Sydney in 12 hours and off to New Zealand

Our hotel couldn’t have been more convenient for a short stay. From the front door we could see the Harbour Bridge at the end of the road and across the street the entrance to Circular Quay, so we eagerly set off to walk round the Quay and checked out the harbour cruises.

The famous Bridge

I’d read in the Rough Guide that the Opera Café on the lower concourse was a good bet with beautiful views of the harbour and bridge so we made our way there for lunch before taking our boat trip. A really great way to get a taste of the layout and beauty of it all. The boat stopped at various points around the harbour area and if we had had the time we could have hopped off and then caught a later boat to get to the next highlight. By the end of our tour it was beginning to get dark so we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and change before heading to Guillame’s in the Opera House

The Opera House

for our anniversary meal ………….. only to find a notice apologising to clientelle for the fact that the restaurant was closed for the evening for a private function!! We looked at one another and started to laugh. With the luck we had been having it wasn‘t too much of a disappointment. We headed back along the quay and dined in the open (next to a patio heater) with the harbour in the background with twinkling lights reflected in the water along with the coloured neons from the skyscrapers that surround the area - one of them being AXA. It couldn’t have been a better substitute to our original choice and it began to feel as though we were really on our holiday. We headed back to The Russell for an early night, we needed to be at the airport again for a 7 am check in for our flight to Christchurch. Well you’ve guessed it the flight was nearly 2 hours late in taking off. However, we ended up only an hour late for our link up with Ol and Ang. It was wonderful to see them again and Ol and Rick headed off to collect our campervan while Ang and I chatted over a drink in the airport café. The men seemed to have been gone for quite a time and then we saw Ol. He asked me would I like the good news or the bad first. ‘It better be the bad love’ I said. ‘Well the bad news is the hire place is all locked up and no-one is there, but the good news is that we’ve managed to get you a cabin for the night at the campsite where we’re staying and we can sort out the van in the morning’. Relieved that we had successfully met up after all the hiccups we had had along the way I was surprisingly unphased. The cabin was great and we slept like logs before the start of our wonderful time in New Zealand.

We picked up our campervan early next morning. They said they had no idea we were coming and deducted a day’s hire and upgraded us to a bigger van. A whirlwind tour of the facilities and various keys for various lockers saw us off and on our way to Oamarou.

Lake Ellesmere

We filled up with diesel and hit the road. It was a little disconcerting to see plumes of black smoke gushing out of the exhaust from the wing mirrors but we put that down to it being a diesel engine. We also guessed that Minnie, as Rick christened her, had not been on the road for some considerable time as she was a little musty with overtones of disinfectant in the cab. We arrived at Oamarou at sunset and headed straight to the Blue Penguin viewing arena. Wrapped up against the cold (it is their winter) we sat and waited. We weren’t disappointed as right on cue first one group and then another started clambering up the rocks leading from the beach to their little nesting burrows. They are the smallest penguins in the world and are really cute. They gather in little groups at the edge of the rocks before making a run for their burrows across a floodlit track.

Sue & Rick on a boulder

The next day we stopped off to see the Moeraki Boulders and more photo opportunities on our way through Dunedin and then inland to Te Anau. It was a long drive and we took turns at the wheel. On the last stretch I resorted to a repertoire of nursery rhymes and any songs I could think of to keep me awake (I was driving) as surprise, surprise we discovered on day one that the radio didn’t work. Painful for Rick but better than me falling asleep!! This sounds worse than it was - there are literally no other cars on the road!! We discovered over the next day or so that Minnie had a blocked up waste water pipe (could have been embarrassing if not sorted) and a broken rear light bulb. Rick as ever got her in order. We ended up getting quite attached to Minnie over the fortnight, as apart from the windscreen wiper falling off in Auckland she coped with everything thrown at her!

How to ruin beautiful scenery

We had planned to spend our time at Te Anau by taking a trip down Milford Sound. When we arrived at the campsite Reception to book we were told that, due to the danger of Avalanches, the Milford trip had been cancelled and the alternative to Doubtful Sound was fully booked. A quick change of plan took us to Queenstown for the day and we booked for Doubtful for the next. We loved Queenstown.

Ollie luges

On the edge of a beautiful lake, surrounded by snow capped mountains, lovely cafes and a cable car ride for panoramic views of the whole area.

Ang in mid luge

A great day with the prospect of further adventure and promises of even more beautiful scenery and wildlife the following.

Sydney in 12 hours and off to New Zealand

Te Anau, New Zealand