Grampians in wintertime

Don't be fooled by the crazy 'Strayans in T-shirts. It was fucking cold.

Fjordland vegetation

Milford Sounds

As usual, my photos do not do New Zealand justice. But try to picture this. 

The southernmost tip of the South Island. Sea and land intertwined, the sounds meandering inland for miles, all along the coast. 

Wild. Uninhabited. Not even by sheep, at this point. One of the most isolated places on the planet. Accessible only by foot (helluva long walk), save for the a single (somewhat worrying) tunnel. 

Green. Blue. Wet. Water everywhere. Over 7 metres of rainfall each year. During the wet season, hundreds of waterfalls, big and small, drench the hillsides. 

Big. Empty. Endless.

Quiet. So quiet.

Fern

To the Fjordlands (3)

To the Fjordlands (2)

To the Fjordlands

Te Anau (2)

Te Anau

A little slice of heaven, I'm sure.

Night sky, Lake Tekapo

Prancing around Otago

I'm pretty sure it was my camera that was crooked and not the lake.

Yellow-eyed penguins

There's only a handful of these little guys left around Otago as there are no fishies left for them to eat because of all the nasty industrial fishing going on in their sea... Ponder that, ye carnivores!

Allan's beach, Otago Peninsula

Nothing until Chile

Another one of those weird, unsettling moments.

We stood here and watched the albatrosses fly around us.

I had strange images of Captain Ahab and the Old Marinere dancing around in my head, confused memories from the good old days - shit, I'm getting old! - ten years ago almost.

From this point, Pacific Ocean and not a single scrap of land all the way to Chile. That's a long way to go and a hell of a lot of ocean.

Otago Peninsula

I zig-zagged my way down the South Island from Nelson to Dunedin in a day and a half. That's a lot of sitting still and daydreaming. So I dumped my stuff at the hostel and headed straight out to the Otago Peninsula.

Breathtaking.

I decided that I'd rent a bike the following day and cycle my way around the Peninsula with my camera, in my own time. That didn't happen. The weather turned overnight and the next day it just pissed down all day long. So I explored Dunedin instead, ate carrot cake and bought myself a Comme des Garçons pouch*.

*In my defence, after over 3 weeks of bouncing around NZ wearing the same old jeans and trainers, I felt like I was turning into a smelly scruffy backpacker and, well, old habits die hard. And when it comes to shopping, NZ is rather limited (I'm being kind). Unless them merino wool outdoorsy gear stuffs are your thing.

And I couldn't locate any All-Blacks available for purchase, unfortunately - that would have done nicely too (all I got was a crummy T-shirt).

But I digress. Back to the point: Otago is a must.

 

Another thought (fear not)

New Zealand's south island is larger than England.

Human population = 1 million. Sheep population = 36 million.

You do the maths. Hint: it's peaceful.

Alpine railway crossing

From Greymouth, I caught the train all the way across the South island to Christchurch, via Arthur's Pass.

Four hours, countless changes of scenery - from lush green hills to arid valleys, to snow-capped mountains (Arthur's Pass was quite something) and through to the Canterbury plains.

Quite a memorable ride. Relaxing, restoring and an altogether pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I arrived at Christchurch in the evening, did not enjoy spending the night there in the rather creepy hostel (so creepy)*, and left first thing in the morning for Dunedin.

*Here's a tip for ya. Some things shouldn't be left to the last minute. Hostel booking is one of them. Try and plan things one or two days ahead**, it makes life a lot easier - not to mention your nights more comfortable.

**Not that I've ever taken my own advice. Ever. But let's not open that particular can of worms right now.

Pancake Rocks

Yeah, rocks. Pancake-shaped rocks. Big woop.

The view, however...