Today we saw off some more stray friends, Sophie, Zac and Ste who had hired a compervan to complete their travelling around New Zealand.
We spent the afternoon looking around the modern chirstchurch Art Gallery. Unfortunantly the exhibition on the Antarctic had already gone, but we looked around the rest of the gallery. There were a few exhibitions by local artists as well as token romantic European paintings.
On our last full day in New Zealand we spent the day preparing for Asia by getting a few last min bits and bobs from the warehouse and changing some of our money into Thai Baht. On the way back to the hotel we had a nice surprise as we bumped into 3 England Rugby Players, (they have a match against the All Blacks in Christchurch at the weekend.) Andrew said one of them was Andy Sheridan and another was Graham Roundtree! We spent the evening with a few stray people watching the Euro 2008 replays in a massive sports bar. We had any early night as our flight was very early in the morning and we had a full day of flying to get to Bangkok.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Christchurch - Day 2 & 3
We got up late today as Andrew had a bit too much to drink last night and was feeling a hungover It was a sunny afternoon so we headed to the Botanical Gardens, which were very picturesque and well kept with a nice setting of the River Avon. The indoor tropical plant house was really good, with special exhibitions on cactus and orchids. In the evening we got a take away curry as it was Adam and Kerrys last night in New Zealand, before they headed over Oz.
This morning we saw off Adam and Kerry in the morning and then headed into town to do some shopping. We popped into the Cathedral for a quick look around. The Cathedral was lovely, quite simple in its design and relatively small compared to Cathedrals at home but it was well worth the visit.
This morning we saw off Adam and Kerry in the morning and then headed into town to do some shopping. We popped into the Cathedral for a quick look around. The Cathedral was lovely, quite simple in its design and relatively small compared to Cathedrals at home but it was well worth the visit.
Christchurch - Day 1
We travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch on an automic bus which took about 5 and a half hours travelling up the east coast. These buses are similar to National Express but alot cheaper, it only cost us about $35 each for the journey. When we arrived in Christchurch we opted to stay in a cheap hostel where some of our friends from Stray were staying. The dorm rooms were only $15 each. The hotel Stonehurst was very big a quite dated but for the money we couldn't complain.
On our first full day in christchurch we headed to the Arts Centre with Sophie as at the weeekends there is a big outdoor craft market. Inside there was some interesting shops selling locally made produce including a honey and brandy spirit with gold leaf in which we tried and it was very yummy.
In a similar way to Dunedin, Christchurch has a very arty and alternative feel, with alot of second hand book shops and backstreet cafes and bars aswell as small cinemas and theatres. Christchurch is very similar to England and it really reminded us of being at home \. There was even a River Avon with punting on it! We went out to watch the All Blacks play England at a bar called Dux De Lux which had abig outdoor screen. The match was being played in Auckland and it was a shame we lost 37-20. After the rugby we headed out to some clubs in the town centre.
On our first full day in christchurch we headed to the Arts Centre with Sophie as at the weeekends there is a big outdoor craft market. Inside there was some interesting shops selling locally made produce including a honey and brandy spirit with gold leaf in which we tried and it was very yummy.
In a similar way to Dunedin, Christchurch has a very arty and alternative feel, with alot of second hand book shops and backstreet cafes and bars aswell as small cinemas and theatres. Christchurch is very similar to England and it really reminded us of being at home \. There was even a River Avon with punting on it! We went out to watch the All Blacks play England at a bar called Dux De Lux which had abig outdoor screen. The match was being played in Auckland and it was a shame we lost 37-20. After the rugby we headed out to some clubs in the town centre.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Dunedin Day 4 - Museum and Art Gallery
Our final day in Dunedin, the weather was a bit drab so we decided to do the cultural thing and visit the highly recommended Otago Museum and Dunedin Public Art gallery. We went into an interesting exhibition on Leonardo Da Vinci's machines in the museum and then wondered around the paintings in the art gallery - both were well presented and interesting. One thing we have noticed about most of the galleries in NZ is that they seem to disply very little in the way of art done by New Zealanders. We accept that NZ doesn't have a history as long and fruitful as the Europe, but they seem to fill most of their galleries with 17th century Italian and Dutch romantic paintings! Ah well, perhaps the NZ art just isn't up to scratch!
Dunedin Day 3 - Otago Peninsula Nature Tour
Another great day out around Dunedin, today we headed down to another Dunedin institution - The Cadbury Chocolate Factory! New Zealnad seems to have similar chocolate habits to England, and although the Cadbury's seems to taste slightly different here, it is nice to have a bit of Dairy Milk every once in a while! Our tour was fun and friendly and we got lots of free chocolate to gorge on! Cadbury's bought the main chocolate factory here about 60 years ago and their chocolate has been popular in NZ ever since. The factory is much more modern than the Speights Brewery, but not all that big even though they export choclate all over the world!
After a spot of lunch, we heading back into town to be pickd up for a trip out to the Otago Peninsula - renowned for someof the best wildlife in NZ. The peninsula is only a 20 min drive from the city, but again feels detatched from any civilisation. our first stop was the Royal Albatross Centre - home to the largest birds in the world. Unfortunately due to the time of year and prevailing weather conditions, we didn't spot any of the monsters in the sky (we were by no means guaranteesd to see any anyway) there are only a few living on this peninsula anyway! Next we headed round to a piece of farmland with private acces and headed down to the waterside to see some seals sunbathing on the rocks. From here we were also able to spot loads of other species of albatross circling the choppy waters out to sea. Next we headed over to another long secluded beach to the highlight of the trip... a chance to get up-close-and-personal with some sealions and yellow eyes penguins! The conditions were perfect, and just as the sun was setting we were surrounded by about 20 huge sealions playfighting on the beach. They were quite oblivious to our presence, but we had to make a dash for it when their 'playfighting' brought them over into our direction! As we carried on along the beach, we were able to spot half a dozen yellow eyed penguins (the second rarest species of penguin in the world) as they headed back from a full day at sea. These penguins only live in theis partof NZ and no where else in the world, so we were quite lucky to spot them. After a great day of nature spotting, we headed back towards Dunedin as the sun was setting.
After a spot of lunch, we heading back into town to be pickd up for a trip out to the Otago Peninsula - renowned for someof the best wildlife in NZ. The peninsula is only a 20 min drive from the city, but again feels detatched from any civilisation. our first stop was the Royal Albatross Centre - home to the largest birds in the world. Unfortunately due to the time of year and prevailing weather conditions, we didn't spot any of the monsters in the sky (we were by no means guaranteesd to see any anyway) there are only a few living on this peninsula anyway! Next we headed round to a piece of farmland with private acces and headed down to the waterside to see some seals sunbathing on the rocks. From here we were also able to spot loads of other species of albatross circling the choppy waters out to sea. Next we headed over to another long secluded beach to the highlight of the trip... a chance to get up-close-and-personal with some sealions and yellow eyes penguins! The conditions were perfect, and just as the sun was setting we were surrounded by about 20 huge sealions playfighting on the beach. They were quite oblivious to our presence, but we had to make a dash for it when their 'playfighting' brought them over into our direction! As we carried on along the beach, we were able to spot half a dozen yellow eyed penguins (the second rarest species of penguin in the world) as they headed back from a full day at sea. These penguins only live in theis partof NZ and no where else in the world, so we were quite lucky to spot them. After a great day of nature spotting, we headed back towards Dunedin as the sun was setting.
Tuesday 10th June - Dunedin
Today we met up with Dave in a small vegetarian cafe in town and spent an hour or so catching up - we explained everything that we had done since we last saw him. He was eager to get us out of the town and take us to see some nice spots in the countryside around his home town of Dunedin. Since we were booked on a nature tour along the Otago Peninsula the next day, he decided to take us for a drive in his 4x4 up the coast to North Dunedin, through the town of Port Chalmers to the village of Punakaike., where he is in the process of building a brand new house overlooking a tiny secluded bay. The scenery here is less dramatic than most of Otago, Westland and Fjordland but is equally beautiful. The rolling hills and secluded beaches are reminiscent of Cornwall only slightly colder! The beauty of this area is that despite being only 20mins from Dunedin city, it feels tranquil and a million miles from anywhere. The little fishing bays and coves are dotted all along the coast and are untouched by tourism and its discontents. Dave spent another couple of hours taking us to pretty little beaches with not a soul to be seen, it was a great day too (if a little windy), so all in all it was great to meet up with Dave and great to see some beautiful spots around Dunedin that we would never normally have been able to see.
We arrived back at the hostel in time to make some tea, and then headed across town to the Speights Brewery - a famous NZ beer, we thought we just could miss the opportunity to have a look round! For about 15NZ dollars each we were taken on a tour of the brewery, given information on the history of the company and told why it is one of Nz's favourite beers. They call it ale over here, but really its more like what we would call bitter back home- drinkable, nonetheless! We were suprised to learn that the brewery was really quite small and that they still use mainly all original barrels and storage units from the 19th century! The best part of course was the beer tasting at the end of the tour where we were basically given free reign to try the 7 different brands of beer they produce at Speights!
We arrived back at the hostel in time to make some tea, and then headed across town to the Speights Brewery - a famous NZ beer, we thought we just could miss the opportunity to have a look round! For about 15NZ dollars each we were taken on a tour of the brewery, given information on the history of the company and told why it is one of Nz's favourite beers. They call it ale over here, but really its more like what we would call bitter back home- drinkable, nonetheless! We were suprised to learn that the brewery was really quite small and that they still use mainly all original barrels and storage units from the 19th century! The best part of course was the beer tasting at the end of the tour where we were basically given free reign to try the 7 different brands of beer they produce at Speights!
Monday 9th June - Queenstown to Dunedin
Having spent quite a bit of time with the Stray bus, we decided to take a regular bus east across to the historic town of Dunedin where we were planning to meet up with Dave, one of our leaders from our time up in Auckland with CVNZ. The bus left early from Queenstown and we arrived in Dunedin at around lunchtime after a 4 hour trip across central Otago. Our hostel was slap bang in the middle of town, a stones through from the cathederal and lots of local shops an cafes. Dunedin has a nice feel to it as there is a large student population and people here are renowned for being a bit arty and alternative. The architecture is much older than almost anything we have seen in New Zealand and has a real Scottish feel to it. Infact we learned that 'Dunedin' is gaellic for Edinburgh - and was named when the first Scottish settlers arrived in the late 18th/ early 19th century.
Central Backpackers is probably the best hostel we have stayed in so far on our trip to date. There is only around 30 beds, with a modern kitchen and cosy living room complete with fire, sofas and throws and even Gizmo the cat. The rooms are stylish and comfortable too- somthing we have not also been used to so far!
Central Backpackers is probably the best hostel we have stayed in so far on our trip to date. There is only around 30 beds, with a modern kitchen and cosy living room complete with fire, sofas and throws and even Gizmo the cat. The rooms are stylish and comfortable too- somthing we have not also been used to so far!
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