Dunedin and Mackenzie District

Before continuing to Canterbury, we stayed several days in Dunedin because I wanted to get rid of my fever that I had gotten. It started out slowly, probably after the many rainy days that we stayed in the cold car, and grew worse and worse, until I lay in bed shivering with two fleece jackets, my blanket and a hot tea. My boyfriend did some excursions on his own, because I really couldn’t leave the house. We didn’t do anything exciting in Dunedin, just strolling through the city. The city also has nothing special to offer, except for having the steepest road in New Zealand. When I got better, we went hiking at the cliffs at the beach. On our trip more to the north, we stopped at the famous Moeraki Boulders. This is huge Boulders at a beach and no one really can explain their origin and how they came here. They are a funny place to take pictures and to see the sun go down. The boulders make really good pictures.

One day, we went to Oamaru to see the penguin show. First, we tried to find out in the internet, if it wasn’t possible to see them without paying entry, but couldn’t find anything. So, we booked the show for the night and went to search a backpacker. There, the owner told us that is was completely unnecessary to go to a show and that the penguins walk everywhere on the streets in the night. Well, now we know and I want everyone who reads this to not go to these shows because they are just after the money. We couldn’t get our tickets back, so we went there. We saw the little blue penguins come from the water. They are the smallest penguins in the world, only about 30 centimetres and they are completely blue. They only live in New Zealand and partly in Australia. On the ocean, they gather up to groups – so called rafts – and only come ashore in big groups. They come back to their nests and babies and boy, do they scream. These little rackers can make such a noise! But they are really cute. The organisation, where we watched the penguin show had built little houses and nests for them, which is completely unnecessary as they could do it on their own and they are not even endangered. They are so many that they just walk through the streets and get overrun by cars or caught by dogs. Everywhere are signs to watch out for the little blue penguins and when you leave with the car, you always have to check under it, if there is no penguin hiding. But, during day, they are on sea hunting, and only return in the night. From our stay in Oamaru we wanted to get away as soon as possible as the owner was on one side very kind, but on the other very crazy.

So, we made our way to Twizel and then to Lake Tekapo. The whole way, you have the most beautiful landscapes that you can imagine. Ocean, flat, golden land, hills, and in the far, you could see the snow-covered mountains and glacier of the Southern Alps. We now, had reached the region of Wanaka and Queenstown, just on the other side of the mountains. I fell completely in love and we were wondering why we had stayed so much time on the North Island, when the South Island was so much more beautiful. Twizel and Lake Tekapo lay in the Mackenzie District, which is a natural reserve for the starry sky. What is she talking about, you might think now. But it is true. This is the part, where the air is so less polluted by emissions and also light as there are almost no cities – only the city of Tekapo with 318 inhabitants-, the sky is so much clearer as anywhere else. That is also, why the star and sky observation centre is located here. And the Landscape gets better and better. Lake Tekapo is a deep turquoise blue lake, which gets its colour from the glacier particles, which also means that it is freezing cold. We went swimming anyway, but just for short times. This part of the country is even better than Wanaka, about miles, it is just amazing. I can’t even describe it. The most interesting thing is probably the wideness and the loneliness of the region. It is just pure calmness and peace. This is truly heaven on earth. The whole nature was starting to turn from the deep green into a bright golden colour from the heat. The most important sight is obviously the church of the Good Shepherd, which had been built as a memorial for the shepherds and which is said to bring luck to couples, who marry there. So, now everyone knows, where I want to get married. It is only a small and simple church built out of stones – meaning only my best friends and small family can come – and the view from the churches window is breath-taking: onto the lake and the mountains. Close by, is a memorial for collies– in collie shape – without whom it would never be possible to herd the animals or get them up and down the mountains as it is not possible to get there by vehicles. Finally, a nation that worships the animals for their work, makes them rise even higher in my reputation.

Directly next to the lake is the “mountain” – it’s more a hill – Mount John, on which sits the before named University Observatory. You can book guided tours and do a star gazing. We didn’t do it, it was simply too expensive and we also have no idea about stars, so it was enough for us to see the stars like that, which is already amazing enough. My boyfriend even captured some fantastic pictures with his camera. We hiked up the mountain anyway, because the view is also worth it during the day. Up there, we treated ourselves with a huge iced chocolate and just set there, dreaming. It was pretty funny, because up there was a sign that forbid it to extra-terrestrials to enter the restaurant. Apart from hiking, not only on the mountain but also in the surroundings, we went every day to cool down in the lake.

Photo gallery