Hi one and all.
Okay, so I know it has taken me two months to compose this entry but you know perfection takes time!
In case anyone was worried I am fine, I haven't fallen off the end of the earth. We are back on the north island, in a groovy little place called Raglan - it's where they filmed the cult surf film Endless Summer.
So anyway here's a run down of the last two months. Percy was still giving us troubles in Dunedin, so instead of sitting in the city and sulking we buggered off to an even more remote island called Stewart Island. We could have done the famous and well marked track that takes three days and two nights but of course that would make life too easy and so we opted for a few extra days in the wilds and a not so accessible track. When I say not so accessible, what I mean to say is this: wading through mud waist high, torrential winds and rain and being caught with me pants down (literally) by a fellow hiker. Nonetheless it was all good fun, we saw a kiwi (yes!) and made good friends with the hiker I flashed!
After a bit of a scrub up it was time for some farm fun on the island of Inchclutha, near Balclutha. I got the chance to learn about herbs and composting, play in the vegetable garden and discover that poison hemlock will make you hallucinate. Tom flexed his muscles chopping wood, plucking and removing the innards of a chicken and generally doing boy things! The wonderful time we had was all thanks to the lovely Erin, whose love of life, kind-heart and delicious cooking made it hard for us to to leave (cheers Erin). But leave we did, leaving Percy behind! That's right after three months of the arse bleeding us dry of our well earned holiday cash he decided not to pass his WOF (the equivalent of our MOT). It was going to cost us a tidy sum to try and get him through so we called it a day.
Anyway after a brief stop over at Christchurch (great city) we picked up out rental car known as the Juicy Crib (that's what the rental company call it not us) and headed for some action on the slopes of the cold, soft stuff at Mount Hutt, Methven. But when we arrived the slopes were closed and there was just rain-snow joke! (ha) Anyway after holding out for a day and a half we finally got some action, I with the cool cats snowboarding and Tom with the slightly older crowd and little more stooped in their stance skiers!
Rivalry aside we spent three glorious days throwing ourselves down the slopes and getting black and blue!
Obviously, after that fun we needed a rest so we headed to Kaikoura. What a wonderful place. Here the mountains meet the sea and definitely my all time favourite south island destination. Even the sun shone, I should also mention that we saw seven sperm whales and 300 (yep 300) Dusky Dolphins. The word awesome springs to mind.
Since then we have cruised up and over to the north island, been moved on from our camping spot by an affable security guy and taken in some beautiful beaches. From now on it's north all the way back home. Of course there is the little matter of stopping off at Fiji, Raratonga and the US first!
Take care one and all. See you soon (ish)
Caroline xxx
Monday, July 9, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Is that a big pebble? No it's a Hooker's sea lion Tom and he will bite!
Hello
If you want to read this blog entry then, you better pour yourself a whisky, don the kilt and blow the bag pipes because this entry comes from Dunedin. That's Gaelic for Edinburgh, don't you know !
Since leaving Te Anau we have stayed at blustery Bluff (famed for it's oysters) where we met a woman who had obviously been on the road for too long and jabbered extensively about how she was working her way around the male population of Bluff-great night's entertainment. Anyway after a night of her tales and a precautionary visit to the mechanic it was time to get off to the Catlins. Here was where our walk on the wild side began. Despite downpours of rain and high winds we managed to keep Percy on the road long enough to get to a campsite near Jackson Bay. We arrived late and were told they didn't take any cash cards apart from NZ cards. We had to scrape and shake every last piece of loose change together in order to stay the one night.
It was worth every spare dollar. In the morning we woke to the sound of a thousand bird songs and dawn breaking over the beach. We then headed off to Surat Bay, where we encountered not one, not two but six NZ Hooker's Sea Lions. As we walked along the beach we thought it could not get any better than seeing them snoozing on the sand but to our surprise as we rounded the corner we came 30 ft to two sea lions cavorting on the beach. The female sea lion came from the sea and basically told the male sea lion she wanted some attention and got it!
I certainly felt very privileged to be able to get so close and they didn't seem to care that we were there at all.
It was then back on the road to the Otago Peninsula. It's a great place which reminds me of Exeter. And it was here for more sectacular wildlife spotting.
For a start it's the only place on the mainland that you can see Royal Albatross. We saw four chicks (they resemble big fat bunny rabbits with beaks) but rarer still we saw their parents. The fact the chicks are only fed once every two days reflects how lucky we were. Tom has wanted to see an Albatross since he was six so he was stoked!
But for me the highlight of the Otago Peninsula were the Yellow Eyed Penguins on Sandfly Bay. These little beauties are also endangered and very shy. But not that shy it would seem -we saw four waddle from the sea onto the beach. They took my breath away, firstly because it was incredible to see them and secondly because they made me laugh so much. Of course seeing such amazing creatures comes at a cost. On this occasion it involved me getting trashed by a giant wave (thanks for your help Tom) and Tom nearly stepping on a bull Hooker's Sea Lion asleep in the dunes (they recommend five meters as a safe distance to escape their bite if they fancy a chunk of you).
Anyway here's a few pics, hope you like them.
Stay safe and well.
xxx
If you want to read this blog entry then, you better pour yourself a whisky, don the kilt and blow the bag pipes because this entry comes from Dunedin. That's Gaelic for Edinburgh, don't you know !
Since leaving Te Anau we have stayed at blustery Bluff (famed for it's oysters) where we met a woman who had obviously been on the road for too long and jabbered extensively about how she was working her way around the male population of Bluff-great night's entertainment. Anyway after a night of her tales and a precautionary visit to the mechanic it was time to get off to the Catlins. Here was where our walk on the wild side began. Despite downpours of rain and high winds we managed to keep Percy on the road long enough to get to a campsite near Jackson Bay. We arrived late and were told they didn't take any cash cards apart from NZ cards. We had to scrape and shake every last piece of loose change together in order to stay the one night.
It was worth every spare dollar. In the morning we woke to the sound of a thousand bird songs and dawn breaking over the beach. We then headed off to Surat Bay, where we encountered not one, not two but six NZ Hooker's Sea Lions. As we walked along the beach we thought it could not get any better than seeing them snoozing on the sand but to our surprise as we rounded the corner we came 30 ft to two sea lions cavorting on the beach. The female sea lion came from the sea and basically told the male sea lion she wanted some attention and got it!
I certainly felt very privileged to be able to get so close and they didn't seem to care that we were there at all.
It was then back on the road to the Otago Peninsula. It's a great place which reminds me of Exeter. And it was here for more sectacular wildlife spotting.
For a start it's the only place on the mainland that you can see Royal Albatross. We saw four chicks (they resemble big fat bunny rabbits with beaks) but rarer still we saw their parents. The fact the chicks are only fed once every two days reflects how lucky we were. Tom has wanted to see an Albatross since he was six so he was stoked!
But for me the highlight of the Otago Peninsula were the Yellow Eyed Penguins on Sandfly Bay. These little beauties are also endangered and very shy. But not that shy it would seem -we saw four waddle from the sea onto the beach. They took my breath away, firstly because it was incredible to see them and secondly because they made me laugh so much. Of course seeing such amazing creatures comes at a cost. On this occasion it involved me getting trashed by a giant wave (thanks for your help Tom) and Tom nearly stepping on a bull Hooker's Sea Lion asleep in the dunes (they recommend five meters as a safe distance to escape their bite if they fancy a chunk of you).
Anyway here's a few pics, hope you like them.
Stay safe and well.
xxx
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