Waterfalls & Boulders - To Waihola Lk, Oamaru and Rakaia R

' The EARTH Has Music For Those Who Listen '

William Shakespeare

We're running out of travel time now. 

We only had 4 more nights camping after Curio Bay and then just 1 additional day moving northerly towards Christchurch; which pretty much marks the end of our stay in NZ. Once the coastal highway diverts away from the Southern Alps along the South Islands' west coast (and all the National Parks there), the opportunities for many activities, including longer day-hiking are limited. 

Oamaru, appears to have a few things that interest us and there just happens to be, a 3-day Harbour Street Jazz & Blues Festival on right now. We're also a bit road weary and may use these last few days to relax and sleep in, readjust and begin to repack before our flight(s) home, maybe just do touristy sight-seeing trips and short hikes along our way. 


From Oamura we just drove, a night in Rakaia River and then the final night in Christchurch.

SO ... here you go, the map to your right, tracks our route from the south end of the South Island and then along the east coast, there's some text and photos too.

An Old Indian, Ancient Trees & A Sea Cave - To Curio Bay

' We Saw An Old Indian  & Some Really, Really, REALLY Old Trees '

We've come as far south as you can on mainland New Zealands' South Island ...

... and, Invercargill was just a town we had to drive through to get here. 

A brochure told us about this place, we needed groceries and supply and had the time to stop in. The World's Fastest Indian is on display at E Hayes Hardware Store . Remember the movie, starring Anthony Hopkins

For my riding friends ... Tom, Gerry, Gord, Bob, Rick, Mark, Don & Doug.
 

A Million Sheep & A Dozen Lions - To Cromwell and Te Anau

' The Road Must Eventually Lead to the Whole World ' Jack Kerouac

 Soon making a mad dash for Christchurch and the start of our 

' On The Way Home ' leg.  

 

We are beginning to run out of time on this trip and there are still several additional stops we would like to make. Our priorities are wildlife viewing and hikes to see several rare penguins, albatross and dolphins. So, given the very rainy start to this day, we've decided to just drive and move further south and inland as far as we can get. To get to some of those difficult-to-reach, remote places, we may need a boat cruise.

That's US - white camper, orange circle, map below.

Our first stop CROMWELL, is located at a major highway junction that connects either the west or east coasts near the southern end of the South Island. The weather forecast for the next 3-4 days will determine which way we head.

Little & Big Birds - To Fox Glacier

' Our First Time Heli-Hiking! '

We're planning on using the village of Fox Glacier as a base for a couple of days. It's located near the centre of this National Park and gives us good access to all the facilities. We hiked at the villages of Okarito and Franz Josef on our drive through.

WESTLAND / TAI POUTINI NATIONAL PARK

WALKS: Pakihi Walk & Douglas Walk/Peters Pool

In NEW ZEALAND, trails or routes are called tracks, hikes are called walks and multi-day backpacks or treks are called tramps. (Just figured that out, but I'm not about to edit already-published posts to reflect the distinctions).

So, based on that new information ... today, we walked to kiwi territory and a river. 

Worms, Pancakes & Flowerpots - To Westport and Hokitika

' Glow Worms are one of the rarest & most unique animals on Earth and are only found in New Zealand  & Australia '

TE  WAIPOUNAMU (MAORI  for South Island)

NEW ZEALAND: South Island - Picton, Nelson, Motueka and Kaiteriteri

Only Russia Wakes Up Earlier

 

To the SOUTH ISLAND ...


FERRY CROSSING
Wellington, NORTH ISLAND to Picton, SOUTH ISLAND

We sailed on the Kaitaki Interislander, the largest ferry in NZ's fleet. Kaitaki is a Māori word meaning ' challenger '. About a 3.5 hour crossing, out of Fitzroy Bay on the North Island and across Cook Strait to Picton on the South Island. From there we travelled westerly for about 3 hours along winding coastal roads to Stoke, a suburb of Nelson. 

First impressions of this coastline ... spectacular scenery!