NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND

Driving back from Dunedin to Queens town, 4-5 hour journey,stopping at various vineyards and fruit orchards, we were very sensible no wine tasting, but had plenty of early season fruit picked from the orchards. The fruit is not as cheap as one would think, In fact more expensive than London supermarkets. The drive as mentioned before is very scenic and given time there are so many places you could stop and simply admire the view.
Queens town itself is a lively town with lots of activity centres, mainly targeting the young backpackers like bungee jumping etc. We did the fast jet boat ride for an hour travelling at 50MPH. This speed on the water with waves is believe me very fast and the maneuvers the driver does on the lake and on the shallow part of the river are thrilling. You of course return from the trip completely socked.
Christmas in Queens town was a very quite affair. Most of the town was shut until the evening. However, Christmas in the sun -25degrees- is a change from the usual, dull, wet, and cold conditions that we are used too.
Sadly for the first time , the white water rafting trip had to be cancelled due to continuous rain on the whole day on boxing day. The whole day was spent in the hotel room reading and watching TV.

fast boat ride-good fun

Queens town lake front

By the harbour Queens town




New zealand roadwork can sometimes be difficult to follow, so we had to go back from the west coast to east coast to a city called Dunedin. We stayed here for two days as there is a lot one can do and see here. The first stop was the magnificent railway station built in the late 1800 and is a building worth seeing. It has mosaic tile floors and stained glass large windows and just looks great.

The four hour rail journey taking us through amazing variety of landscape with farm lands, forests and the Taieri river gorge is simply magnificent. This is one of the top ten railway journeys to do. The railway takes you through a number of tunnels and the steep drops to the river below are just stunning views, not to mention the high mountains and the deep gorges.

Also in Dunedin , worth a visit, is the steepest residential street in the world. We walked up the street and the 5-7 minute walk is really tiring. Just imagine if you lived at the top end and had to do it everyday. However the drive up the street is a little more frightening in case the car stalls in the middle of the narrow street.

steepest street in the world

not that easy to walk if you live on this street

driving along the steepest street in the world

Taieri River Gorge

view from the train journey

council building Dunedin

a better view of the station

Railway station Dunedin

What is called here the Fiordland in the south west, the landscape here is phenomenal, especially around Milford Sound. The drive from Te Anau, especially early in the morning to Milford Sound on narrow and winding road is one of the finest scenic road journeys. A stop at mirror lake along the way is a must. Waterfalls, rivers or creeks as they call it are all along the way and one has to choose where to stop and where not too as there is so much to take in.

Two and half hour cruise in the glacier cut fiord's with huge peaks rising out of the water, massive waterfalls cutting through the fiord's is a great way to explore this area. There are also many short walking tracks around the fiord but you need more time and need to be better prepared.

waterfalls on the fiord's

Fiordland

Milford Sound

stunning reflections

reflections in the mirror lake-early morning

Mirror lake

CHRISTCHURCH

Arriving at Christchurch , at the airport taking the shuttle bus , the driver said NZ$25, I said 20 and surprisingly he said OK. I thought business must be bad and things can only get better for me.

Christchurch is a very colourful and beautiful city with botanic gardens and many parks and has a very much an English country town feel. Just wandering around the Cathedral square and riding the tram or taking the gondola to the peak for stunning views of the bay and surrounding hills is enjoyable and relaxing.

We took the easy option of touring the island by hiring the car, which gives us flexibility and I don't have to carry Rekha`s heavy cases, instead of taking the hop on hop off bus.

First stop Lake Tekapo with stunning and breathtaking scenery of the turquoise lake with the back drop of snow capped mountains and the night sky is simply amazing.

An hours drive from the lake is the mountain range which includes Mt.Cook, Newzealand`s highest mountain. There are very interesting walks around the area which takes in the grasslands, huge river valleys and lakes and swing bridges. Our 5 hour walk in the region at the base of the mountain was blessed with good weather and being a week end there were quite a few other hikers which was comforting.

a brief stop along the way

simply stunning scenery

Surprising not cold in the area

more views along the walk

views along the walks

a walk along Mt Cook

Mt Cook

Mt Cook Region

Around Lake Tekapo

The road to your self

Lake Tekapo

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD & MELBOURNE

Melbourne the second largest city in Australia, is very much a cosmopolitan city with a Victorian era look. Lots of parks gardens and walks along the Yarra river. Hover two days in Melbourne is enough.
Five weeks in Australia finishes here and it has truly been a fascinating and interesting five weeks. There are still a few places to visit and things to do which will have to wait for another time.

Sky line by the river

a free tram ride round the city

I think the Law courts

Melbourne by evening

The drive down to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road took two days and is an interesting drive. However the gem of the drive ,winding along Victoria`s rugged south coast is truly one of the most spectacular coastal drive. Starting the journey south at a place called Tourquay(most names along the coast are from English towns)and staying for two days at Lorne with stunning beaches and huge waves, watching people surf is very fascinating. The great ocean road passes steep cliffs and winds along lush forest and coastal scenery. The towns along the road are really very small in size and basically cater for the tourists. There are very few people in every town we passed.

The forest in the region are very dense and feature so many different types of ferns and other plants and shrubs that walking in the forest of such density is a memorable experience. It can be frightening and scary too as on many of the walks, leading to spectacular waterfalls,we were the only one with no other person to be seen for sometimes hours. However the track markings, bridges and information boards are extremely good and very help full.

The coastline is continuously buffeted by stormy seas and fierce winds which has resulted in spectacular rock formation and inlets. The most well known formation is the Twelve Apostles and the other names given are The London Bridge and Loc Arc Gorge. Much of the coast line has also remnants of the shipwrecks that often happened 150 years ago to English and Irish immigrant ships.

For me the drive along the coast was the high light of the tour , so much so that we drove along part of the coast twice and spent more time admiring and enjoying the amazing scenery. This drive is a must for any aspiring tourist to the country. Some of the pictures below really do not do justice to the actual scenery.

The Grotto

The London bridge

Loch Arc gorge

rock formation is great to watch

still part of the 12 Apostles

People just offer to take your picture

Part of the 12 apostles

great ocean road

sighting of Koala`s

At the end of the trek this what you do it for

there is me working hard

rivers and forest everywhere

all alone most of the time in the jungle

Hard work trekking in Jungle

Along the great ocean road

After coming back from Fiji, stayed for a further two days in Sydney and where getting ready for another long drive to Melbourne, just under 600 miles.

In Sydney, the time just passed so quickly and felt a little sad when it was time to leave Mahendra`s house who has been so helpful and so welcoming that I have to make more frequent trips to Sydney. We will also miss his son Marcus who was great fun to be with and got along splendidly. Also meeting Ellis in his home town and spending time with him was very good. Ellis , as he has always done for the past 25 years ,will keep travelling the world every year and will see him in London next summer.

Marcus on his balcony

House in Sydney where we stayed

Hard at work in the kitchen with little Marcus