My next stop after Dunedin, Oamaru, was less than a two hour drive so I was not in a hurry to depart early.  My first stop was only 30 minutes north of Dunedin, the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a reserve that was created to house threatened native species and habitats.  New Zealand has (had) a large number of species of flightless birds and the invasion of possums, rats, and ferrets, who eat the eggs of the native species, has been responsible for pushing many of them to the threatened and endangered lists.  As the matter of fact the government has declared open season on possums (and I have noticed an extraordinary large number of dead possums on the road- whether that is a reflection of aggressive driving or the sheer numbers of possums that must be in the country, I have no idea!) in an attempt to re-balance the ecosystem in favor of the native animal kingdom.  Consequently, the ecosanctuary focuses on creating a safe habitat without any of the imported predators.  There are trails all over the property for visitors to stroll on to spot some of the inhabitants. I spent two hours wandering around, enjoying the trees and rainforest and watching the antics of several of the bird species– the kaka (think parrot-like) and Takahe, a flightless bird that is much less shy than the kiwi (also housed at the sanctuary).

Not as shy as kiwis, but just as threatened, all six of the resident takahes, including two chicks, were out wandering around. They are still critically endangered.

I fixed some lunch (self-contained camper van!) before I left and headed north towards Oamaru. I had one more stop to make before hunting down my campground and home for the next two days– the Moeraki Boulders.  A collection of the large spherical boulders sit on a beach near the town of Moeraki and are unusual enough to attract attention.  Certainly they were impressive looking and it seemed rather strange to see them clumped together on the beach like a discarded set of giant marbles, but what was fascinating to me were the ones that had broken apart.  The boulders are apparently hollow inside and are composed of mud, fine silt, clay and cemented by calcite (I checked Wikipedia-go there to get the details) and they have cracks that radiate from the hollow center, which is how they fall apart.  The broken ones kind of looked like large eggs that gave way for something to emerge…. Super interesting!

Moeraki Boulders on the beach. They are amazingly spherical (or almost) and seem to be scattered around randomly.

More interesting (at least to me) were the broken ones. Doesn’t it look like something burst out?

My next stop was Oamaru and the campground, which was right on the water at the marina and near the city center.  Oamaru (population of about 23,000 in the general area) has a Victorian precinct, only a few blocks from the marina, consisting of a collection of well preserved Victorian buildings that house restaurants, shops and art galleries.  For some reason I have yet to discover, the town is also big on “steampunk”, which is a science-fiction/fantasy genre that ties into the Victorian era.  A well-known attraction is “Steampunk HQ”, an exhibit of artifacts and samples of that genre.  My curiosity drove me to check it out, but quite frankly I did not (nor still do not) get it. The town hosts Victorian (and steampunk) festivals that draw lots of people year round.  There are several breweries and an excellent bakery so my further exploration was rewarded.

Steampunk HQ in Oamaru. I don’t get it and was underwhelmed but if you are into that kind of thing…..well, I did not get it.

One of the other activities that Oamaru is famous for is their blue penguin colonies and conservation work.  The colonies were situated at the far end of the marina from town, about 10 minutes walk from the campground- the campground was in an excellent (!) location.  The blue penguins, also known as fairy penguins, are the smallest of the penguin species and only found in New Zealand and Australia.  They spend their days at sea and return to the nests at night.  The colony area has been established as a sanctuary but it is possible, under very controlled conditions-silence is require and no electronics, to get a ticket to watch them come ashore in the evening (the price helps pay for the conservation efforts to protect the penguins).  The observation areas, general and “special seating” are situated such that the penguins walk right past as they emerge from the ocean. It was a lot of fun to watch them climb up on the rocks, where they seemed to wait until a large group (20 or more) had gathered before literally sprinting across the four meters of grass or so to get to cover where their nests were.  I had a great seat and some of the groups literally walked within a meter of me on their way home.  As I was walking back to the campground after the event, I discovered that there were even more penguins out roaming around on the shoreline. A local, no doubt hired by the conservation folks, was directing people around the penguins and making sure no one bothered them.  And, the next day, as I was heading to the bakery, sure enough there was another penguin – wondering around lost.  I was able to snatch a picture of him before some of the shop keepers were able to wrangle him into a box to return to the water.  It was clear to me that the people of Oamaru take extra care to ensure the penguins thrive.

After two leisurely days in Oamaru and indulging in baked goods, I departed for my next destination, Lake Takepo in the Mackenzie district- and the last of the six districts of the South Island I had yet to visit.  Lake Takepo is not far from Mt. Cook, the tallest peak on the South Island, so I was headed back into mountain country, but this time approaching from the east.  The drive was pleasant and the countryside continued to be dominated by agriculture, both animals and crops.  As I approached Lake Takepo, alpine features started emerging- tall forests of fir trees and high meadows.  The sky was blue and full of sun, turning the lake a gorgeous brilliant blue color.  After I found the campground, again right on the water (!), I took a walk along the shoreline and enjoyed the vivid water colors surrounded by the spring wildflowers in orange, yellow, purple, and red which were in bloom everywhere.  The village of Lake Takepo is very small (population 600 or so) but gets a lot of visitors both in summer, because of the beauty of the area, and winter, for skiing.  As I walked around, it was the first time I actually felt crowded (with other tourists).  There were a lot of people out and about, no doubt the weather was a factor, but I did notice a steady stream of large bus tours stopping to disgorge their passengers for an hour or two.  But even with all of the extra people running around it was a relaxing place to just hang out and I spent some time at sunset trying to capture some of the dramatic reflections that danced across the water.

I managed to get a wonderful mirror reflection of sunset on the lake. This was the view from my campsite, by the way…..

The next day I headed up to Mt. Cook National Park– I had signed up for a helicopter tour of the glaciers, hoping to have better luck than when I was on the west coast.  Thankfully the weather forecast looked promising so I kept my fingers crossed as I drove. It was a little over an hour drive to get to the airport to meet the helicopter and I had to stay focused as I wound along Lake Pukaki, another beautiful lake with Mt. Cook in the background, reminding myself I could stop and enjoy the views, AFTER the helicopter tour.

I did make one stop on the way to the airport for the heli tour. This is early morning light hitting Mt. Cook towering over Lake Pukaki. How could I not stop to admire that view???

The tour was for nearly an hour and it was amazing. If you are ever on the South Island I encourage you to book one.  There were only three of us signed up and I had a front seat which provided me a perfect view.  Our itinerary basically had us passing by all of the major glaciers  and we landed and walked on the top of the Fox glacier (no clouds!).  Unfortunately the Franz-Joseph glacier had clouds, but everywhere else it was brilliantly clear and absolutely stunning.  I have seen some indescribable nature on this trip, but the views from the helicopter were by far the most awe-inspiring.  The time passed way too quickly!

The Tasman glacier melt finds its winding path to Lake Pukaki, all clearly seen from the helicopter.

Me at the top of Fox Glacier.

When we landed I jumped in my camper van and continued west into the park to drive to a scenic outlook to view the Tasman glacier.  I had seen it from the air, now I wanted to experience it from below.  Again, there were a lot of people tramping around, but as the scenic lookout required hundreds of steps up a steep slope, it was not too bad on top.  Other trails, that lead to the Tasman river and pools, formed by glacier melt, were more level and thus more attractive for some of the crowd.  After taking in the view and trying (and failing) to imagine the scale of the glacier, I checked out the river trail, then headed back to the camper van.  My goal was to retrace my steps and find a scenic lookout to stop and have lunch and just hang out and enjoy the view.  I was fortunate, I found a great spot that was not occupied by anyone and pulled over, made lunch, got out my camp chair and sat for a while, soaking in the beauty.

The top of the Tasman glacier (helicopter shot…)

And the bottom of the Tasman glacier as seen from the look-out spot. There is about a meter of stone on top of the glacier, hence the black color. Also it is hard to appreciate the scale of it all from the picture.

I spent the rest of the afternoon slowly heading back towards Lake Tekapo and the campground, stopping frequently to take photos and enjoy the changing view.  The whole time there were cars and camper vans coming and going on the main road. I suspect this was a bit of foreshadowing for how the peak season plays out– and if so, I was happy that I will miss it!

That night was my last night in my cozy camper van on the South Island.  I cannot believe the month went by so fast. In that month I had visited all six districts of the South Island, traveling over 3000km.  I did not see everything I had planned due to some of the weather issues, but probably covered 80% of my list – I guess I have to come back again to get the other 20%!

The next morning I headed back to Christchurch to turn it in and prepare for my next adventure– exploring the Queenstown area.