Another 3 day update

Finally got some free wifi, so I will be able to bring you up to date.  Enjoy - we did!

Feb 25:  Gore to Shag Point 

I totally passed out last night around 8:30.  Geoff crawled in sometime after 9.  He saw some browns but couldn't catch anything.  I guess it got too dark for him to see to change flies.  Well he had his shot at the brown trout capital of the world.  I think he was happy just to see fish.  In the morning the sky looked dark and gloomy with just bits of sunshine here and there and the winds were very strong.  It started raining on and off.  We discovered that about 2 days ago there was a big forest fire at Mt. Allan, between the end of the rail trail and Dunedin which is on the east coast -- which was where we were heading.  For 2 days the city was covered with smoke.  We were hoping that the winds and the rain would help the situation and blow everything out to sea.  We were also glad that we had finished the rail trail when we did. 

After taking a look around the farm, we headed east.  The terrain was pretty but we were getting a bit blaze about the scenery until we turned onto the scenic road at Milton.  Then we couldn't stop wowing.  We were headed to Geoff's brother's friend's property at Shag Point.  It took some time, but we eventually found Shirley, who had the keys to the place.  Andy had mentioned to stay at the "crib" (cottage) but for reasons we haven't been able to figure out, Shirley put us in the house.  After we cleared away the cob webs, it is perfectly fine.  The views are amazing.  I love the woodwork around the whole place.  Briana & Marc left a note for us, which was very helpful.  (Sorry, Briana, did not find the map you were looking for.) After we showered, we went back down to talk with Shirley and met Jill.  She is an extremely talented woodcarver.  Tomorrow morning we will head over and see her stuff.  Shirley will be leaving for Christchurch, so that may be the last we see of her.  Also ran into Colin the neighbor.  Very friendly and helpful chap.

We drove out to Moeraki for dinner at the Fleur.  On the way, we stopped at the lighthouse and hiked down to the penguin hide (similar to a duck blind).  Spotted one lonely penguin and several fur seals.  The Fleur was way too busy and too cold to sit outside.  Ended up at the Tavern splitting another lamb shank dindin.  Before going back to the crib, we drove down Shag Point Rd to the end, which is another penguin/seal reserve.  The wind was very strong.  We could see a bunch of something out on the rocks but it was blowing too hard to stay out there for long.  We are going to try again tomorrow.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow.  The plan is to explore Dunedin.  We'll see if we are up to it when the time comes.

Feb 26: Sunrise at Shag Point

WOW!  Tim really has a nice spot here at Shag Point and we are very fortunate to be able to enjoy this beautiful place.  This time of year the sunrise is at the perfect time for a natural alarm clock.  We laid in bed and watched the sky brighten in no hurry, for a change, to do anything.  A really nice feeling.  We did manage to screw up and waited too long to get breakfast provisions last night, so that this morning all we had at the house was coffee and juice.  However, neither one of us was too hungry after the tavern dinner.  We took our time and eventually went down the road to visit with Jill the woodcarver and Shirley's neighbor.  What a great house and shop she has got there.  Her work is amazing.  After visiting for a while, we got back in the car and headed south to Dunedin. We made one stop at Palmerston for breakfast and to have a look around the town and then back on the road.

Dunedin city held no attraction for us but the Otago Pennisula looked very interesting.  It juts out on the east side of Dunedin.  We made our way around the zigzaggy road that leads to the end of the peninsula.  I simply am running out of adjectives here.  The views are just awesome despite the remaining slight haze from the fires.  At the end of the road is the Albatross Exhibit and the Disappearing Canon.  For a pretty penny you can walk through a tunnel and see the canon and then maybe the birds.  We took a picture of the replica and were quite happy.  There are all sorts of tours that go out to observe the penguins and seals.  We chose Natures Wonders simply because it was a 6 wheel ATV instead of doing the boat thing and it seemed a bit different.  The ride was great!  Up and down rugged terrain.  The guide took us first to see the fur seals.  Some were just born a few weeks ago and were still feeding.  Then we went to Penguin Beach. Here we saw one yellow eyed penguin on the beach but when we went into the blind, we were able to spot a few more under cover.  We also saw two blue penguins.  These species are all very special and quite endangered.  It was a great experience. 

On the ride down, I was reading about the butterfly exhibit at the Otago Museum in Dunedin.  I asked our guide about it and he definitely recommended going.  Of course, the museum closed at 5pm and it was already around 4.  We set our GPS, and got to the museum in record time.  We had about 1/2 hour to hang out with the butterflies.  The exhibit is about 3 stories high with a waterfall, lots of plants, and some other wildlife hanging about.  We had a great time amidst all the creatures.  Heading back to Shag Point, we made a point to stop and get food for the morning.  Got back to the crib, put a wash in, took a shower, and set out for dinner.  We landed at the Tavern again and this time it was friday night and rugby was on the telly.  We joined some people and shared dinner and great conversation.  The moon was just coming up and the sun going down, so we decided to go up the road to Moeraki Boulders.  You just have to see the photos.  These are perfectly round boulders in the middle of the beach.  It makes for a very eerie landscape. 

Tomorrow morning we will have a little ceremony for Jerry B.  We brought some of him with us to spread at the beach at Shag Point and Fiji.  Aside from his home in Cold Spring, NY, he has already been taken to Japan and our own bay in Fairhaven.  The last of him will go in Provincetown this June on the anniversary of his passing.  He always wanted to travel and he finally is getting his wish. I am so glad to have the opportunity to do this. 

The 9:45pm train just passed by.  We leave here tomorrow but we want to thank Tim, wherever you are, for the use of your lovely home.


Feb 27: Shag Point to Akarora

Awoke to another beautiful sunrise and quickly started gathering our stuff, collecting the linens and towels, turning off outlets (each outlet has it's own on/off switch) and headed down to Jill's to drop off the laundry and keys to the cottage.  Before leaving Shag Point, we made our way down to the beach and let a little of Jerry B. behind in the shimmering Pacific Ocean.  Simply fabulous!  He would have loved the view.  After wiping away my tears of sorrow and joy, we resumed our journey north.

So far the drive between Shag Point and Akaroa is the dullest one yet.  So much so, that I got out the laptop and am writing this as I watch the cows and sheep pass by.  Our highlight is when we hit a passing lane and can pass the guy in front of us.  I think the scenery will change when we turn off for Akaroa.  That should be coastal gorgeous!  Will let you know.

Yes, the view definitely improved.  We got to the B&B which is really a hostel.  It is very charming and very cheap. It also happens to be very quiet - not like our other hostel experience in Wanaka at the Purple Cow.  We got settled in and ate our lunch on the deck overlooking the bay.  We were booked for a 3:30 swimming with the dolphins excursion.  Now, I have to say that this has never crossed either one of our minds until someone mentioned it on the Doubtful Sound cruise.  And then, we just had to do it!  We got into the harbor town of Akaroa about an hour before the cruise and walked along and peeked into the shops.  Then it was finally time for our dolphin adventure.  There were maybe 20 of us split into 2 groups.  First you have put on a wet suit.  I cannot tell you what went on in that dressing room with 10 women trying to put on these skin tight suits.  It would have made for an awesome YouTube video.  We finally got into our boat and took off for dolphin haven.

These are the smallest dolphins in the word and they are an endangered species. They are called Hectors Dophins.  There were plenty of dolphins around when we got to the cauldera, however, it was mainly moms and their calves, and they were way too busy feeding to be bothered with us.  We watched for quite a long time and then a flurry of activity happened when some barracuda came through.  The birds went nuts.  So now we had the birds, the barracuda, the bait fish, and the dolphins all bobbing about.  Our leaders decided that we should at least try to get in the water but they didn't have much hope that the dolphins would be interested us.  So we all plopped in the water and it was pretty "fresh" as they say around here - we just say damn cold!  The dolphins were close but they were not coming anywhere near us.  This was not meant to happen today, we were afraid. We headed back to shore.  The tour folks were nice enough to reimburse us some of our money for the trip because we did not get to swim with them - this bought us a very nice dinner.

Geoff & I scurried back to our lodgings to shower up and change for dinner.  Then headed back down to Akaroa and found a very cute restaurant, Little Bistro and had a great meal of pan fried grouper over rosemary potatoes with roasted veggies and salsa verde which was to die for. Went down to the harbor to finish off dinner with a dessert by the water and headed back to the Halfmoon Cottages to rest up for the next adventure.


Next up ... Hanmer Springs - a day at the thermal pools to relax