New Zealand – Kaka Point to Invercargill

After glorious weather the previous day we woke up to light rain.  Oh well, you can’t have good weather all the time and the south of NZ is renowned for getting a bit of the wet stuff.

We were now at the north end of an area known as “The Catlins”.  The first thing we wanted to see was Purakaunui Falls.  (Just as well I still have my little booklet to remember how to spell all these places.)    If it was raining we were jut going to keep on going, but luckily for us it let up.  This was actually a lovely time to see the falls as all the vegetation was drippy and lush.  The falls are one of the best known in NZ and often feature on calendars.

Lots of ferns and tree ferns.  The first foresty area we had visited. Fortunately, the rain held off while we were away from the car.

Next stop was Curio Bay.  The curio is a petrified forest. There isn’t a lot left these days, as so much has been taken by souvenir hunters, but it was interesting just the same…..and the rain held off once again.

There was so much to see and do in this area that we drove straight past quite a few point of interest.  The next one was one we didn’t want to miss, but as there was a bit of a walk we were hoping for the weather gods to be kind to us once again.  After hopping out of the car you go through this gate and walk through a farmer’s paddock of swedes, complete with mob of sheep.

Do we look cold? It possibly could be because we were cold, and really windy. 

We are at the southern most part of the south island.  Next stop a long way south.  Did you notice the shadows?  Yes, the weather held once again, even giving us blue skies. 

I think that this area is usually windy, looking at this stand of trees.

This little ruined cottage was on the other side.  You would need a good wind break down there.

Back on the tourist trail (it’s almost a case of off the bus, on the bus, but at a rather leisurely pace) we visited Waipapa Point Light House.  This was built after the worst ever civilian ship wreck occurred on a reef just off this point. 

Just as we arrived a heavy shower came across, the heaviest we had experience all day.  Lots of people were scurrying to their cars, quite wet.  We sat a waited for about five minutes and it had gone, followed by lovely sunshine.  Phew! 

Once again, not a terribly tall light house – see Mick in the doorway.

Some people were pointing down to the beach and we took a while to see what they were looking at.  It didn’t stand out very well from the rocks.

Can you see the sea lion having a doze.  He/she kindly got up and went for a walk across the beach.  Apparently they can move faster than us, so should be treated with respect and we should keep our distance from them.

That was the final stop along The Catlins. We couldn’t believe how picturesque it is and what a concentration of interesting things to see there are.

Therefore, we did make it to Invercargill, and with time to do a bit of an explore.  The thing that has put this town on the map in recent years is the movie “The World’s Fastest Indian” which depicts the efforts of Burt Munroe to break the land speed record in 1967 on a 1920 Indian motorcycle.  A record which still stands today.  He hailed from Invercargill.  We knew a fellow who used to go and watch him practice on Oreti Beach, just out of Invercargill, so we had to go and have a look.

It is a long, wide beach, but no one would be setting  any records when we visited as it was quite rough.  No, we wouldn’t have the world’s fastest Corolla.

We then headed south to a town called Bluff, which was the first place settled by Europeans in 1824.  This aluminium chain is part of a art installation to do with a Maori legend, but unfortunately, we couldn’t read the sign.  There is an aluminium smelter just across the bay, which isn’t something we were expecting to see.  Actually, the area was quite industrial.

As you can imagine, there was another lighthouse.

And another in the distance on Dog Island.  The other day seemed to be the day of churches, this one was the day of lighthouses.

You may have noticed that the sun was shining on us, but to the west there was more rain.

We were treated to a lovely rainbow on the way back to Invercargill.  Rather picturesque with the wrecked boat.

We finished our day with a beautiful meal at Speights Ale House.  Speights are the local breweries and don’t make a bad drop.  There was lots of copper fittings featured in the building.  I can imagine sitting here on a cold day.  Rather tasty.

Invercargill is quite a bit south of Tasmania, so we have been treated to lovely long, light evenings, more reminiscent of our travels to the UK.  Here is the view from the car at 9.19 pm showing how light it still is. Don’t worry, we were in a car park, not driving while I took the photo.

We were so very lucky with the weather.  Showers came across on and off all day, but they didn’t stop us seeing any of the features we had hoped to visit.  Another good day.

New Zealand – Dunedin to Kaka Point

We thought we would easily travel from Dunedin to Invercargill in a day, but Louise at the Dunedin isite (their information centres) put paid to that.  She gave us a little brochure on the “Southern Scenic Route”.  If ever you are down that way make sure to pick one up.  It was the best.

So, instead of heading south, we headed east along the Otago Peninsula.  The road winds right along the edge of the harbour, and being Sunday morning, we shared with lots of cyclists.

There is an albatross breeding ground out at the point, but we were too early to enter.  However, there were lots of baby seagulls to see.

Of course, we had to take a photo of the lighthouse.

Rather stunning coastline, isn’t it.

While peering over the edge, Mick spotted a seal.  See its tail?

Back on the road, we travelled through some lovely farming areas.

We called in at a little beach and saw a few wading birds.  Don’t ask me what they are, but they are pretty.

The road is generally coastal, but the route took us inland to Lake Walhola where we had a nice lunch of blue cod and chips on the grass.    (We were told we had to try the blue cod while down south.)  Rather pleasant.

Our little guide book told us to look out for a sod hut, used as a halfway house for men heading to the goldfields.  It is rather sweet.

It is fully furnished and open all the time, just fenced off so you can’t actually enter.  I loved the hooked rugs on the floor.

Next stop was Nugget Point Lighthouse.  That’s it way out at the end of the rocks.

It was a bit of  a walk along a windswept path – but it wasn’t too windy when we were there, just nice and warm.

It is only a short lighthouse, but rather lovely.

A good idea to keep boats away from these rocks.

Looking down we saw quite a few more seals, lazing in the sun.

And I finally got a good photo of a bumble bee.  There are loads of them over here and they tend to sit still for longer than the ones in the UK.  Notice the good native plant it is feeding on – not…. There are loads of thistles here too.

By now the afternoon was getting on and we had only travelled about half the way to Invercargill.  We had noticed a small town not far from the light house, Kaka Point, so decided to see if there was any accommodation there.  We hit the jackpot.  We saw a sign for “Mike & Jenny’s Units - $80 a night”.  Yes, they had a vacancy and it was just down the steps from the back garden to the pub/restaurant for dinner. 

We had a lovely wander along the quiet beach.  So much nicer than big centres.

 

  

 

This is the view from our motel unit.  Rather spoilt weren’t we.

It was a great day of just pootling along, making it up as we went along.  I think we were finally getting into holiday mode, which always seems to take us a few days.  Maybe we would get to Invercargill the next day.

New Zealand – Timaru to Dunedin

Before Mick & I headed on our way, Lou and I went for a short walk through the Timaru Scenic Reserve.  It is a lovely, peaceful place to walk.  I was delighted to spy a little fantail.

Once we returned, there was the obligatory photo of Lou and I together.  We did actually remember.  Then it was time to say our farewells and head south.  Hopefully, it will be our turn to play hosts next time.

Once on the road we called into the little town of Waimate.  It was a surprise to see a main street with lots of heritage buildings.  The church was a feature.  There are lots of beautiful timber churches in NZ with decorative, free standing bell towers.  Quite different to what we see at home. 

Waimate is called “Wallaby Country”, as there is a wildlife park and a small free roaming population.  We actually saw one dead on the side of the road when out with Lou and Tony, so Mick had to take a photo as proof.  No, I won’t share it here.

Next stop down the road was Oamaru.  The town was also somewhat of a surprise.  There was a pretty harbour.

The surprise was the rest of the  buildings.  Lots of very substantial stone civic buildings, but there was a historic side street of shops.

Also, huge big Victorian warehousing, mostly empty.  All built out of limestone known as Oamaru Stone.

We had been told that we MUST visit Steam Punk HQ.  This is a relatively new addition to the Oamaru landscape, using a stunning big old building.

Yep, that is a steam punk steam train coming out of the ground.

There is no fine, delicate clockwork creations here.  Everything is on a big scale, as befits the setting.

There is even a steam punk festival held here annually.

The highlight for me was the Infinity Portal.

Once you enter the portal you are greeted by this.  The colours change all the time and the view goes on for ever.  In reality, you are in a three metre square room, but every surface is mirrored.  The illusion is amazing and takes a little time to adjust to. Very impressive.

Once outside again we hit the road and kept on our way south, enjoying glimpses of the coastline as we travelled along.

Our destination for the day was Dunedin, the largest city in the south.  Once we booked into our accommodation it was time to explore. 

The rather impressive Anglican cathedral.

There was quite a bit of interesting street art.

The most famous building is the Railway Station.  We were unable to go in as there were two wedding receptions taking place.  Not a bad setting.

Another church, this time the Otaga First Church.

We were able to go inside and the interior was as lovely as the outside.

The very centre of the city is known as “The Octagon”, for obvious reasons once you see a city map.  It houses a large collection of restaurants and bars, so this is where we ended up, soaking up the sun with a cool drink.  Rather pleasant.  We ate at an Irish pub. I don’t intend showing every meal we ate, but this was impressive……Antipasto for one…..just as well we didn’t get it for two.

Which was followed by Braised Hare.  We’ve never seen hare on a menu before, so we had to try it.  Yes, it was very good.  We have seen it again since, so it is obviously something that isn’t too unusual over here.  Just as well we hadn’t tried it before, or Joey our cat would have missed out on it for cat food.

Finally, the view as we wandered back to the motel with full bellies.  By the way, this was well after 9pm.

Another very enjoyable day, and as you can see, the weather was playing for us too.