Dunedin and Christchurch NZ

Leaving Tasmania, we embarked on a two-day journey across the Tasman Sea, the stretch of ocean between Tasmania and New Zealand. Conditions in the Tasman Sea can vary widely, primarily due to the unimpeded westerly winds traveling from South Africa all the way to Tasmania and New Zealand. These winds can create waves that rock the ship. While not as smooth as glass, the Viking Orion handled the +10-foot waves very well, and we hardly felt any queasiness at all. We spent two wonderful sea days simply relaxing, slept late, walked the ship, enjoyed high tea, taking in some enrichment lectures and entertainment. These days went by so fast!  What was most enjoyable was taking a break from being on long bus excursions. 

Our ship reached Dunedin early in the morning, sailing through the Port Chalmers channel and docking at Port Otago, a few miles from Dunedin. We had two excursions booked for the day – the first was an included coach bus tour of the Dunedin area, and the second was a scenic sail to tour of Nature’s Wonders, a private conservation area where we would take an ATV and observe wildlife, including seals, penguins, and albatrosses.

The Dunedin tour was informative, providing a guided history and a visit to the “steepest public street” in the world, proudly measured at a 51% grade and verified by surveys. Tourists walk up the hill and marvel at residents living on such a steep street. The steep portion of the street is made of concrete, as asphalt would slough down the hill due to wheel loads or hot temperatures. The coach then took us downtown Dunedin and stopped at the historic railway station, a beautiful building surrounded by stunning gardens.

Although passenger rail service no longer exists on New Zealand’s South Island, the station stands as a historic monument to the old days when the railways were functional.

After a ride through the Princess Street upper neighborhoods, the coach dropped off those interested in staying in town and brought the rest of us back to the ship, necessary to get to our next excursion.

The afternoon excursion was a scenic sail from the Otago port to Nature’s Wonders, a captivating private conservation area on the tip of the Otago Peninsula. The boat ride was a bit rough due to the winds and waves, but the boat handled it fine. It was challenging to go outside and take photos, but Nature’s Wonders provided an 8-wheel ATV that took guests over the mountainous terrain to an observation platform. From there, we enjoyed stunning views and observed seals, penguins, and their chicks behind a protective wooden wall. As we traversed the mountain on the ATV, we spotted a beach in the distance untouched by human footsteps for 30 years. The owner of Nature’s Wonders expressed gratitude for our visit and emphasized the desire to keep the conservation area private and undeveloped.

The return cruise to the ship was fortunately smoother as it was downwind, and we were back on board the Viking Orion after a long day of exploring the area.

The ship then headed along the east side of New Zealand’s South Island, and the weather improved for a fantastic sunset! We reached Christchurch the following morning where it docked in Lyttelton.  We embarked on a coach ride to the land of Lord of the Rings – a full-day journey to the Canterbury plains, at the foothills of the Southern Alps, to Mount Sunday, the filming location of Edoras in the movie.
On the way, we took a brief tour of Christchurch which still is in recovery from the impacts of the 2011 major earthquake which in only 10 seconds, severely damaged many buildings that were unreinforced concrete and built before any earthquake codes were thought needed. Somber stories to hear and sites you see still remain today. The magnificent Christchurch Cathedral in disrepair and being resurrected.
The Lord of the Rings set was extremely remote, a three hour drive in which the coach stopped at a small village civic center/church in Mount Somers that provided a travel break, coffee and Danishes, that same center would also provide the coach bus guests lunch on return trip.
Heading to the Canterbury plain, it offered some of the most scenic landscapes New Zealand has to offer. Although the movie depicted a castle on top of the hill (Mt. Sunday), it was only built for filming a few scenes and promptly removed once complete. All trees and vegetation that were temporarily displaced were returned to their original locations as part of Peter Jackson’s mission to restore any area disturbed during filming to its original condition.Our guides showed us photographs of the actual movie scenes, pointing out landmarks and the reference to the temporary structures that have since been removed, helping those of us who barely recall the movie in its entirety. What was also interesting was that the roads were gravel for the last 40 minutes of the drive which when you think it must have been frustrating for the actors and crews that had to travel them each day of shooting.

Our return to the ship was another three-hour ride broken by a lunch stop back at Mount Somers civic hall which provided a wonderful lunch buffet of New Zealand fair.

Overall, it was another full day of excursions and we rested on the ship as overnight we headed to Wellington which brings us to the Northern island of New Zealand.