Saturday, May 2, 2015

Our bus driver stopped so we could take some photos - This is an iPhone pic.

I can't believe I only have  5 days left and I am still on the South Island. Today I will take a bus, to
the trans-alpine train. The train goes through what they call the Southern Alps. Someone told me to get a seat on the left side for some good photos. I guess they will be action shots since the train will not stop for Robin to take pictures of mountains!

I have two huge bruises, one on my knee and the other on my hip from sliding on the glacier yesterday - ouch.










Before the train we had a 3 hour bus ride through some flat areas near the Tasman Ocean. When we stopped at a roadside cafe I selected carrot cake and an orange mango juice by Tropicana.

The possum sign with right outside the cafe. Not sure there is a connection there.

We took a lunch break at this seaside town Hokitika. The beach was grey and filled with sculptures of driftwood, including this town sign.

The train station is so small! If you live in Chester County, picture the old Pocopson Train Station. The station at Christchurch is not much larger either. The ride was through some beautiful countrysides and mountain areas. The higher peaks have snow already on the top and the rivers are pure aqua color. I noticed this early on, then as we passed through glacier country the water was grey from mountain sediment under the glacier.The train arrived in Christchurch at 6:05 and my ride was there to greet me! This was the first time I have ever had a sign for a shuttle ride!Dinner was at the Chateau on the Park in Christchurch. Main dish was scallops with baby lettuce, and a relish of corn, kiwi, red pepper, mango and something spicy. It was very good. I noticed some pink portions attached to the scallop and tasted it. Not a specific flavor, but since I didn't know what it was, I cut it off and didn't eat it. That was the roe and considered a delicacy.

Dessert, below was a toffee, with hazelnut ice cream, raspberry, and chantilly cream. Outstanding!

The big adventure of the day came in my hotel room when I could not get my large suitcase open. I used the same code to open it for 2 weeks but I would not open tonight. All of my clothing, passport and important papers for tomorrow's flight are in there! So I roll it down to the front desk for some help and the porter had some clippers - gigantic clippers and cut off the zipper tabs so I could get in. Now I have sharp edge zip tabs and no lock on my suitcase. Oh well, whatever.

We passed many farms of deer (they are not wild here), cattle, and sheep. Along the side I saw a flock of pukeko running around. I saw others, but they were in pairs. It is rather odd to see blue birds with the red beak running like a large chicken with long legs.

Tomorrow, Sunday May 3, a short flight from Christchurch to Rotoura for 2 nights. More cool adventures await!

More Photos From Dunedin

They are EVERYWHERE! This one however looked me right in the eye. Usually they go quickly away from people.

This is the view down to the beach were we walked to see the penguins and sea lions.

On the way to the beach, we passed several ponds full of birds and wildlife. This kingfisher was just waiting for his lunch.

I saw a small ceramic of this Pukeko in a gift shop an bought it hoping I would see one in the brush. Sure enough, he was walking along with his mate on one side of the road and a huge hawk was on th other side hunting for something in the grass. Score!

Here is the beach and the lighting during our walk for sea lions. It really was beautiful.

Going to the penguins, we passed many trees that were shaped like this because of the high winds on the bluff.

Black swans were not native to New Zealand, but were plentiful in the ponds.

Those of you who go out to eat with me know I love different types of pizza. This was at a local pub and had carmalized pineapple and ham with chunky potatoes. I think they were just deep fried, but not shaped like fries. Some good spice on there as well. Lunch $12 NZ. Good deal here.