Saturday 6 January 2024 - Timaru
Sandra:
As we were staying here for two nights, the need to get up, have breakfast and get going was not top priority, so we gently eased ourselves into the day. First off was a trip into the centre of town. My watch battery had given up late the day before and needed fixing as soon as possible. A Google search yielded the names of a couple of potential candidates – the one which actually mentioned watch battery changes had a review along the lines of, … got it back to me in 2 days, very happy …. did not fill me with enthusiasm however. We struck lucky with the first shop we went in and the sales assistant said half an hour and NSD$15 was a very acceptable price. We decided to walk up and down each side of the main street and find a café for a coffee and cake. We accomplished both very well and found some buildings to photograph as well.
We duly returned and collected my watch and returned to the car. We were not, however, happy to see we had been given a parking ticket. We were parked in a fully designated disabled parking bay, displayed badge correctly, so could not see the problem. It was then we realised that over here in NZ, parking facing the wrong direction at the side of the road is a no, no. Lesson learnt!! NSD$40 – could have been worse. I knew the UK rule about after dark parking but not during daylight hours. Oh well.
Yeah, I was at the wheel so it was down to me. It did seem a little harsh as the car was off the road but there it is, their rules and ignorance of such I doubt would be deemed an adequate offence! No matter, put it down to experience, pay up and move on.
Sandra:
We then made our way down to the Caroline Bay Festival which included a small fairground – part of me was hoping that there was a ride which Richard could go on – unfortunately, there wasn’t one like that. We had a good look round and then strolled over to the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden – a small area but beautifully laid out with all manner of roses. As it is high summer over here, sadly they were not at their best but I could just imagine the covered walkway in Spring.
A few traditional travelling fair rides but no Waltzer sadly. That’s the one I remember from my childhood and the one I would really like to do again at some point. The Rose Garden was very pretty, tucked away and very peaceful. A cracking spot to just sit.
Sandra:
We then returned to the apartment for lunch – we were only a short 5 minute car ride from town so made sense to do this.
Richard had seen that Tiramu had its own botanical garden, so we decided to have a look at that as well. It’s basically in two halves – down by the lakes, with a lovely bridge in between them and then grassland and trees – lots of lovely shade, it was a very hot and sunny day.
We drove out of the park after the usual photographs were taken, lots of you were very complimentary about the few photos I posted on Social Media – I was really pleased with them too. As I said we drove back in a second time but parking up at the top end which is where most of the flowers still were. There was another rose garden, maize and a statue with waterfall which was lovely and peaceful. In addition, the fuchsia garden was a sight and smell to behold. I have a large dark red, pretty much standard in UK I think, fuchsia bush but to see all the different varieties was wonderful.
After this, we made our way back to the apartment and for a pleasant sit out on the veranda – not in full sun so very pleasant indeed. A conversation about what to have for dinner resulted in a quick dash by Richard to the local supermarket to get a small tin of baked beans – yes Heinz but seemingly darker in colour but tasting the same, plus some beer and wine. Dinner consumed, we were on the move the following day, so our usual TV and crossword and it was lights out.
Burgers in a bun, baked beans and fried potatoes – lovely. The beans were much better than Heinz in my opinion, a slightly smokier sauce and thicker.
Sunday 7 January 2024
Sandra:
We woke to a lovely morning, breakfast, pack up and we were off, roughly 3 hours driving today, so no mad rush, we are on holiday! The destination today was Dunedin. We had been driving for about 15 minutes when suddenly Richard said I think I have left some things in the motel. We managed to pull over and a quick check revealed that he had left his earphones. We turned round and thankfully they had only just started cleaning our room as we returned, so they were retrieved safe and sound – phew.
Numpty. They weren’t very expensive and had we gone much further I would have conceded defeat, but I generally listen to a podcast or audiobook at night to help me off to sleep so they would have needed replacing in any case. In all it cost us about 30 minutes – and some fuel of course – so no great drama.
We generally like a break for coffee late morning and I’d perused the Lonely Planet to see if there was anything of interest on the way. There most certainly was, in the shape of Oamaru – about 90 minutes from Timaru.
Once a busy port it fell on hard times at the end of the 19th century and in the 20th century there wasn’t enough cash or desire to redevelop, so the Victorian commercial buildings in the port area remain, now repurposed into bookshops, art galleries, vintage clothing shops and so on.
At the pinnacle of all this is ‘Steampunk HQ’, a quirky museum, which appealed immensely. Car parked in shade and coffee sought, we wandered the streets before heading to the museum. I liked the vibe of the place already.
The museum was right up my street. Dark and billed as a vision of an alternative past – or future – it was engrossing and fascinating and somewhere in which pointy boots and long coats would not have been out of place.
I particularly liked ‘The Portal ‘ – clever use of lights and mirrors. Add in an evocative soundtrack and it was very atmospheric.
Back out in the daylight the town to harbour steam train was running, the sight, sounds and smells only adding to the atmosphere. It’s something we’d normally jump at be the next departure wasn’t for another hour and we still had a way to go.
Sandra took the wheel and we continued our journey south , the SH1 rejoining the coast. We found a lovely spot at Katiki where we devoured our packed lunch – bacon baps this time – under the trees overlooking the ocean. What a spot, I found myself thinking how fortunate I was to be able to enjoy this wonderful country again.
Camping was allowed here – in fact ‘wild camping’ is allowed in lots of places though as you will see there are certain conditions:
Lots of the basic campsites in rural areas have a ‘Zero Waste’ policy. You take nothing, you leave nothing. In addition motorhome/campervan ‘dump points’ are indicated on road signage. There really is no excuse not to do the right thing and behave responsibly when you are well catered for like this.
Back on the road and a scenic detour was indicated which we promptly took. The views were stunning – of course.
Sandra:
Crossing railway lines, certainly in the South Island are a real thing, there are absolutely loads of them. Most have just flashing lights, the odd one has barriers. Next to none of the railway outside of town is fenced off and runs alongside the road as is. A complete change to the UK.
The motel looked to be another decent find – competition is such that I would imagine bad ones wouldn’t last. Unusually I’d booked this one direct as there was no advantage in doing otherwise. It was the first time I didn’t pay upfront, a free daily newspaper was offered and there was a breakfast menu in the room, cooked on site and delivered when you required it. This was something I remembered from when Trev and I visited - have I mentioned that? Breakfast to your room and a small bottle of fresh milk to set you up . Nice to see certain traditions being continued. The Kiwi’s are a hospitable bunch.
After a cuppa we had a quick drive around, finding Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street with a gradient of 34.8%. We neither drove or walked up it!
Todays Journey:
Monday, 8 January 2024
Sandra:
Today we wanted to do two things, have a look at the port – Port Chalmers, a few miles outside of Dunedin city itself and also drive up the Otago Peninsula. First up was Port Chalmers – a very busy container port in the main, we managed to find a road, very steep – in keeping with Dunedin, to drive up and we found a perfect spot to park up and take photos and watch the goings on of the container drivers. The system is amazing to watch and it is like an orchestrated dance of bees. I marvelled at the stoicism of the drivers of these cranes – high off the ground and looking very unstable indeed without a container attached. They made it look easy. Port Chalmers is some way down a very narrow channel and another ship had recently left and was making its way out to sea – 450 turns in a narrow channel would test any Captain’s mettle. Whilst we were there a small cruise ship loomed into view – given that the usual sized cruise ships would have to berth at Port Chalmers – the fact that it could make it all the way into the waterfront at Dunedin to berth perhaps goes someway to explaining the relative size of the boat.
The ship in question was the La Laperouse from cruise line Ponant. Being nosy I Googled them later, obviously. Small ships – this one had only 98 cabins – very exclusive and very expensive. Some enticing looking itineraries but at a minimum of 400-500 quid a night, well out of my reach.
Sandra:
We then retraced our steps towards Dunedin waterfront, crossing a causeway and onto the Otago Peninsula. We were following a tour itinerary which was in a book I had purchased some months ago. It has been really useful in directing us to routes of interest and with the recent addition of Richard’s Lonely Planet Guide we are well prepped for some very interesting tours indeed. First off was a coffee at one of the cafés in the village of Portobello. We travelled along the sea edge, very windy and in and out of bays and inlets. In terms of distance, we did not travel that far but obviously it took far longer. One of the café’s mentioned in my book was no longer in existence and the other one was not yet open. There was, however, a nice little café, well patronised so we sat out, across from the sea edge and drank two lovely cups of coffee. We perused the map and worked out the road we needed to take – to say it took several turns round the mini roundabout when we first arrived is something of an understatement. Roads are generally very well marked over here – even out in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, we set off for stop no 2 – The Albatross and Penguin Centres which are the far end of the island. We found both quite easily and parked up and were systematically mobbed by seagulls. Unfortunately, Richard succumbed to being pooped on – not much damage but much hilarity! We opted not to go in the Centre itself – a hefty admission charge and we have both seen programmes about Albatrosses in the past. In addition, we had stop 3 in mind – Lanarch Castle over the other side of the peninsula. To get over the other side of the peninsula required some climbing along twisty and sometimes narrow road without much in the way of safety barriers. The other growing issue was we were now in the clouds and visibility was very poor. We eventually arrived at the Castle but it was pretty much less than 10ft view and then thick cloud. Given it was NZ$41 pp to enter, we sadly called it a day, turning round as to pay to see something which we could not have done was not a cost we wanted to pay.
Yes, I could have stomached the cost if we’d have had the views too but we agreed the money would be better spent elsewhere. Annoyingly you had to pay the admission even to go to the eatery, so they missed our custom there. Oh well. We headed back into town for lunch and to snap a few photos.
The old Gaol is now escape rooms - how appropriate!
The railway station here is said to be the most photographed building in New Zealand. There are no longer scheduled rail services but heritage trips are a regular thing.
We returned to the motel and a rest. Discussion then turned to dinner. We were also on the road again tomorrow and potentially a later arrival, it would be preferable to have our own cook dinner to rely on. Decision made Richard found a great restaurant attached to a brewery – over to Richard to tell you about that. I can say it was a delicious meal.
Speights brewery has been in Dunedin since 1876 and their beer is seen across New Zealand. Not draught or hand-pulled but I’ve had their Old Ale in bottles and it was very agreeable. Here I got to try that in tap and Emersons London Porter too. Gassy – that’s how it is here – but tasty. The food was good too – braised beef in porter gravy for me and beef schnitzel for Sandra. Sandra had a pudding; I had a glass of local Pinot Noir that was on offer…
