Brrrr, it was cold this morning, one of the coldest days we have had. We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast and headed back down the road to Niagara. One reason is the Niagara Falls Cafe was reported to be one of the best eating places in the South Island. The other reason is that we wanted to see the New Zealand version of Niagara Falls. It is reported to equal our own natural wonder.
So after a good breakfast we headed to the falls.
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| Niagara Falls |
Okay, you got us.
Our next stop was Slope Point which is the most Southern Point of the South Island. It does not qualify as the most southern point of New Zealand as Stewart Island which is south west of here is part of New Zealand. On the way to Slope Point we again saw evidence of the number of sheep raised in the southern area.
There is a saying about Slope Point. "You get out there as fast as you can, you take your pictures as fast as you can and you get back as fast as you can". After stepping out of the van we realized how that saying came to be. It was cold and very, very windy. We added more layers and started the 20 minute walk out to the point.
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| Kiwi Kathy at Slope Point |
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| Next Stop - The South Pole |
We took the saying to heart and didn't spend a lot of time taking in the view. As we left Slope Point there was evidence of the magnitude and frequency of the wind.
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| I get cold just looking at this picture |
Our next stop was Waipapa Point which is where New Zealand’s worst civilian shipwreck took place in 1881. The loss of 131 lives that were aboard the SS Tatarua is what prompted an urgent need to put a lighthouse on the point.
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| Lighthouse at Waipapa Point |
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| Coast at Waipapa Point |
The ruggedness of the coast was nice to look at but the wind combined with the cold would not be a place I would want to live. It was at such a point on the coast that we stopped for lunch. We had driven on a dirt road that took us up to a high point overlooking the ocean. We were parked right next to cliffs that fell away to beaches below. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch just sitting and watching the waves as the van rocked and swayed with the wind.
We made a couple of more stops on our way into Invercargill. One was to see the remains of a shipwreck that happened in 1886. The Ino ground itself and sank in Fortrose Harbor and at low tide you can see what remains of the ship. There isn't much left after 124 years.
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| Remains of the "Ino" |
Once we left Fortrose Harbor we headed for Invercargill where after getting a few groceries we settled in for the night.
On our travels today we took a couple of other pictures that needs recording. One we were able to get a shot of a Bar-Tailed Godwit at a small beach.
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| Bar-Tailed Godwit |
Have I mentioned that there is a lot of sheep in the South Island.
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| It's a stampede!!!! |
It's a pretty strong wind when you have to tie down your public toilets.
Day 105, Thursday, January 13,2011 has been a terrific day. Kathy did laundry, I did the blog and little else. The wind was still howling so we didn't even go for a walk. However, I am keeping an eye on the weather as we get on the ferry to Stewart Island on Saturday.
The second was the Awarua Wetlands. However with the wind and the threat of rain we didn’t stay very long. On a nice day it would have been a great place to view wildlife.
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| Awarua Wetlands |
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| Awarua Wetlands |
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