South, south, and away!

Monday, I worked my way down to Invercargill, NZ's southern-most city. An interesting place in that it has all the amenities of a modern city, but a very low skyline, which makes it seem a little larger than it actually is. It had a bit of a sea-side town feel. Nonetheless, it was very quiet and not much was happening. There were quite a few shops that had closed down, and after about 1800hr there was noone on the streets. But, I was really only using this city as a base for my travels to Stewart Island/Rakiura, although I did manage to take some time to peruse the museum and art gallery on Tuesday.
In the morning on Wednesday, I drove south to Bluff, where the ferry to Rakiura departs. What a run-down town this one is.. A big port, some mussel processing plants and a small industrial area form its crux. The ferry across Foveaux Strait was rough enough that it made one lady sick, but certainly not as rough as it can get from what I've heard - this Strait lies right in the middle of what is called the Roaring Forties (indicating the wind speed and latitude south). As soon as we arrived, I made my way by water taxi across to Ulva Island - a bird sanctuary where all pests have been eliminated and some endangered species have even been re-introduced. Just sitting and listening to all the bird calls was so relaxing.
I'm not sure what I did that day to disrupt the environmental balance, but I started getting attacked by the animals there! Firstly, I came across this very out-of-place sealion along one of the tracks, at least a kilometre from the sea. She didn't look too happy and I thought she may have been dying; laboured breath, lack of energy, etc. She watched me taking photos for a while and then decided she didn't like how close I was, so she jumped up and roared. Man, I ran even faster than when that seal growled at me.. I mean if this thing wanted to it could have seriously done me some damage, especially if she wasn't feeling too happy anyway! Next on the list, on one of the beautiful, yellow, sandy beaches a little, seemingly harmless bird known as an Oyster Catcher flew up and tried attacking my face! Turns out I was loitering near her nest of 2 eggs. Then a short while later, a few other birds I was attempting to photograph decided they'd like to give me a swoop. I now have a healthy fear of anything that lives in trees, or on the ground..
The next day I went on an undersea adventure in a semi-submersible, one of only two in NZ. It was OK, but the night before there had been some strongish winds that stirred up a lot of silt from the harbour floor, and so visibility was not ideal. Saw lots of seaweed though!!! After a few more walks around (including one to a location known as Fern Gully - 10 points to the first one who guesses correctly what lies there) I caught the evening ferry back to Bluff, with the same rather tame weather providing a slightly bumpy ride. Turns out I couldn't live upto the promise I made in my blurb that I would make my way to Stewart Island's South Cape, but that is due to the fact that there is no track access out there. So sorry to all who I have disappointed..
I travelled east from Invercargill on Friday, passing through some lovely rolling countryside, to Slope Point, the most southern point of the South Island. So cold, wet and windy! Then it was off to Dunedin, geographically NZ's largest city, which is where I am now. Very very hilly! There seems to be a lot more to do here than in Christchurch though which makes for a more interesting stay. Yesterday I visited some museums and art galleries, bumped into Nicole again, then walked (and ran) up and down Baldwin St., the world's steepest street, which at its maximum achieves a gradient of 1:2.86 (Yes, a lot of NZ's attractions seem to be based upon the biggest, the longest, the fastest.. Pretty much think of an adjective and they have maximised it somewhere here). Unfortunately, Tana had a little less success with this.. She nearly made it to the top, but practically stalled with about 10 metres to go (I think she, and the rest of the neighbourhood got choked with the amount of smoke pouring from her exhaust!).. Poor Tana..
A little later on, Nicole and I tried to find the tallest tree in the Southern Hemisphere. With the emphasis on TRIED. After about 2.5 hours of driving around looking for the start of the track, we finally found it, but then after another a further hour of walking aimlessly around the extremely poorly signed forest we decided to give up and walk back. I think we're gonna give it another go tomorrow on our way up to Kaikoura. We also passed through Aramoana, the site of the tragedy portrayed in the movie 'Out of the Blue' that I mentioned several posts back. Couldn't really see any familiar landmarks from the movie..
This morning we took a tour through the Cadbury factory. Lovers of chocolate, prepare yourselves!
I've tried really hard to organise a flight over those rogue icebergs floating near Dunedin, but with little success as the helicopters and planes of the region are booked out with over 400 on the waiting list, unless of course I wanted to pay a small fortune.. I'm sure I'll make my way to Antarctica one day so I'm not too disappointed, but it still would have been a great experience.
This evening I'll be venturing across to the Otago Peninsula to check out the Yellow-eyed Penguins coming ashore to their nests for the night, passing by NZ's only castle on the way. Then tomorrow it's off to Kaikoura, and onto Picton the next day ready for my ferry across to Wellington on the North Island on the 30th. It will have been just over 10 weeks that I have spent in the South Island, and it has been great fun but I'm looking forward to the change.. The next chapter of my trip! I've gone through a little more money here than I had planned and so I'm going to get a job in Wellington for a little bit to fund the remainder of my travels around the North Island. Nic (the Northerner) is up there at the moment and looking for a job also. We are planning on travelling the North together once we are both satisfied with our financial situations. See how it goes...

Photos galore! Last 2 posts.. Check it

Photos:
1. Aaaaargh!! - In the Clifden Caves
2. Road block - On the way to Invercargill
3. Feeling right at home on Monkey Island
4. I think I can see Adelaide! - End of State Highway 1, Bluff
5. Weka on an Ulva Island beach
6. Human on an Ulva Island beach (the only two buildings on the island in the background - including a Post Office!?!)
7. Superman
8. So cute, if it weren't trying to kill me!
9. Crazy bird! That Oyster-catcher
10. Watching over Halfmoon Bay
11. Baby Weka, awwwww...
12. I'd like to order a pepperoni pizza please..
13. Underwater adventure
14. Cool trees, Ulva Island
15. Battling the wind at Slope Point
16. Great view - Nugget Point
17. Almost there! - Baldwin St.
18. Not here.. Looking for the tallest tree in the Southern Hemisphere
19. Cool railway station!