Final day in Singapore

After having a long and tiring journey from Dunedin, via Auckland to Singapore we got to the Swissotel about 08:30, but we left Dunedin at 10:00 the previous day. We had breakfast (which was included) and retired to the bedroom for a couple of hours sleep. Then sort of refreshed, we went to the Gardens by the Bay, using the local metro. Nice gardens, and strange being chilled by lots of air conditioning and then hit by the 107F heat on the outside.

We’ll have a final cocktail and head out for meal to end our trip.

Yellow-eyed Penguins

We had a half day trip Wildlife trip around Otago harbour seeing the wildlife and visited a conservation reserve to see the efforts they are making to save these endangered species. Only roughly 250 breeding pairs of the yellow-eyed penguins remain on the NZ mainland and they reckon that if steps are not taken they could become extinct in the Dunedin area within next 10/15 years. On the boat trip we also saw 4 different types of albatross, they were flying over the boat within about 12ft of us. And also many fur seals that were basking on the rocks.

Final Destination of the adventure

 

Well the weather finally turned and we left Te Anau in rain, and it rained a lot of the way to Dunedin (180 miles). We are now nearly 12000 miles from home and the seafront our hotel overlooks is blustery just like eastbourne on an autumn day. We think the weather is now turning autumnal so it will be good to be in spring when we get home. There is a Thai, Fish and Chip Shop and an Italian just down the road, much the same as all the places we have stayed in NZ! We have only found a few restaurants that have done lamb and when we had it was expensive and disappointing. Lamb, like the NZ Wine, is more expensive than the UK.

Trip to Milford Sound

Milford Sound holds the distinction of being the wettest inhabited place in NZ and is said to also be one of the wettest places in the world. Well today didn’t disappoint, it was wet with very low clouds so when we started are boat journey at 10.20 you couldn’t see much. It was a bit clearer on the return journey. As it had rained heavily overnight there were lots of temporary waterfalls. We didn’t see any dolphins but did see fur seals. Also saw lots of sandflies! The fiord is 10 miles long and the trip ran the whole length and we went out briefly out of the entrance into the Tasman sea, next land is Argentina. The sea had quite a swell on it so glad it wasn’t rough!

 

Shortish drive to Te Anau (106 mi)

A fairly straight road to Te Anau, where we had a snack lunch at the Fat Duck, a brief look round the local shops and in to find out the accommodation for the next 2 nights. A peaceful group of 3 well maintained B&B rooms in close proximity to the shops.

We wandered down to the town for an evening meal, I had Venison Pizza, which was very nice and Sheila had an Orange Roughy fish pasta dish in a white wine sauce, which was nice and different.

A day in Queenstown

No travelling today, we ate a very good breakfast (all included) – pancakes, maple syrup, berry compote and crispy bacon! Then took the Skyline Gondola to take in the stunning views as you ride the steepest cable car lift in the Southern Hemisphere! You’re carried 450 metres above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu to the top of Bob’s Peak. Then a snack and beer down at the dock area and walked through Queenstown Gardens. Back to the B&B to recover before evening wine and nibbles.

 

Wanaka to Queenstown

Each of the seasons has its own special vibe in Queenstown, and the great thing is that most activities can be accessed all year round. World-renowned for its adventure, Queenstown is home to a huge choice of adrenaline activities including jet boating, bungy jumping, white water rafting, skydiving and even indoor thrills – all guaranteed to get your blood pumping! Now that something we won’t be doing, however there is a SkyLine which we might investigate tomorrow.  The B&B provided nibbles and a couple of glasses of wine and we talked to some other guests and we just climbed back up from town after a reasonable burger and fries.

 

 

OK Sheila’s selection

Of course there had to be an Ice Cream sampling …..

Lakeside Wanaka

Today the weather improved in Franz Josef and we actually saw the mountains. We had a long drive today (170 miles) but the scenery on route was spectacular, greatly helped by blue skies. It rained all day yesterday so we have been very fortunate. The setting of where we are staying is beautiful overlooking the lake. Unfortunately there was an Agricultural Show, largest in NZ, which swelled the population by 20,000 – but actually didn’t affect us.

Day in Franz Josef

The Franz Josef Glacier (Kā Roimata ō Hine Hukatere) descends into the lush native rainforest of Westland’s National Park. We are staying in a place in the village of the same name as the Glacier. This descent of the glacier occurs from a height of 3,000m above sea level to 240m over a distance of 11km, making it one of the steepest glaciers in the country. It also moves faster than your average glacier at over 50cm per day. Although we didn’t actually see the glacier (low cloudscape), we did walk towards it through scenic ravines and gorges. Later in the afternoon it began pouring with rain, which makes going out for an evening meal interesting.