Kei Ora from Queenstown

The South Island is impressive. The mountains in the south are more dramatic than those in the north. They remind me of the Andes, only not so high.

After leaving Wellington, I caught the ferry to Picton at the top of the south island. The weather has been perfect, so the ride was calm. The ship carried both people and vehicles.

Once in Picton, I caught the TranzAlpine train to Christchurch, but I got off at Kaikoura. Kaikoura is famous for whale, dolphin, albatross and sea lion watching,, as well as New Zealand crayfish (lobsters without those big front claws). It's another beautiful seaside town. Unfortunately, I didn't see any dolphins. The ocean was too rough on the day my tour was scheduled. I rescheduled for the next day. The weather was perfect, but the dolphins were nowhere to be found. Oh well.

The next day I caught the TransAlpine train to Christchurch. Spent the night at Christchurch, then headed down to Dunedin via Mt Cook. The scenery en route to Mt Cook was spectacular. Snow-capped mountains. It's really amazing. But I still think the Andes are more beautiful.

Dunedin was good. It is the sister city to Edinburgh. They original settlers were of Scottish descent, and wanted to name the place New Edinburgh, but settled on Dunedin. The city is filled with hills, gorgeous gardens and homes. THEY SAY that Dunedin is very scottish in ambiance. New Zealand's number one university is located in Dunedin, which means 20,000 students arrive in Dunedin every February.

Dunedin is also home to Cadbury Chocolate, and Speights Beer. Both are great products.

While in Dunedin, I visited the Otago Peninsula and saw some yellow-eyed penguins. There are so adorable! The is currently mating season for the yellow-eyed penguins. We say several couples emerge from the ocean and walk to their homes. Also saw three type of albatross. They are huge, beautiful birds.

Yesterday I took a train through the Taieri Gorge. It's an old train that runs from Dunedin to Pukeri. The scenery is amazing. Rocky cliffs with rivers running below. Once in Pukeri I caught a bus to Queenstown.

Today I visited Bob's Peak, a mountain peak with a spectacular view of Queenstown, and then did a wine tour. Had some good pinot noir, however, pinot noir is not my favorite wine. The people on the tour were a riot. Two scots and an irishman.

Tomorrow I will go to Milford Sound for the day.

And that's what I've been up too.

cheers,
Stacey