Category Archives: Travel

The Catlins——Nature Wonder Land

The Catlins is one the place I wish to go, because

The Catlins the most nature place in NZ.
It’s the a good place to spot Aurora.
However, no public transport service to here, I only can come here by driving myself

Slope Point

We pass by Invercargill after coming from Queenstown,

Invercargill is the most southern City in the World. Almost every place crown with southern most name, for example the southern most Starbuck.
It’s a historical city with a lot story to tell.
Lastly, it also a great place to fill up your supply for The Catlins.

Pic (46)

*For Driver, the price of petrol increased with south latitude.
Mean Invercargill have a second most expensive petrol price.
And the Top is Queenstown

Without any experience and information form i-site, we went through quite a lot extra route:

  • Wrong timing to watch sunset at Bluff, we actually watching moon-rise
    Bluff
  • Jack Blowhole is actually nothing related to Blowhole.
    Jack Blowhole
  • Waipapa Point is a normal lighthouse with aggressive sealion.Waipapa Point
  • There is no sealion at Surat Bay during high-tide/afternoon.
    But there is a boot tree here.
  • Jack Blowhole

 

There are also some interesting point over here:

Slope Point, The southern most point for NZ south island.
The signboard will make your photo much more precious.
Moreover, here have the classic Catlins Scene

Slope PointPic (65)

Nugget Point with a amazing geographical structure, a special lighthouse and a cliff walkway.
There is a DOC house for you the watch yellow eyed penguin too.

Nugget PointNugget Point

3pm during winter is the best timing to reach here. 1 hour at the lighthouse and walkway then 4pm is penguin time.

Beside that, There a quite a lot lookout or rest point along the journey, eg : Florence Hill Lookout,Mclean Fall,Gemstone Beach (With real Gem!),Purakaunui Fall (The most printed postcard waterfall photo)

Purakainui FallPic (40)

*For Gemstone beach, low tide will be better for Gem finding.

Lastly, I think the most amazing place over here is Curio Bay

Curio Bay a bay with 180 million years old
But I think the most attractive point is the penguin experience.
By compare to Otago Peninsular, 200m (Free) and Oamaru, 100m. The penguin distance limit over here is only 10m!
Mean you can look at the penguin with amazing close up distance.

Curio Bay

Curio Bay

When we reach the bay, we come into a special rock area.
All of them are 180M years old.
Then we turn left, we saw a lot white print on the rock, the penguin poop.
Looked behind, there are a lot hole on the cliff, there are penguin home.

For now, we’re at the penguin daily route.
We find a great rock to stay and waiting them to come back.
According my friend, if you hide good enough, the penguin will though you’re stone and pass by you.

But if they noticed you, they’ll stay as far as possible or stay in sea
If the penguin not yet come home after the timing, means they saw you on the route and don’t want come back.
Now, you must stay further a bit for them to come back.

I think the Curio Bay is the best place to spot penguin with it cost-free, free seating, and amazing close-up distance.

Beside that, we’re the only customer during the night we stay in the BBH,Lazy Dolphin, and the host went back another home
During the night, we felt like own the whole beach resort.
I really like the comfortable bed and wonderful sun rise scene over here.
According to host, people even surf with dolphin just below the BBH during Summer.
Felt regarding again not coming during Summer!.

After all, If you coming The Catlins, you must come Curio Bay during Summer!

Te Anau——Village of Trackking

After Queenstown, our next station should be The Catlins,
But we have a stop at Te Anau due to long journey.

Te Anau

Te Anau basically is just a small town.
But it’s the gateway to some of the great walk, such as Kepler Track,Milford Track。

Short Kepler Track

Originally, I should stay here for couple of day to enjoy the track.
But winter changed the plan, and make this town really down.

But lastly I still came for a Kepler day Track.
Maybe due to bad weather or wrong point,
The scene is not really stunning.

Short Kepler TrackShort Kepler Track

Besides that, there is a little wild life center at the town.
We found this little clever duck, which will knock its food container to ask for food.

Te Anau Wildlife CenterTe Anau Wildlife Center

更多照片:

Lastly, there is a souvenir shop actually sell cheaper than Queenstown.
I think is because of winter and less visitor.
If not mistaken, it called Luxmore Souvenir, run by a Taiwanese.

Next station, my favourite station, The Catlins.

Milford Sound——The Wonder World

We booked Jucy Milford Sound Cruise from groupon
which is a one day trip including all transport but not lunch.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is a geographical phenomena caused by glacier.
After a long long time, the higher river bank become grass field while the lower river bank covered by sea.
One of the speciality is a mountain strike up to 1500m from sea level.
There are also a lot 100+m height waterfalls.

Milford Sound

The cruise tour will bring you along the 12km mountain sea,
Cruise you in front of the waterfall,
Take a chance to watch seal, penguin, dolphin or whale.
Some of the cruise will stay overnight at the middle of sea.

Another speciality over here is the weather. 200+ day out of a year in cloudy or raining.

There is another place call doubtful sound which share the same speciality with Milford sound, but it’s more nature.
In order to keep its original state, whoever want to visit must follow a cruise tour, then change to land transport then finally take a cruise again.
It’s impossible to reach there by driving ourself.

Around 9am, we departed from Queenstown.
The driver actively share the interesting point along the 4 hour journey:

Knot Flat, a grass field surrounded by the mountain, an image normally found on the postcard.

Milford Sound

Mirror Lake, if compared to Lake Matheson, Lake Matheson is better.

Milford Sound

The Driver suggest that this stream water is drinkable, and will keep us young forever.

Milford Sound

The Chasm

Milford Sound

Look like we have an unlucky day, cloudy weather over here.

Milford Sound

It’s time for the cruise!

Milford Sound

The captain introduce every single waterfall, geographical fact, history, mountain along the cruise

The captain also gave us a cold waterfall shower.
If it’s not winter and I have an extra cloth, I think I’ll join the shower too.

Milford Sound

When the cruise went almost the estuary, we spotted some seal.
And Thanks God a Tawaki penguin is hunting fish!

Milford Sound

Tawaki Penguin is one of the rarest penguin in the world, the hardest to spot and only found in NZ.
Their speciality is they live in bush, that’s why the we only can spot them in a few nature place.

The cruise took about 3 hours and mostly is watching waterfall.

Milford Sound

More Picture

For the return trip, we have a movie called The World’s Fastest Indian

In my opinion, the journey to Milford Sound is much more interesting than Milford Sound itself, but you have to explore some of them by yourself but not following the tour.
For example you’ll not reached Walk Wire if you following the tour.

If not because winter (with icy road), I will choose to drive myself over there.
Besides, My very original plan is take the 4D3N Routeburn Track from Queenstown to Milford sound.
It’s spoiled by winter spoiled too.

For nature lover, I suggest that never follow tour for this trip.
Because you’ll be surprise how beautiful this place is!