NZ 24 Driving South
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| Our Juicy Car |
We
slept near the Airport on the day after arriving in Christchurch. We had
ordered a rental car for the next morning and the hotel owner was nice enough
to drive us to the rental office, there was no public transportation and we had
too much luggage with us. Not only did we each have our own suitcase but now we
had the helmet, riding boots and riding suit, too. I felt like a pack-horse,
moving bags along. I was really happy that the hotel proprietor helped us.
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| Driving South Along the Coast |
The
car we received was good, too; certainly big enough for the 2 of us and all the
bags. The car rental company was Juicy, it was an older car, not in the best
shape, with a smallish engine but we chugged along. Trunk space was limited,
though.
On
day one we packed all of our riding stuff in boxes we bought at the NZ Post
office. This time we also shipped our helmets, there was no use hauling all the
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| Beautiful, Deserted Beaches |
riding gear for our next adventures through Tasmania and Australia. We had a
total of 3 boxes to ship, boxes as large as NZ rules let us ship. Not a cheap
way to do this, but what was the alternative? US$ 378.38 is a hefty price to
pay to just ship luggage back, NZ Postal service is more costly than the US PS.
But
it was much easier after we got rid of the extra bags. Each of us now had a
knapsack and one medium sized suitcase. Phew!
Glad we got rid of the cumbersome riding stuff.
My
goal for day one of our 'alone' tour, after mailing off our riding suits and
helmets, was to go as far South as the roads would let us go. So we drove off
without an actual destination, just going south, south and south.
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| Do You See the Albatross in the Upper (R) Corner |
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| Close-Up of the Above Picture |
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| Such a Huge Wing Span |
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| No Blue Penguins But Saw Some Seals |
On
the way south, we tried again to see the albatross and this time – Success!
We
stopped at the Royal Albatross Centre and Carol was quick enough to capture one in flight. They also advertise Blue Penguins but again we did not see them.
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| Hospital Hostel |
Yes,
of course we had to go back past Dunedin again, but this time we had a bit
better GPS and traveling in a car is much easier. Driving by that time on the
left time of the road was OK; I had the hang of it. I no longer turned on the
windshield wipers when I wanted to activate the directional signals.
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| Hand Rail, Old Radiators, Long Corridors. It Was Fun |
We
slept in a Hospital Hostel someplace south of Dunedin for the night. It was
originally a hospital that had been converted into a hostel but still had the original
long corridors, tiny rooms and a solarium. That was an experience.
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| Shipping Containers Behind the Sign |
Since
we stuck to the highway, the next day we reached Buff, the most southern point
that we could easily reach. Bluff was not like the Northern point Rainga.
The town itself was a harbor town, with lots of docks and transport hubs. It
was industrial looking and the land was used as practically as possible.
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| Land's End Hotel |
We
found a hotel at the very, very end of Highway 1 and celebrated our NZ tour. We
are kind of finished; we went from North to South and many spots between. No, we
did not take the ferry over to Rakiura Island because there are no roads to
speak of once you get there. I felt I had accomplished something. We traveled
NZ, North to South.
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| View of the End of the Road From Our Window |
We
enjoyed an oyster dinner that night; had a nice glass of wine and just enjoyed
the freedom and the accomplishments of our trip so far. The boutique hotel we
picked, Land’s End, was a bit chi-chi but so what, I felt we deserved a good
time.
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| Oyster Dinner With a View |
We
were literally at the end of the road. There was just a turnaround at the end
of this Highway 1 in front of our Hotel. I noticed there was a walkway going
further south but we did not feel like going for a hike. It rained heavily when
we arrived and it rained all night too, but no matter, we were dry and we slept
just fine. So…. End of the road trip in
New Zealand…. Now what?
We
looked at the map and the only spot we did not get to and wanted to see was
Milford Sound.
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| End of the Road |
We
talked about it and saw 2 options for the few days we had…Drive to Milford
Sound or stay for 3 days in Christchurch. We put this into our brains during
dinner and then slept on it. The next morning, we had it figured out…
Christchurch!
So
yes, we drove all the way back past Dunedin again to be in Christchurch, parked
the car in the hotel parking lot, and now we were on foot.
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| Only a Path Continues South |
So
let me tell you about Christchurch in the following blogs. Keep reading!
