Overland from East to West... via Gore

We headed off to the next coast, passing through a few towns on the way.

We saw the rural way to go over a fence,

The bridge at Balclutha,

Some more of the southern island locals,

The fish at Gore,

... and plenty of open road.

Dunedin - Railway Station

History and Beauty, a wonderful place to see how things were over 100 years ago, with one of the most photoigraphed buildings in New Zealand.

The detail in the tiles and patterns in stunning, and the stained glass windows are kept in pristine condition. The gardens are lovely and the sponsorship walk with the printed bricks makes for something special.

 

We could have spent a lot longer around here, seeing the art shop and catching a tourist train, but simply didn't have the time. It ended up being a quick stop, a few photos, and a lasting impression.

Dunedin - World's Steepest Street

This is truly a one of a kind, and I have to say I don't envy the people who live on this street.

We drove up to the bottom of the hill, looked at it and said "Nope, I don't trust that the car will make it".
So we got out and walked, took photos, commented on how much our calves were complaining, had a breather at the top, walked back to the bottom and got certificates to prove we were here.

 Sadly, we weren't there at the Jaffa Festival...  THAT is the only way it could get better ;)
http://chocolatecarnival.co.nz/jaffa_race

Dunedin - Larnach Castle

There are gems all over this island, and Dunedin holds a great many, we visited so many things while in town... if it was only 10 degrees warmer... there may be more residents, but then you would lose the charm.

We loved the peninsula, driving along the ridges of the landscape amongst the sheep, looking over a harbour on one side and the ocean on the other. Then on the top of the peninsula a real slice of history - Larnach Castle. www.larnachcastle.co.nz

The effort involved in shipping the materials from all around the world in the 1860's is truly remarkable, and the end result, astounding!

The gardens were beautifully kept, and we enjoyed a devonshire tea in the ballroom. A real treat. If you get to this part of the world, make the time for a visit, you won't regret it.

Christchurch

For a city that shook, it has been doing an incredible job tidying up the dregs of  the buildings and the rubble on the streets.

When we drove through, we could see boarded windows, protective fencing, empty blocks of land, and some buildings still being pulled down.
What amazed me most was on one street everything was fine and dandy, yet around the corner a full block was turned to rubble.

In the clean up process it seems as though they had run out of room, and we saw a large warehouse / shelter that was full to the roof with broken pieces of buildings. Really brought home just how much work has been done... and how much there still is to go.

Briefly in Blenheim

On our way down to the southern end of New Zealand, we had a short stop at Blenheim.

We saw a little bit of the local experience, with a trip into the hills and seeing the houses there, then a drive out along past some of the wineries, past a gorgeous Cob House, and then to Pollard Park.

Pollard Park was a lovely stop, with a fantastic playground for the kids to enjoy, some beautiful flowers, and the base camp of the ducks of the world. There was more to see, but as this was a brief stop we didn't get to see much more.

A lovely place, where we actually stayed overnight on our way back North, before getting on the Ferry again :)

 

 

And below is one of the macro's I took while here :)


Extension by =KarenDFrancis on deviantART

Wellington

We started our trip with a beautiful sunny day - rare and well worth taking advantage of. We went to the waterfront, around Te Papa Museum and had some great time out exploring the city.

The Museum was amazing the displays were world class and fascinating. We also couldn't believe it was free entry!

One of the best displays was a looped video showing the molten core of the earth, and then having some rocks for you to lift, each one heavier and heavier, showing how it would be towards the centre of the earth. The heaviest was was almost impossible to lift, gave us a real concept of how the earth really is. Jono also loved the large map of New Zealand, he walked over the towns I named saying "Stomp Wellington"... on so on.

We also saw a street performer, juggling basketballs on a unicycle outside, which was unique in it's own way. The day was so nice that people were jumping into the harbour :)