Penguins and Paragliding

As I mentioned in my last post, white water rafting was cancelled due to the water levels being too high, so we left the sheep shearers' quarters a little disappointed. On our way to Lake Tekapo we stopped in the Peel Forest to check out a huge native totara tree. It took most of us to make a circle around it and give it a hug (it was almost 3 metres across). Some of the trees in the Peel Forest are thought to be about 1000 years old.
We arrived at Lake Tekapo just before lunch. It is a large lake located roughly in the centre of the South Island. It is a stunning turquoise colour, absolutely beautiful to see. On its shores is the Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935. The view from inside the church is spectacular and the church itself is featured in hundreds of postcards due to its idyllic setting. There were too many people around to get a good shot of the church, but here's a shot of the lake:

After eating a picnic lunch on the edge of the lake, a group of us hiked up Mount John to the Observatory. It was quite a steep hike, but the views at the top were amazing and the colour of the lakes below was awesome.

After our hike, we returned to the bus and continued our journey to Lake Pukaki, another beautiful gem. This was one of my favourite campsites as we were right on the water. It's too bad we had to share with other recreational vehicles and their owners! That's snow covered Mount Cook in the background.

The following day we hiked around the base of Mount Cook. What a great hike! The drive to the hike was also quite picturesque, as we drove through an old glacier valley. Incredible views all around.

Our evening stop was at Kakanui, where a couple of us went to see the penguins. We stopped at both yellow eyed and little blue penguin colonies. I saw only two yellow eyed penguins, but hundreds of little blue penguins coming to nest at night. It was very similar to when I saw them at Wilson's Promontory in Victoria, Australia, but I'm still happy I got to see them again. They're so cute!

The Moeraki Boulders was our first stop the next morning. They were huge spherical stones lying on the beach beneath the cliffs. Maori legend says that the boulders are remains of calabashes (a type of gourd), kumaras (a type of sweet potato) and eel baskets that washed ashore after the legendary canoe, the Araiteuru, was wrecked at nearby Shag Point.

We continued on to Dunedin, home of Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street. A couple of us rode our bikes into town, which was an awesome ride, downhill all the way. We then walked up Baldwin Street. It is indeed steep! 

We then spent the day in Dunedin, shopping for the Routeburn Track. I had decided to do it for sure the day before and now it was time to prepare for the three day walk. I needed new hiking boots (mine were too tight for my wide feet and were giving me serious blisters) and a long sleeve top. Purchases made, we continued on to Kaka Point where we had a BBQ at a cute pub. 

The rains came the next day on our way to Te Anau. Unfortunately due to the rain we didn't make our original camping spot, which was supposed to be quite unique, but we all upgraded and got our own private room in Te Anau. The rains continued for the next 48 hours or so and rained out the road into Milford Sound, cancelling our cruise and the Routeburn Track. Disappointed faces all around, but couldn't be helped. I will come back to New Zealand to do the Routeburn Track and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, as those are two things that I had my heart set on from the beginning.

We left Te Anau on Friday and headed to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. That afternoon I paraglided from Coronet Peak. It was absolutely amazing! My guide Augusto was from Chile and you could tell he loved his job. I felt like we were soaring. When I was watching the other people go up after my turn, I was surprised by how high they went. 

The next day, nine of us from Flying Kiwi hopped on another bus to return to Te Anau to see if the weather would hold and let us go to Milford Sound. Happily it did and we went. I'm so happy I went. The drive in, from Te Anau to Milford, is spectacular and the cruise itself was pretty amazing too. Beautiful waterfalls, sheer cliffs and fur seals, what more could you ask for?

Week 3 of my adventures with Flying Kiwi will be next week, as long as I can find the time. School starts tomorrow, which means I will soon have 29 students to teach in TA3 at Millars Well Primary School. A little nervous about starting (I always am the first day), but even more nervous about the rest of the week. I'm sure everything will work out fine, but right now I have butterflies in my stomach.