Saturday, May 19, 2007
Is that a big pebble? No it's a Hooker's sea lion Tom and he will bite!
Hello
If you want to read this blog entry then, you better pour yourself a whisky, don the kilt and blow the bag pipes because this entry comes from Dunedin. That's Gaelic for Edinburgh, don't you know !
Since leaving Te Anau we have stayed at blustery Bluff (famed for it's oysters) where we met a woman who had obviously been on the road for too long and jabbered extensively about how she was working her way around the male population of Bluff-great night's entertainment. Anyway after a night of her tales and a precautionary visit to the mechanic it was time to get off to the Catlins. Here was where our walk on the wild side began. Despite downpours of rain and high winds we managed to keep Percy on the road long enough to get to a campsite near Jackson Bay. We arrived late and were told they didn't take any cash cards apart from NZ cards. We had to scrape and shake every last piece of loose change together in order to stay the one night.
It was worth every spare dollar. In the morning we woke to the sound of a thousand bird songs and dawn breaking over the beach. We then headed off to Surat Bay, where we encountered not one, not two but six NZ Hooker's Sea Lions. As we walked along the beach we thought it could not get any better than seeing them snoozing on the sand but to our surprise as we rounded the corner we came 30 ft to two sea lions cavorting on the beach. The female sea lion came from the sea and basically told the male sea lion she wanted some attention and got it!
I certainly felt very privileged to be able to get so close and they didn't seem to care that we were there at all.
It was then back on the road to the Otago Peninsula. It's a great place which reminds me of Exeter. And it was here for more sectacular wildlife spotting.
For a start it's the only place on the mainland that you can see Royal Albatross. We saw four chicks (they resemble big fat bunny rabbits with beaks) but rarer still we saw their parents. The fact the chicks are only fed once every two days reflects how lucky we were. Tom has wanted to see an Albatross since he was six so he was stoked!
But for me the highlight of the Otago Peninsula were the Yellow Eyed Penguins on Sandfly Bay. These little beauties are also endangered and very shy. But not that shy it would seem -we saw four waddle from the sea onto the beach. They took my breath away, firstly because it was incredible to see them and secondly because they made me laugh so much. Of course seeing such amazing creatures comes at a cost. On this occasion it involved me getting trashed by a giant wave (thanks for your help Tom) and Tom nearly stepping on a bull Hooker's Sea Lion asleep in the dunes (they recommend five meters as a safe distance to escape their bite if they fancy a chunk of you).
Anyway here's a few pics, hope you like them.
Stay safe and well.
xxx
If you want to read this blog entry then, you better pour yourself a whisky, don the kilt and blow the bag pipes because this entry comes from Dunedin. That's Gaelic for Edinburgh, don't you know !
Since leaving Te Anau we have stayed at blustery Bluff (famed for it's oysters) where we met a woman who had obviously been on the road for too long and jabbered extensively about how she was working her way around the male population of Bluff-great night's entertainment. Anyway after a night of her tales and a precautionary visit to the mechanic it was time to get off to the Catlins. Here was where our walk on the wild side began. Despite downpours of rain and high winds we managed to keep Percy on the road long enough to get to a campsite near Jackson Bay. We arrived late and were told they didn't take any cash cards apart from NZ cards. We had to scrape and shake every last piece of loose change together in order to stay the one night.
It was worth every spare dollar. In the morning we woke to the sound of a thousand bird songs and dawn breaking over the beach. We then headed off to Surat Bay, where we encountered not one, not two but six NZ Hooker's Sea Lions. As we walked along the beach we thought it could not get any better than seeing them snoozing on the sand but to our surprise as we rounded the corner we came 30 ft to two sea lions cavorting on the beach. The female sea lion came from the sea and basically told the male sea lion she wanted some attention and got it!
I certainly felt very privileged to be able to get so close and they didn't seem to care that we were there at all.
It was then back on the road to the Otago Peninsula. It's a great place which reminds me of Exeter. And it was here for more sectacular wildlife spotting.
For a start it's the only place on the mainland that you can see Royal Albatross. We saw four chicks (they resemble big fat bunny rabbits with beaks) but rarer still we saw their parents. The fact the chicks are only fed once every two days reflects how lucky we were. Tom has wanted to see an Albatross since he was six so he was stoked!
But for me the highlight of the Otago Peninsula were the Yellow Eyed Penguins on Sandfly Bay. These little beauties are also endangered and very shy. But not that shy it would seem -we saw four waddle from the sea onto the beach. They took my breath away, firstly because it was incredible to see them and secondly because they made me laugh so much. Of course seeing such amazing creatures comes at a cost. On this occasion it involved me getting trashed by a giant wave (thanks for your help Tom) and Tom nearly stepping on a bull Hooker's Sea Lion asleep in the dunes (they recommend five meters as a safe distance to escape their bite if they fancy a chunk of you).
Anyway here's a few pics, hope you like them.
Stay safe and well.
xxx
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Down on the farm with a psychotic family, up a mountain oh and a few "Great" walks
Greetings from Te Anau.
Sorry it's been a while but as I haven't sent anyone my blog address yet I guess it doesn't matter.
Well this is our second stop off at this great place where they have more to talk about than just shooting deer and ducks.
Yesterday Tom and I returned from walking the Kepler Track. A exhilarating and not very hard two day tramp which took us to the top of the world and a ridge that gave us stunning views of snow capped mountains and the wilderness of Fiordland. Don't worry Mum there was no roped up climbing involved! Tom forgot the spork (fork/spork) and so with a few sticks, the lid of a tuna can and a little bit of ingenuity-woo hoo, look what he came up with!
We also walked the Hump Ridge Track a week earlier. Here we followed a evergreen beech track, to a 700 meter peak and then a coastal walk where we spotted the elusive Hector dolphin or was it just a sun streaked wave?! We also managed to catch our first mouse in our trap while on the walk. Following the troubles of Arthur's Pass we bought the handy contraption. It comes out every now and again when we think the little buggers might find a tasty snack in our van while we are absent. Anyway we laced it with peanut butter and one little rodent rascal found it his downfall. We arrived back to the cartoon style carnage that was dead mouse. Yesss! Revenge is sweet.
For those who we haven't mailed about the drama of our first experience of Willing Workers on Organic Farms, here goes. Basically there are a lot of lovely/kind people in New Zealand. The family we stayed with unfortunately were not part of those people. Anyone who wants you to put your foot on a piece of wood, without protective boots while they cut it with the biggest chainsaw around and then gets the arse when you refuse and has a storming row can only be described as a plank of wood themselves. So being rid of them is no great loss!
Anyway on a lighter note we have also been to the awesome Milford Sound, which if any of you get the chance you must do. I can't wax lyrical about it , so I'll leave you with a pic instead!
Oh and lastly I did my first glacier climb - up Mount Earnslaw. It was an experience I will never forget. I managed to get up 2,500 meters but the summit was 2,800 meters.
I'm pretty proud considering it was my first time across ice and my crampons did not fit my boots and I had to walk half the glacier in in just my boots and then get dragged the other half along by a rope safely secured by Tom. The result was bruises galore and a lot of cross words exchanged. But once at my top of Mount Earnslaw (Tom and Canadian Tom went to the very summit) I got to see Mount Aspiring and an array of other snow smothered mountains in the far off distant and yodel to my hearts content. Canadian Tom (who we met while wwoofing) dubbed Earnslaw Mount Earnslaughter and he was right! Our epic ended at 4am on Saturday morning after a 22 hour day across rocks, glaciers, woods and dodging poachers bullets.
Oh and of course the bloody bogs, of which I found many!! One boggy fall came up to my waist and left me wallowing in the stinky stuff.
Still weeks after my boggy descent people will not sit next to me in cinemas or internet cafes-hence why I have written so much.
Anyway, I am heading off now. Maybe another walk tomorrow but certainly no glacier climbing or bungying into bogs!
Take care everyone x
Sorry it's been a while but as I haven't sent anyone my blog address yet I guess it doesn't matter.
Well this is our second stop off at this great place where they have more to talk about than just shooting deer and ducks.
Yesterday Tom and I returned from walking the Kepler Track. A exhilarating and not very hard two day tramp which took us to the top of the world and a ridge that gave us stunning views of snow capped mountains and the wilderness of Fiordland. Don't worry Mum there was no roped up climbing involved! Tom forgot the spork (fork/spork) and so with a few sticks, the lid of a tuna can and a little bit of ingenuity-woo hoo, look what he came up with!
We also walked the Hump Ridge Track a week earlier. Here we followed a evergreen beech track, to a 700 meter peak and then a coastal walk where we spotted the elusive Hector dolphin or was it just a sun streaked wave?! We also managed to catch our first mouse in our trap while on the walk. Following the troubles of Arthur's Pass we bought the handy contraption. It comes out every now and again when we think the little buggers might find a tasty snack in our van while we are absent. Anyway we laced it with peanut butter and one little rodent rascal found it his downfall. We arrived back to the cartoon style carnage that was dead mouse. Yesss! Revenge is sweet.
For those who we haven't mailed about the drama of our first experience of Willing Workers on Organic Farms, here goes. Basically there are a lot of lovely/kind people in New Zealand. The family we stayed with unfortunately were not part of those people. Anyone who wants you to put your foot on a piece of wood, without protective boots while they cut it with the biggest chainsaw around and then gets the arse when you refuse and has a storming row can only be described as a plank of wood themselves. So being rid of them is no great loss!
Anyway on a lighter note we have also been to the awesome Milford Sound, which if any of you get the chance you must do. I can't wax lyrical about it , so I'll leave you with a pic instead!
Oh and lastly I did my first glacier climb - up Mount Earnslaw. It was an experience I will never forget. I managed to get up 2,500 meters but the summit was 2,800 meters.
I'm pretty proud considering it was my first time across ice and my crampons did not fit my boots and I had to walk half the glacier in in just my boots and then get dragged the other half along by a rope safely secured by Tom. The result was bruises galore and a lot of cross words exchanged. But once at my top of Mount Earnslaw (Tom and Canadian Tom went to the very summit) I got to see Mount Aspiring and an array of other snow smothered mountains in the far off distant and yodel to my hearts content. Canadian Tom (who we met while wwoofing) dubbed Earnslaw Mount Earnslaughter and he was right! Our epic ended at 4am on Saturday morning after a 22 hour day across rocks, glaciers, woods and dodging poachers bullets.
Oh and of course the bloody bogs, of which I found many!! One boggy fall came up to my waist and left me wallowing in the stinky stuff.
Still weeks after my boggy descent people will not sit next to me in cinemas or internet cafes-hence why I have written so much.
Anyway, I am heading off now. Maybe another walk tomorrow but certainly no glacier climbing or bungying into bogs!
Take care everyone x
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