South-East Coast

I’ve covered a lot of territory since the last post!

From Christchurch, I headed towards Mt. Cook, which is not only the highest peak in NZ, it is the highest in “Australasia”. It was in the news in the last few days, because two Japanese climbers died while descending. The chunk of rock they had anchored to for rappeling collapsed while the first person descended. The second climber was clipped into the anchor, and was pulled down. A third climber was also anchored, but the collapsing rock severed his webbing, so he was no longer attached.

While I was at Cook, the weather was really bad – raining all day. The forecast for the next few days was equally bad. Cook seems to make its own weather, though, because a couple of dozen km’s away it was fine.

I stayed in Oamaru, and saw both Yellow-Eyed and Blue Penguins coming ashore. The Yellow-Eyed was from a blind, very far away, so they were just dots.

The Blues were from a “grandstand” set up for night viewing. The Blues come in from the ocean just after sunset. This was a pretty good view, and, at one point, a couple of the penguins were only 4 or 5 metres away. No photography allowed, unfortunately, because flashes will scare the penguins away. Most people do not know how to turn the flash off on their digi-cams, so all photography banned!

Then on to the Moeraki Boulders:

This a collection of spherical sandstone rocks on a beach.

Now, I am in Dunedin. I will continue along the Otago Peninsula, then along the south coast.

Sea Kayaking

I went sea kayaking at Kaikoura, yesterday.

It was fun, and a lot of work! The purpose was to paddle out to the seal colony. If the seals are hungry, you might be able to watch them catching and eating octopii. However, when we were there, the seals were just sunning themselves on the rocks.

The most interesting part, for me, was paddling in a fairly large swell. At least, it seemed big when sitting in a Kayak!

Christchurch has an Antarctic Expedition Centre, with a tourist area. Part of the tourist area is a -18C “storm”. I figured it would be nice to experience a little bit of the cold that people in the Northern Hemisphere are having.

The Centre also has some Blue Penguins, and a lot of information about Antarctic exploration. However, I didn’t think it was worth the $30 admission.

NZ Camper

Here is my home for 54 days. NZ is small enough that I can drive everywhere. There is no need to fly between regions and get new campers at each one. I have arranged for the ferry to cross to the north island, in February.

This camper is based on the Toyota Town-Ace van. It is fairly small, and has no pop-up top.

Compared to the larger campers I had in Aus, this one drives like a sports car. It also has better fuel economy.

Using this camper is more an indoor-outdoor experience. The stove is mounted at the back, and the rear door has to be opened to use it. (But the rear door then provides rain shelter, if needed.)

In Australia, because the hordes of flies, you really need a camper that you can seal yourself inside to cook, eat, and sleep. In NZ, the flies are not a problem (so far, at least), so opening to the outside is not a problem.

I have visited Hanmer Springs, which is a hot springs in the mountains. I am in the coastal town of Kaikoura. I will start heading back south, through Christchurch and on to Dunedin, in a couple of days.

The Future, Yesterday

In 1965, the Futuro house showed us what type of dwelling we would be living in, now:

This “Futuro House” is on display at the Christchurch botanic gardens.

NZ Phone

I have a new SIM for my phone. The number is: 021 153 7142

To dial me internationally, you should dial: +64 21 153 7142 (ie. your dialing prefix, NZ country code 64, then drop the 0 from the start of my number).

Arrived In New Zealand

I arrived in Christchurch, yesterday afternoon.

I am staying at the Jailhouse Hostel:

It is an old jail, converted to a hostel. The cells are now rooms.

I haven’t arranged for a new SIM for my phone yet. I will post my New Zealand number once I have it.

On the 23rd, I pick up a new camper, which will be my home for 54 days.

It is cool and rainy here. It is a nice change from the heat of Australia.

East Coast

I’ve spent the last few days travelling from Sydney to Brisbane, and past.

I am surprised at how developed the whole coast is. There are many, many beach resorts north of Sydney, and north and south of Brisbane. However, I am not a “beach person”, so, after seeing a couple of beaches, I am ready to move on.

I went to see Bondi Beach, in Sydney. It is one of the most famous beaches in Australia. It’s a nice beach, but very crowded. I am not certain what makes it so special.

Bondi Beach.

The Brisbane area is more tropical than Sydney. Sugar cane and bananas are grown nearby.

Yesterday, I went to Australia Zoo, which is Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin’s zoo. It was a very interesting day. The Croc Hunter was a very interactive guy, so his zoo is very interactive. For instance, you can pet a Koala:

The keepers take the wombats out for a walk, on a leash:

And they put on a “croc show” in the Crocoseum, twice a day:

The croc show also features some of the other critters in the zoo.

You can also hold a baby alligator, feed kangaroos, get your photo taken with a koala, snake, or some other critters, and some other interactive activities.

The zoo is fairly small, and the admission is expensive, but the main lure is the chance to get up close with the critters.

My little free HP digital camera is interesting. Sometimes it takes really terrible, out-of-focus pictures, and sometimes it takes amazingly good shots that I don’t think it will handle, like the sunrise lighting up a wave splash, above.

I’ve got a couple more nights with the camper, and then I have a day in Brisbane before flying to New Zealand.

Halfway Finished

Well, I am about halfway through my trip. I will be leaving Australia for New Zealand in about a week.

(I have updated the previous two posts – “Tree Huggers” and “Hook Turn” – with photos. Scroll down to see the updates.)

I am driving from Melbourne to Brisbane. I am currently back in Sydney, on my way through.

From Melbourne, I first headed west along the “Great Ocean Road”. This was a very interesting place. It includes the famous Twelve Apostles.

The Twelve Apostles.

The real interest here, though, is slightly inland. There are some nice rainforest areas, lakes, and waterfalls. It is a short drive from Melbourne, and thus it was quite crowded! However, most people seemed to stay on the coast and at the beaches. Going inland, there is solitude.

After the Great Oean Road, I headed back through Melbourne to Wilson’s Promontory. This is a nation park area, and has a “tidal river”, as well as more rainforests. Once again, an nice place.

My next destination was the Great Alpine Road, which traverses the highest mountain range in Australia (which is not very high). However, due to a huge grass and forest fire, the southern section of the road was closed, and I could not get in.

There have been a large number of large fires around Australia, this year. A multi-year drought has contributed to the problem. Reservoirs are down below 25%, and, in some places, severe water restrictions are in place.

Since my plans were spoiled, I decided to head to the Snowy River area, instead. This was a mistake. Snowy River was engulfed in the huge smoke cloud from the fire.

Smokey Sunset.

The smoke made for very little to do or see in Snowy River.

Next destination: The Blue Mountains. This is another mountain range east of Sydney. It is close enough that it appears commuter trains run from the towns into Sydney! Apparently, there are ski areas in the Blue Mountains, but I didn’t see any signs of them. These mountains are only around 1000m high, so they are quite short.

Blue Mountain Rainforest.

The Blue Mountains are more like a large, flat high plateau, with valley cut into it by erosion. In the valleys, there are more rainforests. The plateau itself is hotter and drier.

I have found the rainforest areas to be more interesting than many of the other natural areas in Australia. The way from Sydney to Brisbane should be mostly beaches and rainforests.

Tree Huggers

I did see some Koalas”in the wild”, yesterday. They were laying around in some trees, along the “Great Ocean Road”. There was six beasts, in all, including two very small ones, and one “teenager”.

Koalas are certainly “tree huggers”. They just flop on a branch and sleep all day!

Unfortunately, I can’t post a photo. I am using a crappy internet kiosk in a campground, and there is no way to connect my card reader. I will try to add a photo, later.

I have another 11 days to make my way up to Brisbane, in the current camper. This is yet another variation: it is like the 4wd Trekker, but this one is 2wd, and the camper is not a pop-up – it is just very tall all of the time.