Long drives, lots of rain, and a city for many outdoor activities. We were driving first to Oamaru, and from there to Queenstown.

Day 71, Friday, November 15: Oamaru

It rained all day. Almost non-stop. The predicted five-and-a-half-hour drive from Kaikoura to Oamaru became longer. At times, the drive was trying. This was our longest one of the entire trip.

We started at 8:30 in the morning, and arrived in Oamaru, which is famous for its blue penguin colony, around 3.

By this time, it was raining so heavily that even if we would’ve had a ticket to view the penguins in the evening (starting at 8:30), we probably would’ve cancelled the reservation. There were strong winds too, so it was simply safer to stay in our motel room.

Added to this all was the news from our travel agency that the planned trip to the west coast of the South Island had to be cancelled. Initially, we were scheduled to drive from Queenstown to Greymouth and take the TranzAlpine scenic train from there to Christchurch, through the Southern Alps. But there was a landslide, and there was no alternative way to drive, and the road was not to be repaired quickly. Ouch!

Fortunately, together with the helpful people at our travel agency, we came up with an alternate plan. We were to visit two beautiful lakes instead: Lake Wanaka and Lake Tekapo.

What was left from this day was to enjoy the simplicity and warmth of our accommodation. We were thankful that we were flexible enough to welcome an unplanned ending to our New Zealand adventure.

Day 72, Saturday, November 16: Queenstown

We were curious to see the site of the blue penguin colony in Oamaru, so we started our day by driving there. It wasn’t raining anymore! Naturally, we couldn’t see the penguins – they were at sea and they come to shore only in the evening.

Then we were on our way to Queenstown. By 10, we reached Elephant Rocks.

The large limestone rocks, resembling a herd of elephants, are the remains of an ancient seabed. They are located on private farmland, which meant that even sheep could be grazing there – and they were.

As our drive continued, we crossed Lindis Pass, where a fantastic panorama opened up before us: an alpine area of mountains covered with a dusting of snow!

We reached the sunny, but a little bit chilly Queenstown by 2:30 in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, the Scenic Suites, we went to get some late lunch and explore the city.

Queenstown. surrounded by mountains, is located on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. It’s famous for its natural beauty, and it’s often called the “adventure capital of the world.” The world’s first bungee jump started here. No wonder that extreme sports and the outdoors are the main draws.

After our short sightseeing, we finished the day with packing our backpacks with the essential stuff for our exciting two-day trip. We were coming back to the same hotel in the end of the second day, so were planning to leave the rental car in the hotel’s garage and our luggage in their storage.