23rd March 2011
I see now that we were really very lucky with the Routeburn Trek, having two days of almost totally blue sky for the best days of the walk. Because typically the whole of New Zealand remains covered in a thick woolly blanket of clouds, which occasionally dispense either a glimpse of blue sky or a cold shower of rain depending on their whim*. Today was no different as we headed north from Dunedin up to the middle of South Island and on towards Kaikoura.
We had a look around Dunedin first, and it really does make a terribly good Scottish town. We went into a cosy-looking cafe for breakfast and I was momentarily surprised when the waitress didn’t address me in a thick accent. Of course, the place was settled by Scots and “Dunedin” is a direct gaelic translation of “Edinburgh”. Art galleries must do better at high latitudes. They are free indoors entertainment, and so surely more attractive when the weather outside is often grey and cold. Dunedin’s public art gallery actually had a very good wide-ranging exhibition, including a Lowry and a Spencer among more familiar names as well as some engaging work by New Zealanders who I’d never heard of. I think it’s the first gallery we’ve visited in eight months of travel.
Back on the road we stopped at the Moeraki boulders, a very other-worldly bunch of giant marbles scattered on a sandy beach. They are an arresting sight even with the constant eddy of tourists around and upon them. The Maoris have a legend explaining them as gourds spilled from a giant canoe of the gods, which is complete rubbish as they are obviously dragon eggs.
Our last stop was a late lunch in Oamaru, at the Loan and Merc. This restaurant has been set up in the huge empty space of the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile building, and they’ve made great use of it with huge rough-hewn refectory tables and lots of rich and hearty country fayre. Maureen’s venison, rabbit and pickled walnut pie was the better dish, the gravy keeping a good balance against vinegary walnut and juniper flavours.
Stuffed, we managed another three hours driving to reach Methven where we stumbled on a bargain lodge that we had all to ourselves for the whole night. This morning we continued north, unsurprisingly under a thick blanket of cloud, and now we’re in Kaikoura. We’ve had a nice blustery walk on the peninsula, seeing seals and blue penguins, and we’ve had a very good gourmet pizza in our backpacker accommodation. Pear, blue cheese, spicy chutney and prosciutto.
* – come on, you know I’m kidding. All the vineyards we’ve passed testify to the fact that we’ve just been unlucky with the weather. Still, it’s unavoidable; any holidaymaker or traveller’s sense of a place is going to be based on the weather they personally experience.
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