God's Country... New Zealand: Timaru to Milford Sound, South Island.

So, where did I leave off? First of all, I would just like to say New Zealand is everything I expected it to be. The people are really friendly and welcoming and the country has the most stunning scenery I have ever seen. There is something that will make you say Wow! around each turn in the road and the topography changes about a quick as the weather. For the sake of time (and energy) I will list where we have been and the highlights of that area, but before I start, I will tell you a wee bit (Kiwis use 'wee' all the time because of Scottish influences) about my new travel companion, Jana, and where we have been staying. Jana is a 25 year old budding artist with great talent from Berlin. She bought a 1994, two-door hatchback, red Opal which has been home to us for almost 3 weeks now. It has no radio so as our entertainment, we honk at hundreds of sheep along the side of the road and watch them look up and take-off running in the other direction (it may not sound that funny, but trust me, it really is!). At night, we either A) recline the seats in the Opal as far as we can and get in our sleeping bags, B) camp (weather depending) or C) crash at people's houses. Although, A) seems to be the most common. We typically start looking for our "home" or spot to park the car for the night before it gets dark. It usually is an alcove on the side of a highway because if you want to stay at a campsite you have to pay quite a bit and we refuse to do that. Most people who travel NZ buy a van or car and do what we are doing. You can only imagine what the past couple weeks have been like! Btw, I take pictures every day of where on the road we have slept that night so that would be why you see a lot of pictures of Jana's car!
Ok, now for where we've been!
First stop-
Omaru, a small, quaint town on the coast. It was full of garden shops, fish and chips take-aways (Kiwis love fried food), camping gear shops and cafes. We visited a yellow-eyed penguin colony, one of the rarest penguins in the world. We camped there that night next to a herd of sheep... Literally, right next to them. A fence separated us but they were very close and sounded more like pigs with their snorting!
Next stop-
Dunedin, an appealing student town with a heavy Scottish influence. Also, it is home to the world's steepest street and it was indeed very steep! It made the Guinness Book of World Records. Jana refused to drive up it. Also part of Dunedin is the Ortago Peninsula which launches off the tip of town and at the end of the forever snaking road, you can view Albatrosses but we didn't due to the fog:(
Next-
The Catlins, this is an area of the southwest coast of the south island that took us about 3/4 days to get through. The weather is as rough as the coastline, but spectacular nonetheless.
- Lots of seals and sea lions on the coast and you can get really close if you are quite enough, but they smell so bad that you really don't want to!
- Nugget Point- a lighthouse on the coast with a spattering of rocks jutting out of the water (thus, nuggets) and the sunset there was gorgeous. Also, randomly saw a guy there that I had met in South Africa.
- Tramped (hiked in Kiwi language) through a temperate rain forest (all over the Southland) which let out to the beach- really nice hike.
- Curio Bay- a bay covered in petrified tree stumps and logs. - Slope Point- the most southern point in NZ- wicked winds from the Artic and rain so didn't stay longer than we had to for a quick pic.
- Cathedral Caves- caves with cathedral ceilings on the beach that can only be accessed at low-tide.
- Lots of waterfalls and blowholes too...
Next stop-
Riverton, a small, sleepy seaside town with greasy, HUGE fried NZ mussels and oysters and a packed car full of French-Canadians that Jana and I camped with that night.
Next stop-
Fjordland!
Went to Lake Manapouri (second(?) deepest lake in NZ- some 440 meters deep at the middle)where we decided at the last minute to do an overnight cruise of Doubtful Sound. The Fjordland has many sounds and Doubtful is near the bottom, away from the more touristy Milford Sound. Strangely enough, I met someone on the cruise that knew someone I knew from England. Small world again! The cruise was amazing, the scenery dramatic, the Tasman Sea at sunset brilliant and the dolphins keeping us company was perfect.
Next- Milford Sound. Jana, Alistair (who was friends with that someone I know) and I headed north to Milford, just for the ride itself and it was the best drive I have seen so far in NZ. We stopped along the way at the Mirror Lakes that reflect the mountains perfectly. That night we all had wine and a good, warm dinner (anything warm is better than the bread/crackers/cheese/Vegemite/etc dinners we have!) We camped there and woke up to the 'Dawn Chorus' of the bell birds and Alistair left in the morning. Jana and I headed back down south to Queenstown (the Remarkables Mountain Range there is truly remarkable!) and Glenorchy where some of the Lord of the Rings was filmed. Then we headed to Te Anau where we booked a tramp through the fjordlands on the Kepler Track, one of NZ's "Great Hikes". It's a three day, two night hike through the Southern Alps of the fjordlands. The story of the trek will have to wait till next time though because I have to stop here for two reasons: A) I only have pictures uploaded to this point and B) I don't have time to write about all the rest! But before I go though, I will tell you we went skydiving over the Fjordlands- omg... 12,000 ft/4000 meters with a 48 second free fall. I have a DVD of it so if you're keen, I can show you when I get home.

One word: Whoa!

Me after the jump with my instructor:)