The Moeraki beach looked like an alien landscape, with huge round egg-like rocks in the surf. Just south of Oamaru on the southeast coast of New Zealand’s South Island, it was on the way to Christchurch, where flights awaited. It wasn’t our last stop, but, for those of you who have followed my New ZealandContinue reading “Moeraki”
Tag Archives: Australia/New Zealand
Oamaru
The charming Historic Precinct of Oamaru, on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, looked like something from a fading sepia photograph. It boasts New Zealand’s best collection of Victorian buildings, each with its own character and story. I would love to be there for their Victorian Fete holiday in November, summer in that southern clime,Continue reading “Oamaru”
Otago Peninsula
Based in Dunedin, both times I’ve visited the South Island of New Zealand, I have spent a day on the Otago Peninsula. A haven for wildlife, Otago is a special place where unique species live and are sheltered from human life. The preserves are at the far end of the peninsula. If I could have stayedContinue reading “Otago Peninsula”
Dunedin
Our next destination, driving around the south end of the South Island from Doubtful Sound, was to Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. There were a few interesting stops along the way. My journaling was a bit lax on this leg of the journey, for photos downloaded much later from my phone, so some of theseContinue reading “Dunedin”
Doubtful Sound
When I traveled around the South Island of New Zealand in 2010, I drove down the east coast and cut across to the fjord country through Queenstown. Circling the South Island with my son in 2014, we started by driving along the west coast. Our one planned stop was to see the unusual striated limestoneContinue reading “Doubtful Sound”
Milford Sound
Milford Sound lies in Fiordland National Park and is one of the more accessible and dramatic openings to the Tasman Sea. The land along its coast is host to the famous four-day hiking route in New Zealand, the Milford Track. It was named by an early European settler after Milford Haven, an inlet along the WelshContinue reading “Milford Sound”
Queenstown
Digging down into the bottom layer of my suitcase, I took out my few warmies, ready for the chill of a higher altitude, and headed up to the mountains. A serene scene welcomed me to my stop for the night by Lake Tekapo, a huge aquamarine lake backed by the jagged peaks of the Southern Alps ofContinue reading “Queenstown”
Christchurch
I visited the city of Christchurch twice. Although it’s the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand, and the second largest in the country, it’s not that big—the population is less than 400,000. Between those visits in 2010 and 2014, on February 22, 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake damaged Christchurch, killing 186 people.Continue reading “Christchurch”
Kaikoura
The drive down the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island was as beautiful as I had hoped. It reminded me of the drive along the coast of Ireland, a trip I took, oddly enough, with the friend I had just visited in Melbourne the week before, green and beautiful. In Kaikoura, I was greeted byContinue reading “Kaikoura”
Abel Tasman National Park
I had originally planned on doing a hike, or tramp as it’s called by Kiwis, along part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track in the National Park at the north end of New Zealand’s South Island, but I was in no shape for tramping, having sprained my ankle. Instead, I took a catamaran along the park’sContinue reading “Abel Tasman National Park”
Ruth Rosenfeld 