Great Trips – New Zealand X

We’re only 3 or so blogs from the end of our 2000 great trip to the South Island of New Zealand… In this edition of our saga, the sun was out and the photos were especially sharp!

 

Before we left Lake Te Anau, I once again followed one of the ‘traditions’ of the Myers men.  We love to dam up, channelize or divert streams of water or even lakes!  This creek empties into Lake Te Anau just across from the bed and breakfast that we stayed in.  I decided that a rudimentary dam and rapids were in order…

I’m actually the first person, at about the age of 12, who connected Little Lake in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Lake Superior…just by digging a little channel between the two.  By the morning after, my channel was a raging torrent and it had lowered the level of Little Lake.  At some later date the US Coast Guard apparently recognized my forward thinking and Little Lake is now a designated safe harbor on Lake Superior.

 

This is a view of the Mataura River Valley along Route 6, on the South Island.  We were driving south toward Invercargill.  Beautiful scenery with no people, no traffic, almost no pollution and no stress!

 

 

This is a view of Foveaux Strait near the town of Riverton, New Zealand.  The strait separates the South Island from the much smaller Stewart Island to the south.  Stewart Island has a total population of about 400 people…

Foveaux Strait is noted for its dangerous waters… From 1998 through 2012, 23 people lost their lives in the strait. 

 

Laurie took this photo of these bright and colorful flowers at a home in the town of Riverton New Zealand.  Riverton, which is also known as Aparima, has a population of about 1,900. 

 

The town was founded in 1837 and its one of the oldest towns in all of New Zealand.  Riverton lies on the South Island’s Southern Scenic Route and it’s very popular with tourists due to the fact that its beaches are safe for swimming and it has a protected harbor. 

 

 

This is the Beachhouse Café Bar in Riverton NZ.  We stopped by and had a nice lunch…but the view from the restaurant was even better.  It’s right across the street from the ocean! 

 

I checked and found that this restaurant is still in operation.  For more information, you can go to this site on Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g670372-d722044-Reviews-Beachhouse_Cafe_Bar-Riverton_South_Island.html.  A total of 33 reviewers gave Beachhouse Café Bar a “Very Good” or “Excellent” rating.  I noted that the prices ranged from $17.00 t0 $32.00 US.  I’m sure glad that the NZ dollar was at 49 cents to the US dollar when we were there!  

 

Another helpful traveler took this photo of Laurie and me at the southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand in the town and port of Bluff.  If you headed south from here, the next land that you’d encounter would be Antarctica!

Bluff has a population of around 2,000.  It is a seaport that’s located about 19 miles from the larger city of Invercargill.  Bluff’s harbor is the terminus for twice daily catamarans to Oban on Stewart Island…about 10 or 11 miles south.  An oyster fleet is also based in Bluff and this port is the main gateway for New Zealand ships that are headed to the South Atlantic Ocean.

 

Here’s a close-up of the sign at Stirling Point, the southern tip of the South Island… Just think, it is ‘only’ 2,989 miles to the South Pole and ‘just’ 9,326 to New York City from here!

 

 

This is another view of the far South Pacific from along the highway near Bluff.  It was a beautiful day for driving and sightseeing!

 

 

Since I like taking big ship photos, I’m ending this chapter of our New Zealand trip with this photo of the "TNT Alltrans", an Australian registered bulk carrier, as it entered the Bluff Harbor with a load of alumina for the nearby aluminum smelter.  The first ship to enter this harbor did so in 1813.

A little research revealed that this ship transferred to new owners in 2008 and it was renamed “Star Carrier”.  This 620 foot long ship gained a bit of notoriety in 1985 when it ran aground on Lady Musgrove Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Fortunately, relatively little damage was done to the reef.  The officer on duty had fallen asleep after drinking…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by and vicariously sharing our New Zealand adventure with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave