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| From Queenstown, we got a lift from a German girl named Sarah. We first went to Invercargill and its nice historical buildings |
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| From there we drove south to Bluff, once a busy harbour, and also and "End of the World" place. |
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| When New Zealanders mean that something is happening all across the country, they say "from Cape Reinga to Bluff" |
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| From Bluff, it's possible to take a short cruise to Stewart Island |
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| We spent a day to hike there, but the island was way bigger than we thought. We do advise to spent at least a week there (in the summer), to have a better idea of what this island has to offer. |
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| Funny bird making a wide range of noises and songs, sometimes sounding like R2D2 in StarWars |
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| This one looked like a parrot |
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| Iona island |
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| Golden Bay |
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| Deep Bay |
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| Halfmoon Bay from the south. The township is Oban (the only town there) |
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| Back in Bluff, we had to see the signpost at the end of the road |
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| Our hostel in Bluff |
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| We then went accross the Catlins |
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| ... and reach Slope point, the southernmost point of the South Island |
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| Wind and waves are very strong ! |
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| Sceneries remind of Ireland again |
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| This is Curio Bay, where dolphins are often seen (but not by us) |
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| Strong wind, strong waves again |
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| At Curio Bay, fossilised remains of a 160-million-year-old forest can be seen. |
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| Those trees have been buried after a volcanic eruption. |
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| The tree fossils ressemble those found in South America, which confirms that New Zealand was part of the supercontinent of Gondwanaland. |
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| Along the road, we HAD to stop and see the world famous Niagara Falls. Somehow, it didn't look like the brochure :p |
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| These are the Purakaunui Falls. |
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| On our way to Jack's blowhole, one can see Cannibal Bay. |
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| We didn't get to see any activity from the blowhole, but the walking track was very nice. |
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| Traffic jam ! |
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| On Otago peninsula (next to Dunedin), one can visit the penguin hospital. |
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| And the penguin and seal colonies |
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| This one has a small chick :) |
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| Sharing the land with the neighboors |
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| On Otago Harbour, one can see black swans ! |
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| That's a nice campervan ! I'm so jealous ! |
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| Larnach castle |
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| By night, on Pilots beach, we got to see some blue penguins, but the pictures are too dark. I took a video, but it's still difficult to see anything. |
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| Dunedin was the location of a Scottish settlement (Dunedin was the ancient name for Edimburgh) in 1847, and many buildings can remind of Scotland |
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| City hall I think |
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| Boys High School |
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| Even the trains look old ! |
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| Inside the train station |
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| The train station |
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| We finally took a bus to Christchurch (here's the cathedral) |
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| Possums aren't hated by all of New Zealanders: some make their business on them |
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| We were a bit disappointed not to see any kiwi in the wild, so we entered a aquarium/vivarium where are shown animals that one can encounter in or around NZ. |
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| This ray looks a lot like the one we saw in Moorea |
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| These we had seen in that Gumdigger forest in the Northland |
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| The city itself is quite nice and has many old buildings |
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| The old university has been turned into an art center |
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| University's building were quite big. Here is from the other side, next to the park. |
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| Christchurch park is very pleasant, especially now since it's automn. |
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| All these leaves come from the one tree above, and it still had a lot ! |
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| Twisted tree ... |
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| ... this one too ! |
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