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After 9 days in Christchurch area, it was time for me to move on.� So i hired myself a Nissan sunny automatic - not bad for $NZ36 per day! Easy to drive but got no power on a hill! ah well, it still would take me from A to B and i will have fun with it.
i� drove south on the East coast and stopped for the first night at Ashburton, a very quiet little town with nothing happening there - i stayed in a motel that was really run down - it felt like camping but you still slept in a prefab building! just a strange atmosphere! LOL so i was pleased to leave the next day and made my way inland to lake Tekapo.
the drive was really scenic and i can confirm that the lake is as blue as on the picture - finely ground rock in the glacial melted water gives a unique turquoise colour! on its shore stand the little church of the good shepherd built in 1935 with an amazing back wall panoramic window that gives on the lake - amazing view!
surprisingly during my short visit there, i bumped into an english couple that were seating on the plane next to me - it was odd, a we even joked during the flight on the world being so small, we may meet each other in NZ!
i carried on driving to lake Pukaki which is part of an hydroelectric scheme, with dam and canals - it has been raised twice covering the Five Pound note Island, whch once appeared on the five pound note. Then i made my way to Aoraki/Mt Cook, which unfortunately was covered with cloud. it is the highest mountain in NZ at 3754m. Still the landscape was just amazing - you felt dwarfed by the moutains around you!
as the weather was supposed to be bad for a couple of days, i decided to carry on driving to a coast town of Oamaru where i would spend the night. pretty town with lots of historical buildings, it has also a large colony of Blue penguins, which i unfortunately missed as they come to shore at dawn... ah well, i will have more luck near Dunedin - i hope!
driving to Dunedin was an easy drive on the highway 1. speed limit is 100km/hr and there are few cars on the road - seems so strange when you are used to the London traffic.
for whatever reason, Dunedin reminded me a bit of Edingburgh. its a big student city with lots of bars and very lively at night! on one day, i drove out to the Otago Peninsula to the Larnach Castle (the only castle in NZ!) which has an amazing view on the bay and then went to see some penguins... unfortunately for me, when i arrived, the last tour had gone, and once again i wouldnt be able to see them that day - my hunt for penguins would have to carry on! LOL
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