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Ahoy Sailors.....
More news as promised!!!
We left the quiet, and cold Oamaru after warming up and drove South down the Coast to the Scottish city of Dunedin. We stopped off at the Moeraki Boulders on the way (see pic above!). They are giant rock boulders which have fallen out of the cliff as it has been eroded...interesting or what???!!! We posed about on those for a while and continued to Dunedin. We got our room and walked about. I said Oamaru was cold but this took the biscuit!!! The winds must have come straigh from Antartica!! We saw nothing in town of interest (it is an extremely boring place) so decided to retire to the warmth of our hostel and watch Lord of the Rings...saying we are in LotR country! Does that make us boring?? Anyway, we cooked up another gourmet meal and made our way to Murphy's Irish Bar for a few tipples as you know we are fond of. Ha ha.
We only stayed one night in Dunedin as it was soooo boring. Our next port of call was Invercargill-a long and winding 272 km to the South of the South Island. We could have done a shorter route but being touristy we took the scenic route stopping off at beautiful places such as Nugget Point, Purakaunui Falls, Roaring Bay and Cannibal Bay where we saw the huge sea lions up close and personal!!! The drive was amazing. I know our pics may have a blue planet feel to them but the scenery and wildlife here is immense!
Invercargill itself was even more dead then Dunedin (if possible). It was like a ghost town! We arrived after 5 1/2 hours driving and went stright on another half an hour drive to Bluff where we climbed to a lookout which offered quality views all around...especially of Stewart Island off the main coast. We shopped again and Laura and I rustled up Vindaloo. Holy sh*t...it was hot!! We have taken a shine to cooking our own food for a number of reasons. 1) It is cheaper 2) It often tastes better than restaurants 3) It is cheaper 4) There is always leftover food for snacking on! 5) It is cheaper. We wiled the evening away by watching the second installment of LotR. We really know how to plan an evenings entertainment eh??
As with Dunedin, we left Invercargill as early as possible (blatant lie-we don't leave hostels till 11 we are so lazy!) and journeyed to Te Anau which would be the base for our Milford Sound adventure/cruise/sailing. After arriving we looked at each other and immediately felt guilty () about the number of beers we had consumed over previous weeks so we decided to go for our first proper run in NZ. Seemed lke a good idea at the time. Ha ha. Only joking...we are still in surprisingly ok shape...and I stress ok!! Te Anau is a beautiful place set on a lake with the Alps towering in the background so it wasn't hard to kick back and relax.
Next morning we made the 2 hour drive to Milford Sound, stopping off along the way for the obligatory photo opportunities..along with every other Joe tourist. We boarded our cruise about 4 and sailed off down the fiord. Again, I know we are guilty of posting lots of scenic shots but seriously..'stunning' doesn't even do it justice. We pulled in to a cove and did some sea kayaking and I (Brian) jumped in off the boat. I must be stupid because I didn't kop on how cold this water would be. Duh Brian!! It's glacial/snow melt water...my heart nearly stopped. Laura was taking a pic of me jumping but I had to do it 4 times before she got it right...I smell a rat I do...
7am was the wakeup time next morning and although it was baltic, it was made better by the scenery and when a pod of dolphins swam beside the boat we couldn'e believe our luck!! We also saw penguins and seals (more pictures to come Ray!!). The tour ended with the boat driving into a massive waterfall. The guide said that if the spray hits you then you will look ten years younger....I'm not convinced....my crows feet are still there!!
News of Bungy and other near death experiences will follow....stay tuned....
We miss you all and hope all is well,
Love,
Laura & Brian
P.s Enjoy Rome (Brian's folks)
P.p.s John, it would appear your Maths skills aren't as bad as you feared
P.p.p.s Miss you too Donna..and the wee rascals
P.p.p.p.s Good luck with the Indoor Tournament Hannah...Keep me posted!
- comments
Samir Thanks for your suggestion, Alicia! It's acalutly Men Briefly Explained , just in case you fall foul of some overly literal-minded search system.Congratulations on your move to Dunedin one of my favourite places. My suggestions may be poets you have read years ago, but in addition to all the lovely books produced by our fellow Tuesday Poets, I would always recommend anything by Paul Celan, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam.
Nimi Hey, why would it be so upsetting to know that Cadbury's chltooace was made in Australia and shipped to New Zealand?? It is after all Australian chltooace!! Love the pictures of NZ so beautiful I don't blame my husband for wanting to take me there one day