was very calm, so we both could enjoy the breathtaking views and did not need to make use of plan B. Maybe also a short explanation of what a fiord is. It’s a U-shaped valley that was created by a glacier over a period of thousands of years. If you’re interested, start reading on the internet, you’ll end up in a rabbit hole quickly. On the way back we stopped at some places to capture the beautiful views and were greeted by the kea, a beautiful alpine parrot.
The day after, we went back on that same road towards Milford Sound, but this time to do the Key Summit hike. A hike where it should be possible to see multiple mountain tops and views of existing smaller glaciers. Arriving at the parking lot we noticed a rain cloud above us. Hopeful it would pass, we took our rain clothes and started walking. If you were wondering if you get wet when you walk through a rain cloud, the answer is yes. Already preparing ourselves to have no views at all when reaching the top and getting completely drenched, we kept going. As Arnaud says: once you commit, you have to finish it. We reached the top and had some information panels, which gave us an idea of what views we should have had. It would have been beautiful! Luckily, the rain stopped when we started going back down, and the sun was shining again on the parking lot.
It also came to our attention that there is a lot of graffiti in New Zealand, and it is not the amateurish kind. Many walls in the streets are covered with beautiful art pieces. There are also painted electricity cabinets all over the South Island. Ideal to start a new collection next to the manhole covers from Japan.
