Day 99 & 100 Surat Bay, Nugget Point, Cannibal Bay

Rain, rain and more rain.  We spent most of Friday hunkered down in the campervan as it was not only raining but the wind was blowing extremely hard.   Late in the afternoon the rain finally stopped and I was able to go for a walk on Surat Beach.  The wind was still blowing and Kathy decided not to go so I ventured out by myself.  The path to the beach was isolated so the wind wasn't too bad but that changed when I reached the beach.  I was with the wind on the way down the beach and it wasn't too bad.  I covered a couple of miles and took a few shots of the beach and the few sea lions that were present before turning around.






Sleeping Sea Lion being slowed buried by sand



Once I had a picture of the big guy I turned and headed back.  That's when it got interesting, it took me twice as long to return to the campsite. At times the wind stopped me dead in my track. Needless to say I was pretty tuckered out by the time I got back.

Saturday was predicted to be a sunny day and much to my surprise the weather man was wrong.  I think he knows the guys back home.  It was raining but not as hard and quite a bit less wind so we ventured out.  I must admit that by the early afternoon the sky did clear up and it got quite nice out.  We only hope it stays this way.

We made a bunch of stops and ended up having quite a nice day.  Our first stop was at Tunnel Mountain which is 246 meters long and was dug entirely by pick, shovel and wheelbarrow. It was started in 1891 and took two years to build.  We stopped at Kaka Point, a small community in the Catlins on the Pacific Ocean.  We climbed up to the lighthouse at Nugget Point, watched the seals and enjoyed the scenery.  Our last stop was Cannibal Bay, named because the first explorers to the area, found human bones in the sand dunes.  We walked the entire beach hoping to run into sea lions which frequent the beach.  We didn't see any but it was a nice walk.

Tunnel Mountain

Kaka Point

Nugget Point



Lighthouse at  Nugget Point




Nuggets off Nugget Point





Fur Seals




Royal Spoonbills Nesting



Cannibal Bay



You can see either a face or a dolphin on the rock































Cannibal Bay




Not sure what this is?




It was getting late so we headed back, well once we got by these guys we headed back.

We went back to Surat Bay for the night and after we had dinner we decided to go for a walk on the beach.  It was a nice way to end the day.

Day 97 & 98 Invercargill, Riverton, Gore, Surat Bay

We left Invercargill this morning and back tracked to the town of Riverton.  Riverton is a small community of 1900 residents that can make claim to being one of the oldest towns in New Zealand.  Actually one of three with the others being Bluff and the Bay of Islands.



Riverton



We stopped at the museum and learned about the history of the area and the whaling industry which was the start of the entire south coast.  A must stop and see was the Riverton Rocks, the name of the peninsula that juts out to sea beyond the harbor mouth.  Its 9 km length has many beautiful beaches that are safe for swimming and surfing.

We had lunch in Riverton and then decided to venture north to Gore.  This would allow us to see some of the interior before heading over to the Catlins on the east coast.  The drive to Gore was almost entirely farming but was pretty nice country.



New Zealand Countryside




On the road to Gore



We have seen a lot more sheep in this part of the country.  They also farm deer as livestock, venison is sold in the stores. 



A bunch of wooley little creatures




Deer Farm



We settled into a nice campsite just outside of Gore that has a few nice hikes.  One of which gives you a nice vista of the area.  However, no sooner had we got set up that it started to rain.  It was still raining when we got up so we decided to push on. 

We drove from Gore to Balclutha which was only 70 kilometers away but had us heading towards the coast.  We stopped at the I site to get our bearings and were told that there was a couple of holiday parks just down the road.  They were a good focal point for what was in the area and it was also a good place to wait out the weather.  It had been raining since we left Gore and more rain was called for until Saturday.  So thats what we did.  We found a small park about 30 km south on Surat Bay and settled in. As soon as the weather breaks we are going out to view and take pictures of the sea lions which reside on the beach nearby.  We also want to make a visit to Nugget Point to view the Yellow Eyed Penquins.  However we are at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Day 96 Invercargill, Oreti Beach

Wednesday (January 5) started with a visit from a little friend.  A song thrush peeked his head into our camper but we couldn't get it to give us a little tune.



Song Thrush



So we headed to the I Site in downtown Invercargill to get information on Stewart Island and the surrounding area. 

We were able to book our trip over to the Island commencing on the 15th of January for three days.  The things I do for the love of my life.  Another ride on the open sea in what is described as one of the roughest straits in the world.  I am so exited.

While we were there we went for a walk around the park/gardens that was adjacent to the I Site. It was done up very nicely.

While at the I Site we learned that there was a museum of sorts in the local Hardware Store.  There was a collection of old motorcycles and the most famous is the "Munro Special".  This is the bike that was portrayed in the movie "The World's Fastest Indian" along with Burt Munro who owned, re-designed and raced the bike.  It is a pretty amazing story and a very good movie.

Original Burt Munro Special



Replica of bike used in movie



Once we had spent some time viewing the bikes we had a quick bite to eat and then headed out to Oreti Beach.  This the beach that Burt Munro first started racing his bikes on and still holds some of the records he set there in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's. 



Pied Oyster Catcher




Hunting Clams



Another example of how much wind they get down here. This is the road that goes onto the beach, the car in the picture is stuck. 

While we were at the beach we were able to get our first view of Stewart Island. 



Stewart Island from Oreti Beach



Once we left the beach we headed back to the Campervan Park and just relaxed for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we are going to one of if not the oldest towns in the South Island and all of New Zealand.