October 11 – October 14 : South-east coast of NZ

Most people will travel from Te Anau back to Queenstown and then head either straight north to reach the West Coast with Franz Josef Glacier or northeast to reach Mt Cook. I decided, however, to use my full flexibility to make a short detour via the far south. The eastern side of South island is very different, offering a flatter (somewhat less exciting) landscape. It was still worth having a look around.

From Te Anau to Invercargill to Dunedin to Oamaru

I visited three different cities over the course of the next few days. The cities themselves were not that exciting, but rather the things to see along the way or in their proximity.
From Te Anau to Invercargill takes about 2 hours,
from Invercargill to Dunedin takes 2 and a half,
and from Dunedin to Oamaru takes about 1 and a half hours.

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost city of New Zealand. It is as close to the antipode of Luxembourg as it’s possible to be on land and almost equally boring. Bam. Well, I saw the Southern Lights there, did a nice hike at the rough but beautiful southernmost tip of NZ next to the small suburb named Bluff, and in theory, one could take a ferry to the small Stewart Island (about 120 AUD one way…). From there, during the right season, it’s possible to go scuba diving with great white sharks. So there is some excitement to be found.

PXL_20241010_234052422 — The southern end of New Zealand.

Dunedin

On the way from Invercargill to Dunedin, with a small detour, one could visit the Catlins, a forest natural park. I skipped that one, but it seems to have some popularity, so it feels worth mentioning.

In Dunedin, I visited Larnach Castle, New Zealand’s only castle, which was built by a rich colonialist in the early 19th century. It was quite different from the medieval castles you’ll find in Europe, and the information about the (tragic) family history found inside was interesting to read.

After that, I proceeded to the Otago Peninsula, where I found the main road to be blocked due to landslides, so I had to divert to small gravel side streets. Theoretically, one can spot seals and penguins on the beaches of the peninsula, but I had no luck with animals that day. The untouched, rough white beaches were beautiful nonetheless.

PXL_20241013_023101096 — Larnach Castle (under renovation)

Oamaru

On the road from Dunedin to Oamaru, I made a stop at Koekohe Beach to see the very peculiar Moeraki Boulders. These naturally formed rocks are almost perfect spheres with diameters of up to 2 meters. Several of them are lying around the beach or partially buried in the sand. It took Mother Nature about 60 million years to form these rocks.

Oamaru itself has two key attractions:

A colony of the endangered blue penguins, the world’s smallest penguin. The penguins swim out to sea during the day, and every evening at dusk, those that did not encounter a great white shark return to the colony. This can be observed, but pictures are not allowed due to the animals’ light sensitivity.
The Steampunk Sci-Fi subculture has gained momentum in Oamaru since its first Steampunk Festival in 2016. The town’s rich Victorian architecture provides a perfect backdrop for this aesthetic, characterized by intricate designs, gears, and steam-powered machinery. There is a dedicated museum as well as several small shops featuring steampunk-inspired art, clothing, and gadgets, all celebrating the fusion of historical styles with imaginative technology.

Here are some more pictures of New Zealand’s southeastern coast: