Thurs 18 Aug day 55 Auckland again!

Another day, another day out in the lovel, sunny  city of Auckland - rapidly becoming our favourite in New Zealand. This time to the Antarctic Centre founded by NZ polar explorer and ecologist Kelly Tarlton. We walk down to Quay Street and board the "subtle" shuttle bus which will transport us the 10 minute drive around the bay to the centre. Two highlights here - the stingray feed complete with a keeper in the tank feeding the 3 truly massive female fish and the snowcat ride (so good we went round twice!)  which took us into the penguin enclosure.

The tank holds 200,000 litres of salt water, is 3 metres deep and filled with 3 tonnes of snow every day. Computer controlled, simulating sunrise and sunset and seasonal climate conditions mimicking that of the natural environment in Antarctica - all essential to maintain breeding moulting cycles. Home to Gentoo and King penguins and complete with chicks, huge, fluffy, brown and flightless - but quite sweet!

   

  We get another amazing vista of the city of sails - boats of some description at every turn - as we leave the Antarctic Centre - the skyline dominated as always by the ever present SkyTower.

Friday 29 July - Omarau

We have made the decision to stay another night in Oamaru –   the beds are comfy, the welcome is warm and we could all do with some time in one place. We venture out into the town and visit the Whitestone cheese factory. We are able to watch the making process in the factory and enjoy tasting the finished producst in the little shop attached to the factory.
  

Oamaru has the best preserved collection of Victorian buildings in New Zealand. Most of these buildings are fashioned out of a gorgeous sand coloured local limestone and still used for the purpose for which they were intended. The Opera House was amazing. At 7pm each evening it put on a spectacular lightshow. The numerous fascia front windows were systematically lit in various colours.

 We spend time exploring the Victorian historic harbour and watching a limestone sculptor at work and then enjoy a rare treat of coffee, hot chocolate and cake "out".

We decide to try and find the elusive penguins in another spot and after lunch head further down the coast to Shag Point. Lots of sea birds, cormorants and shags, but no penguins. Very disappointed! We have been given several places to try so in the rapidly descending dusk and after a series of wrong turns up single track, very dodgy roads we locate the Moeraki Lighthouse and trek down the steep hill to a purpose built penguin hide. Very quietly we open the viewing windows and immediately are rewarded with the view of seals on the little beach below us and a handful of penguins hopping about on the rocks. They make a tremendous amount of noise as they head up the hill to their nests in the grass and bushes! 

Thursday 28 July - Tekapo to Omarau

   

The name Tekapo derives from Maori words Taka (sleeping mat) and Po (night).This morning we walk a little way around the lake – the smaller of the two in the locale – a beautiful turquoise blue. This is due to the finely ground rock flour in the glacial melted waters. It is the 4th largest lake in NZ. We stop briefly at the Church of the Good Shepherd built in 1935 to the glory of God as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie Country. 
The famous sheep dog statue on the lake’s edge is in memory of the hardy mustering dogs “without the help of which the grazing of this mountainous country would be impossible.”

         

After this we fulfil our “winter sporting” tickbox with a trip to Alpine Springs – where we could ice skate, snow tube and then sink into the hot spring pools at 36, 38 and 40 degrees. Tiegan and David had a whale of a time on the snow tubes, mounting the slope by the escalator slope complete with crash helmets and sturdy rings. Nicole remains unconvinced, with a headache and bruised bottom! Rowan was enjoying it until she was crashed into at the bottom of her third run by an incoming snow tuber. She then decided she had had enough – and after another  token effort final run was happy to hang up her crash helmet and watch from a safe distance.

   

   

The hot springs in the complex next to the ice and snow activities were divine. although the walk to and from the changing rooms was freezing and the size of our micro fibre travel towels did not compensate for this at all! They are efficient but not large!

 We continue our journey south, driving through the Southern Alps passing Mount Cook in the distance. At 3754 metres NZ's highest mountain is dazzling... or it should have been... Sadly its' peak was covered with cloud and so we had to content ourselves with the postcard in the visitor centre!

We pass through the Waitaki Valley and stop at Danceys Pass. Under an impressive limestone overhang on a hill with great views to the mountains, we find the Maraewhenua Maori rock paintings.The charcoal-and-ochre paintings date back several centuries, tracing everything from pre-European hunting to sailing ships,

 

At last we reach Oamaru.  We picked up a flyer for Chillawhile Backpackers when we were in Akaroa and go straight there. It is a hidden gem. A backpackers and art gallery and we are immediately made to feel like part of the family by Kelly the owner/manager. Oamaru is famous for its' yellow eyed and blue eyed penguin colonies and, after  dumping our stuff we head off to the harbour to hunt for penguins coming ashore to nest at dusk armed with a local map and insider knowledge. Apparantly they come right into the town and  nest under some of the Victorian historic buildings and can often be seen waddling up the high street. However, we dont see any!

We return to Chillawhile and are invited to share a  lucky pot supper with the other guests, "woofers" (Willing Workers on Organic Farms who work a couple of hours a day in various roles in exhange for free lodgings) and neighbours. There are 16 of us in total and each group brings a dish to share - we all have to introduce ourselves and our dish so we get to kinow everyone really quickly - Nina from Finland, Jacob from Australia, Jack from Hong Kong, Deano - a native who is travelling with his daughter, Saskia around New Zealand, a Turkish neighbour, Alfred and his friend from Malaysia, Chester - another neighbour, Kelly (our hostess) and her daughter Saol. It is a veritable feast and the girls settle down afterwards with new friends and watch a DVD together.