It's raining, again. The last month has been pretty bad as far as rain goes, so much that even the locals are now complaining. It is also somewhat colder than normal but compared to what is happening in Australia the people in New Zealand should be thankful.
As a result we didn't get a real early start but that was okay as all we wanted to do was to get to Jack's Blowhole by 3:30PM. That is high tide and is when the blowhole should be the most active.
The drive to the Catlins and along the coast wasn't a lot of fun. It rained pretty much the entire way and the wind was pretty fierce at times. I had to keep a firm grip on the wheel to keep the sudden gusts from having their way with us. We were travelling over a part of the highway we had been on before so we did not stop and take pictures. We managed to reach Jacks Bay around 2:30PM and much to our dismay it was still raining. However, we donned our rain gear and headed out. We took a few pictures of Jacks Bay and the coast on the way to the Blowhole and it was pretty nice.
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| Jack's Bay |
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| Jack's Bay |
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| Cold and Wet Kiwi Rod |
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| Cold and Wet Kiwi Kathy |
It was a nice one hour return trip hike out to the Blowhole even with the rain and cold. The disappointing part was the blowhole. The Blowhole is 55 meters deep, 144 meters long and 68 meters wide but there was no action at all. On certain tides and wind direction the water shoots 20 meters into the air. Nature was against us all day, first the rain and then a wimpy tide.
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| Jack's Blowhole |
Well you can’t have everything go your way. Our campsite was only a short way down the road so we headed there and got set up as quick as we could. A good hot shower after the cold hike felt really good. We had an early night and with the exception of the power going out for a couple of hours it was a pleasant night.
We woke to more rain and it followed us most of the day as we made our way to Dunedin. Again, not only was it raining but it was cold as well. Even the good natured Kiwi’s are starting to complain as this is very unusual weather for this time of year. It is the middle of their summer and you are not expecting to see the locals wearing toques.
We did make one stop on the way to Dunedin and that was at the Limestone Fossils. There is a limestone mine where they have found fossils of whales and other animals in the limestone. They have them set out for people to view as well as a good view of the area as well.
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| View from Fossil Hill |
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| View from Fossil Hill |
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| Outline of Whale Jawbone and Blowhole |
It was still raining when we got to Dunedin so we just settled in for the rest of the day. We are hoping for some nice weather soon as we want to do a combination bus trip and boat trip up to and around the Otago Peninsula.
Its still a bit dark and cloudy but the weather is a blessing compared to other phenomenons all over the globe. The scenery is still beautiful and amazing nevertheless!
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