Queenstown and Oamaru, South Island, New Zealand. 24th March 2023

We arrived into Queenstown from Knobs Flat on Monday in the pouring rain.  We stayed in a small townhouse overlooking Lake Wakatipu with stunning views although they were hidden from us that day.  However, once the weather changed, we were able to appreciate the lake and the mountains beyond.  The last few days in Fiordland felt definitely autumnal with chilly mornings and evenings; Tuesday in Queenstown we had a blast of winter with 9 degree temperature plus a biting icy wind, feeling much colder.  Fortunately on Wednesday when we hiked up Queenstown Hiill the temperature increased to a balmy 15 degrees and the sun came out.  So the views from the summit were magnificent (that's where the photo of us is taken).  Queenstown is one of the major towns in the South Island and much busier than we'd been used to.  When we left there on Thursday morning, we were stuck in our first traffic jam in New Zealand.  But the drive from there to our final destination of Oamaru was beautiful as we travelled through the mountains from the west coast to the east coast.  Parts of it reminded us of the scenery of the Yorkshire Dales, parts of it like the Lake District, until you looked further into the distance and saw the snow covered peaks.

Oamaru was an odd place: substantial Victorian buildings housing a thriving arts and crafts scene and a laid back waterfront with a few fishing boats.  The main draw of Oamaru is the Blue Penguin Colony (remember we told you there would be more species of penguin coming along!).  These are the world's smallest penguin and every evening at dusk they return to the colony from their day's fishing.  So at 8 pm last night (dusk is very late here) we took our seats to watch the penguins returning.  The money raised from ticket sales goes towards the conservation and research of these little chaps (and chapesses); with their efforts the colony has gone from 30 breeding pairs to well over 200 breeding pairs.  No photography is allowed due to the light disturbing the penguins, so we have no photos, but if you Google Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony you'll get an idea of what we saw.  They have a live webcam set up on YouTube channel which you can access from their website.  It was a fantastic experience watching them come in on the waves and clamber up the rocks past the fur seals to their nesting boxes.

This morning we have driven back to Christchurch and early tomorrow morning we fly to Melbourne, Australia, so it's the end of our time in New Zealand.  We've only been here for three weeks but could easily have spent three months in South Island.  It's a stunningly beautiful country filled with lakes, mountains, rivers and forests, rich agricultural land, plenty of sheep and cattle, and of course a wealth of vineyards. We've found it a very gentle country and in our time here we can't remember hearing a raised voice or any display of aggression.