Dunedin

In Dunedin we stayed at the Otago Boys High School Hostel but let me back up and explain. From what we have been told, in New Zealand the public high schools are separate for boys and girls and it is not uncommon for kids from rural areas or other countries to board at the school's hostel (or boarding house). Right after Kyle and I went paragliding in Wanaka, we drove further into the mountains for a picnic lunch and ended up meeting Brian who, coincidentally, manages the hostel and is from Vancouver.  He left us with his card to contact him when we arrived in Dunedin since the hostel has a "parents room" for visiting parents that is often vacant.

The OBHS Hostel was absolutely fantastic!  We arrived on a holiday weekend so most of the boys were at home and not at the hostel but we were able to eat our meals in the dining room with those still around. It was a fantastic break from our tent not to mention a change in our meal plan!  (A reprieve from oats for breakfast and PB&J sandwiches for lunch!!)

The city of Dunedin completely surprised me.  It was full of life but not too big and it has an historic feel.

We were within walking distance of a pool as well as the Octagon (city centre) and were able to have more of a settled life for a few days rather than feeling so transient.  We went to see a movie (the Hunger Games) as part of a "weekend outing" for the boys at the school and we did a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory.

We drove out the Otago Peninsula to the Royal Albatross Centre and saw lots of Albatross!

The peninsula has great views and good beaches too.

During our time in Dunedin, Snow White really started to show her dents and we had to get new front brakes and rotors. We visited the steepest residential street in the world - Baldwin Street and put the new brakes to the test taking Snow White up and down the street!!  The photos really don't do it justice but this was a ridiculously steep!

A view of Dunedin at sunset.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Dunedin!  A huge thanks to Brian and his family for everything!

Touring the South of the South Island

After the Kepler Track, Kyle and I headed on a driving tour of the south of the South Island through Invercargill and the Catlins on route to Dunedin.  We made a brief stop in Invercargill, however, the weather was cool and rainy so we kept moving after a quick meal.  We ended up finding a unique campground at Curio Bay where we spent the night.  The campground was located just off the coast in 8" tall flax plants. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the actual tent spots but here is a photo of a flax plant that should give you an idea.

Flax Plants - We actually found these in Rotorua but it should help provide a visual!

Kyle and I were still in recovery mode from the Kepler Track so our day involved a lot of driving which is a great time to get some reading done because we've been reading books aloud to each other.  On the drive to Curio Bay, we were at the climax of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and ended up reading into the wee hours of the night to finish the book! We had quite a slow start the next morning, sleeping in before taking a long walk around the bay and saw dolphins! Below are a couple of photos of the coastline near the campground.
 

There is a dolphin out there....I promise!

The view of a bay near Curio Bay towards Dunedin

So long New Zealand...it was fun!

We are off to Oz today. NZ has been an absolute blast!!

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Welcome Tyler and Natalie!!

We met up with Ty and Nat last night in Rotorua. Very exciting to see them!!

Kepler Track

Kepler Track is a backpacking trail south of Milford Sound in fiordland.  It’s one of New Zealand’s Great Walks and very deserving of this title!  It is a 61km loop that begins just outside of Te Anau and has three huts that you can stay in. The huts are spaced out so that you hike approximately 15km each day.  The huts were a bit pricey for our liking so we decided to camp instead.  The campgrounds are not as nicely spread out – the first at 5.6K, the second at about 31K and then the third is just 20-30 minutes off the track at about 47K.

The start of the Kepler Track - here we go!

We started the walk in the late afternoon and hiked to the first campground called Brod Bay and had a nice dinner.  It was easy walking – flat terrain through a rainforest. The campground was gorgeous, situated on a lake.

The first campground!

The next day was our big day.  We had about 25km to get to the next campground and had about 1500m of elevation to ascend and 900m to descend.  Almost immediately, the climbing started and continued until we popped out above the tree-line with amazing views!  

The views!!

A good portion of the day was part of an alpine crossing above the tree-line. We had lunch on the deck of the first hut (Luxmore Hut) and did a short walk to the Luxmore Cave.  Kyle ventured into the cave and took some photos.

Lunch time

Luxmore Cave Entrance

From inside the cave

After lunch, we continued to climb and climb until we reach Mount Luxmore. We did a quick detour to the summit before continuing on.

Summit of Mount Luxmore

We went up and down across a ridge and had some seriously fantastic views of lakes and mountains all around.  When we finally reached the point where we started to descend, we were definitely ready.  We descended for a long time, back into the trees and rainforest-type woods.  Finally, we emerged at the Iris Burn Hut and campground where we put our feet up before a few minutes before setting up the tent or thinking about dinner.  We also did a bit of a sponge-bath rinse in a very chilly river just a few hundred meters away from the campground. 

Finally starting to descend

The next morning we were discussing our plan for the day. After speaking with the Camp Warden the previous evening, we knew that rain was expected the following day and that the next campground was likely going to be full with trampers and hunters.  We decided that we were just going to finish off the circuit that day.  Luckily we got a bright and early start (leaving the campground at 10:30…hahaha) and marched on.  The walking was very easy with a gentle decline or flat for most of the day.  We walked and walked and walked and walked.  And then we walked some more.  At about 22km is Rainbow Reach, an access point that we could catch a shuttle or hitchhike back to our car.  We had a rest stop there and I very seriously considered wandering across the bridge and catching a lift but in the end, we decided to finish walking to the car.  At the end of the day we had walked 32K and were ready to be done!!

Lake Manapouri for a lunch stop

We sat in the carpark and ate an entire bag of Doritos before doing much of anything.  A great reward!!

The Kepler Track was amazing – especially the second day.  Unbelievable views!! 

Overall rating: Top-notch!!!

Milford Sound

There isn’t much to say about Milford Sound – the pictures speak for themselves!  We did a morning boat cruise out to the mouth of the sound and back on a nice sunny day!