The South Island of New Zealand is always unbelievably beautiful wherever we travel - lots of lush green hills with flocks of sheep or herds of deer, elk or cattle everywhere. There is so much land that is not really habited.
We left the Milford Sound tour bus at Te Anau. En route at one of the rest stops we happened upon a wild destructive parrot. We had learned about this at a sanctuary we had visited and had seen the parrot in a cage. We couldn't believe finding one in the throes of doing damage to a parked vehicle! Everyone tried to scare the bird off, but it was unfazed. Apparently they can actually break the glass of the windshield and then damage the car interior totally if you leave the car parked for some length of time.
The cold and rain continued all night and the next morning as we travelled again by Inter-City coach to Dunedin, our most southern destination. When we arrived, we found our hotel was a most quaint little place right on the main road of Dunedin. It had originally been a doctor's office, then a hospital, and now a hotel for the last seven years. As soon as we checked in, we left immediately to take a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory. The smells were tasty and chocolates of every kind different from those we get in Canada were available for purchase. The factory was not in operation so we just got an abbreviated tour where we saw 2 tonnes of chocolate fall down the height of a grain silo into a stirring barrel and of course got to drive Mr. Cadbury's vehicle!!
In the late afternoon we were scheduled for a boat cruise up the harbour along the Ortaga peninsula, famous for its seal viewings and albatross sightings. The rain would just not let up, so it was a cold outing, but the birds and wildlife did not disappoint, as you will see from the pictures! The albatross have a wing span of six feet - amazing as they steal fish from other fowl and swoop down along the water's surface with the tip of one wing.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny and we were off to Christchurch by rental car. This was Rick's first independent foray onto the highways on the "wrong" side of the road, and he managed wonderfully! We stopped at a little beach where there are some unusual boulders, supposedly done through erosion, and we tried our hand at the newly-acquired skill of perspective once again! It was just so beautiful along the eastern coastline, and we were happy to travel at our own leisure and pace.
The next day was our last visit to Christchurch, to see those things that we had missed the first time around. We spent the morning at the Antarctic Expedition site. This is the point from which all the US and other countries leave for Antarctica via ship with all their supplies. We were lucky to actually see a ship departing! The complex was most informative and we had lots of fun riding on the simulated bombadiers and surviving an Antarctic snowstorm! Like the explorer Scott we planted a flag at the South Pole! And of course we watched the penguins frolicking in the water and being fed!
In the afternoon we headed down to the Arts Centre the Art Gallery and the Botanical Gardens. The day was perfect for a final outdoor luncheon, some shopping and some hiking through incredible rose, orchid, and hydrangea gardens! What a perfect way to end our visit to the South Island!
Wow!! Unbelievably picturesque!!
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