Day 7, 8, 9 - Dunedine / Te Anau / Milford
The weather from Day 7 of our trip onwards was disappointing. It became cloudy, gloomy, foggy and at some parts drizzle non stop. It really spoilt my mood especially after I had experienced the fantastic weather the past few days. From Lake Tekapo, we drove to Dunedin. Dunedin was just like any other city and there was nothing much we could do over there. We drove around the city to have a look and decided to visit Otago Peninsula. Our plan was to visit the Castle which was on the way but as we drove higher and higher up the hill, it started to drizzle, temperature dropped and it became very foggy. When we reached the Castle's entrance, the lady at the ticketing booth informed us that we would not have a good view of the Castle due to the thick fog and advised us to buy the ticket for the tour inside the Castle instead. We decided not to go for it and continued to Otago. The drive to Otago Peninsula is a coastal drive.
We head to the Yellow Eyed Penguin Centre but decided not to join the tour instead due to the drizzle. We then drove to the Albatross center and reached there 5 minutes before the center closed. A real disappointing day indeed!
The weather from Day 7 of our trip onwards was disappointing. It became cloudy, gloomy, foggy and at some parts drizzle non stop. It really spoilt my mood especially after I had experienced the fantastic weather the past few days. From Lake Tekapo, we drove to Dunedin. Dunedin was just like any other city and there was nothing much we could do over there. We drove around the city to have a look and decided to visit Otago Peninsula. Our plan was to visit the Castle which was on the way but as we drove higher and higher up the hill, it started to drizzle, temperature dropped and it became very foggy. When we reached the Castle's entrance, the lady at the ticketing booth informed us that we would not have a good view of the Castle due to the thick fog and advised us to buy the ticket for the tour inside the Castle instead. We decided not to go for it and continued to Otago. The drive to Otago Peninsula is a coastal drive.
We head to the Yellow Eyed Penguin Centre but decided not to join the tour instead due to the drizzle. We then drove to the Albatross center and reached there 5 minutes before the center closed. A real disappointing day indeed!
There is a cafe inside the Albatross Center but was closed for the day.
These are some pictures of Dunedin city as we drove around. We also passed by the famous Dunedin railway station.
That evening, we went to the Dunedine railway station to take some night shots.
Well, that was how we spent our day at Dunedin. How miserable. The next morning, we took the Cadbury tour before we departed for Te Anau. The Cadbury factory was opposite Countdown supermarket. We parked our car at Countdown's car park and walked across. This is the only place that provides free parking, I think for about 90 minutes.
We were not allowed to bring in our personal belongings including our camera so I do not have any pictures to show of the factory tour. Each group was assigned a tour guide and as we move along from section to section in the factory, we were rewarded with chocolates. At the end of the tour, our plastic bag was full of Cadbury chocolates.
We drove off to Te Anau after that and stopped by half way for lunch.
Te Anau is a lakeside town. Quiet, peaceful and scenic. We didn't have any activities here as well, just walked around the lake and around the area.
Early the next morning, we took off to Milford. We were very excited with the day as we were supposed to take the Milford cruise. We have heard so much of how scenic the cruise is and no one should missed it. The hostel told us that the weather forecast was sunny at Milford. We were glad .... only for a while.
Not long into the journey, the weather turned gloomy, then dark and then the rain came. It drizzled and drizzled without stopping. The road to Milford was supposed to be a scenic one.....but nothing attracted me. It was an easy drive until the tunnel. After we exited the tunnel, it became quite scenic with the high snowy mountains but it was quite scary too. It snowed, the road was narrow and we passed by several avalanche areas. It was no longer a straight road but zig zag all the way.
When we reached the cruise terminal, we were told that the cruise had been cancelled due to the bad weather. The other cruise companies were also not moving :-(. Disappointments after disappointments. We went back to the hostel only to find out from the notice board that the Milford road will likely be closed the next day as heavier rain was expected and the tunnel may flood. After deliberating, we decided to forfeit our stay at Milford and left the place immediately before we get stranded at Milford.
I didn't have many photos of Milford to show as I was driving in and out of Milford and did not have any chances to take photos along the way. In Milford, it rained non stop and again no opportunity to take photos. The 3 photos below are my few precious memories of Milford :-(. Nothing can described my disappointments!
The journey to Queenstown. After leaving Milford, it was "heaven" again. We reached Queenstown around 7.30pm. It was already dark and we checked in to Nomads Hostel.
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