Hanmer Springs

  Hanmer Springs, New Zealand
Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Hello everyone again!!!!



After we left Milford Sound and killed as many sand flies as we could we headed south to Invercargill on our way up the east coast. The weather was atrocious and it rained hard all the time we where there. We stayed overnight for a stop off just so we could travel up the Catlins Coast to Dunedin.




This is lovely Invercargill high street in the rain!!!!





As we traveled up the coast the weather did get a little better and we saw some great beaches!!!



We stopped off at a few points of interest like the Purakaunui Falls and if you can say that after a few beers I'll buy you a few!!!



We arrived at Dunedin, which means "Edinburgh of the South" in Gaelic. It's not on the same par as Edinburgh but still worth a visit no the less.

Our adopted beer since being here is Speights (unless it's free, then anything will do) and we took a tour of the Speights brewery.



It is one of New Zealand's oldest breweries and still use's traditional methods. The brewery uses water from an underground spring and there is a tap on the outside of the building where locals can fill up containers to take home.

The best bit of the tour is the tasting at the end.......uuummm.



The main town square is the Octogon and is where a statue of Robert Burns stands proud...although not always wearing a seagull as a hat!!!!



There is some nice architecture here, this is the train station!!



We set of to Oamaru which is home to two penguin colonies, the Blue Penguin and the larger Yellow Eyed Penguins. On the way we stopped to take a look at the Moeraki Boulders and here is a picture.



These boulders weren't washed up by the sea or fell from the sky but were hidden in the mud cliffs. As the sea eroded the cliffs the boulders fell out.



We went to watch the blue penguins arrive home from the sea to feed their young. Over 200 returned by climbing up a small ramp and crossing in front of us to their nests. We weren't allowed to take any pictures as they become temporarily blinded by white light. It was fantastic to watch them and we highly recommend it!



The next day we headed for Christchurch, the biggest city on the South Island. We decided to take a tram ride around the city center to see all of the sights.



Christchurch is very much like an English city. You can even go punting on the river Avon.



This is Cathedral Square were Christchurch Cathedral and the Millennium Monument stand.



Hanmer Springs was our next destination. This is an example of the scenery along the way.



Hanmer Springs is famous for having a number of thermal pools. As the weather was fantastic we spent the day lounging in the pools.





It was very cheap, only $10 to get in, but felt like a Sheraton resort.
So this is the end of this update and a bit of a whirlwind tour of the east coast. The next update will feature Kaikoura where we swam with wild Dusky dolphins!


Bye for now.