Heading South for the Winter

After the Queen Charlotte Track we took a day off to plan our trip down to Wanaka, the town I plan to stay and work throughout the winter.

Our first stop was to be Christchurch, the most populated city on the South Island, still currently recovering from the 2011 earthquake.

Our accommodation was in the Jailhouse, a converted hostel which was previously a prison and had kept the original layout, meaning we slept in a cell block. Two of the cells were kept vacant, one preserving artwork from some of the final inmates, the other displaying objects that would have been present in the cells. It was certainly an interesting experience, a much more pleasant one than I imagine it would have been for the previous tenants.

There is an intriguing mix of destruction and hope throughout the city, with developing artwork bridging the gap. Walking around the CBD, works of art portray history relating to the earthquake or innovations for the future. Bursting with idiosyncrasies such as shopping centres made of shopping containers, an old style tram which stopped inside a glass arcade and a cathedral made largely from cardboard boxes.

From there we headed on to Oamaru, a small town with much of their original Victorian architecture still intact. This town is also famous for its penguin populations, both the Yellow and Blue species. After enjoying the grand architecture along the main street during the day, we made our way to the Blue Penguin location in the evening. Sightings are never guaranteed, with numbers from hundreds to zero spotted on different nights. The winter is not the best time to see them but we were lucky to see a couple along the shore. They were much smaller than i imagined, less than knee height. Watching them waddle along and jump up the rocky border was one of the most adorable sights I have ever seen.

Further south we arrived at the second largest city on the South Island, Dunedin. Translated in Celtic to New Edinburgh, the blueprint is based on the layout of streets from Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the most attractive features of this city is the street art developing throughout the centre.

We took a trip out to Tunnel Beach, a short bus ride from the centre. Aptly named due to the tunnel which has been crafted into the cliff edge over years by the power of the sea. It was a beautiful location, not too overrun by visitors and provided some great exercise for the day in the form of a half hour hill climb when leaving the beach.

The rest of our short time in Dunedin was taken up with the typical tourist activities of museum and gallery visits.

Next on the list was Queenstown, affectionately known as the adventure capital of the world. On route we stopped off for a break in the small town of Roxburgh. I mention this purely to talk about toilets, yes, toilets. Their public toilets impressed me so much I feel they are worth a mention. With an electronic locking system, elevator style music playing whilst you do your business, an electronic toilet roll dispenser and a toilet which flushed automatically when you used the motion sensor sink, it was the most futuristic toilet experience of my life!

The journey to Queenstown was equally impressive. Mountains loomed on either side of the road, darkened contours seemingly even more breathtaking under the heavy white sky. The green brown landscape was scattered with rocks, a river cutting through the base of the mountains metres below us.

Arriving after dark we weren’t able to see Queenstown itself until the following day. When we did, the vistas certainly didn’t disappoint. The town is situated on the edge of Lake Wakatipu, enclosed by the Southern Alps. We took a walk to the summit of Queenstown Hill, bestowing magnificent views of mountains and the large blue expanse of the lake. The blissful scene of nature was marred a little by the constant buzz of helicopters overhead and the numerous boats chugging along below. This didn’t come as a surprise however, as Queenstown is known for its tourist attractions as much as its surroundings.

Returning to the town we headed to Fergburger. A world famous burger bar, which lived up to its reputation in both quality and service. A great way to reward our amble up the hill!

From here we were heading on to Wanaka, supposed to be a quaint, more laid back version of Queenstown with just as impressive a landscape. In my opinion, all of the good, without the overwhelming industry. I couldn’t wait!