New Zealand: Dunedin – Te Anau – Milford Sound 1995

July 22, 1995

Dunedin is a city in New Zealand, at the head of Otago Harbour on the South Island’s southeast coast. It's known for its Scottish and Maori heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and a large student population. Hiking and cycling trails crisscross the dramatic landscape of the adjoining Otago Peninsula, home to colonies of albatross, sea lions and rare yellow-eyed penguins. Te Anau is a town on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s known as a gateway to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound. The region is home to endangered, flightless takahē birds and abundant trout in Lake Te Anau. Te Anau Caves feature a limestone grotto of glowworms and an underground waterfall. To the southwest, the Kepler Track winds through beech forests, glacial valleys and mountains. Milford Sound is a fiord in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen falls, which plummet down its sheer sides. The fiord is home to fur seal colonies, penguins and dolphins. Milford Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory offers views of rare black coral and other marine life. Boat tours are a popular way to explore. The Kepler Track is a 60 km circular hiking track which travels through the landscape of the South Island of New Zealand and is situated near the town of Te Anau.

🙂 Milford Sound Spectacular! Kepler Track AMAZING!

🙁 COLD!!

Bade Lorel and family farewell and headed to Dunedin. Picked up a hitchhiker on the way and dropped him there. Visited the chocolate factory and felt really sick as we also went to a coffee shop and ate far too much! Headed to Caitlin’s with beautiful scenery. The Catlins comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions. It includes the South Island’s southernmost point, Slope Point.

Stopped at Curio Bay, right next to the ocean and cooked a curry for dinner.

When we woke in the morning there was frost on the rocks where the sea was rolling in! The van had icicles inside! The water tank was frozen. It was COLD. We passed several dead and frozen sheep in fields! 🙁

The drive ahead was stunning. Stopped for lunch and built a snowman and had a snowball fight – so much fun!

Arrived at Te Anau – the road to Milford was temporarily closed. Picked up a Dutch hitchhiker to giver her a lift to a farm but we got stuck in the mud and the farmer had to rescue us and pull us out with chain snaffles!! Most magnificent scenery we have ever scene. Camped next to the lake…stunning.

We woke early on the Sunday morning and headed back to the Milford Sound Road which was thankfully open. The road is cut through the mountains and the scenery was magnificent! Opportunistic Kea birds joined us at every stop! The kea is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About 48 cm long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wings and has a large, narrow, curved, grey-brown upper beak.