New Zealand 2011/12 - Part 2 of 8
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Boulders, Dunedin, the Catlins and Christmas at Milford Sound
Moeraki Boulders
The highlight of the next day, when I reached the east coast, were the Moeraki Boulders, spherical stones on a sandy beach. In the evening swimming in the Pacific a little north of Dunedin was bitterly cold.
Whichever side you ride into Dunedin from, you cannot avoid a few hills. The hills were not the reason why I arrived somewhat exhausted: shortly before, a car had almost driven me into the ditch/grave while turning left
South of Dunedin begin the Catlins, very beautiful hilly country and coastal strip, very lonely apart from countless sheep.
Invercargill
That day I cycled to Invercargill; here 2 pictures that I took there from the same spot to the right and left of the street :)
Via Riverton, one of the oldest “European” settlements in New Zealand (about 175 years old), I now rode north, the southernmost points of my trip lay behind me. On the rather lonely way to Manapouri I also came through Tuatapere, which calls itself the Sausage Capital, for whatever reason (sign at the town entrance). The campsite in Manapouri was very cosy; it was Christmas Eve and I treated myself to a Christmas beer on the lake beach.
Te Anau
Best weather here in the deep south of the South Island; at Milford Sound and elsewhere there are 200 rainy days a year and 8 m of water column, and fantastic here are the cold rainforests, which have been growing on their own as unmanaged primeval forests for many years. A simple walk through such a forest is impossible: the vegetation is very dense and the countless old, half-rotten tree corpses turn a trip into an expedition.
In Te Anau there is a cinema that was built for a film shot there: Ata Whenua - Shadowland, impressive footage from New Zealand’s Fiordland; the $10 for the ticket are well spent...
The road to Milford Sound is a dead end, and you have to ride the roughly 120 km back to Te Anau again. A few small hills and a climb to about 950 m at the end, before you descend through the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound.
