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Otago Peninsula
For us, an early morning visit to the Royal Albatross Centre at the tip of the Otago Peninsula was not the best timing as we only saw two sleepy chicks and no adults as they were out hunting food. For me, the 30 minute trip around the co-sited Fort Taiaroa was more productive and gave an insight to an observation post built in the late 1800's to counter a possible Tsarist Russia invasion.
Another stopover was Penguin Place, a long established conservation trust nearby to the RAC with extensive rolling hillside and golden beach scenery offering the right habitat for the yellow eyed penguins that were native to that part of NZ. The 1.5hr tour was most enjoyable and thanks to our tour guide Rhonda.
Taking the high road from Portobello to Dunedin on a late sunny afternoon enabled us to see some fabulous views as we traversed the windy route following Otago Harbour to Dunedin. On arrival to this established city, we headed for the recently restored historic railway station, with it's grand architecture. After a walk round the city centre, observing some historic buildings like the Cathedral, we headed back to the station for an excellent meal at 'The Scotia' a restaurant which had only been opened for six months and served up some fine Scottish food and drink with first rate service.
Southern Scenic Route
This 'must do' route starts about 100km from Otago Peninsula where the journey took us through scenic rolling hillside of the sort you would see in the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and along the Hereford/Welsh border. The stopover at Golden Nugget Lighthouse along an 8km gravel coastal road well worth the diversion. Just over a 15 minute walk from the car park, from the now high coastline we could see for miles. There were many seals resting and playing on the rocks below. Continuing on to the small town of Owaka there is an excellent cafe by the name of Lumberjack. The two dishes of blue cod, chips and salad, with two beers came to $44 and definitely could not be described as miserly portions. The place was spotless with a large log fire, which would have roasted anyone sitting on the nearby tables!
The route then passes Purakaunui Falls, accessible by a 10 minute walk through a damp forest. Quite pretty, the falls would have been more spectacular with a larger volume of spring time water. From here our journey took us through pristine and quiet varied countryside including some rain and petrified forest. As with elsewhere on the South Island, loads of sheep grazing everywhere on lush land and no traffic to speak of - oh the joy driving when it's like this! The final stage was fairly flat as we came round the south coast. With no visible irrigation in this area the lushness of vegetation suggested it rained frequently.
Invercargill was a much larger town than I had expected, functional but not spectacular, with different licensing laws meaning a trip to an out of town liquor store rather than buying drink at local supermarkets. The store was well stocked, prices not too bad, but like the UK, Australian wine much cheaper than NZ wines. The beer store was large and accessed by a automatic sliding door, but jolly cold once inside, especially if dressed in just shorts and a T Shirt as I was!
Continuing our journey westwards from Invercargill along the Southern Scenic Route (now H99) in preference to the more direct route offered by H6 took us past the town of Riverton, noted for it's safe beaches and rapidly rising property prices before first stopping off at Monkey Island and then McCracken's Rest, which overlooks the Te Wae Wae bay and on a clear day out to the Solander Islands, but when we visited the intense sea spray restricted visibility. From that point H99 continued north-west away from the coast and into more sheltered and rolling lush countryside as we stopped off to see the historic Clifden Suspension Bridge then onwards to Te Anau passing the Takitimu Mountains and Lake Manapouri.
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