South Island, NZ 2009 - Day 10 to 13

Day 10 - Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation. For the first time from the start of the trip, I was not out of the door, traveling to places and taking it all in with my eyes, as well as taking photos of. Instead, it was a time to experience new things, like a different church service. Meeting new people whom having been asking about you (after they know that you are going to be there visiting), and you don't know anyone of them. It also takes you out of the shell, to be talking to people. A total change from the start of the trip, where other than interaction with people due to necessity - like checking into motel/B&B, getting food, setting up activities, etc - rather than just simply getting to know each other.

Lunch was with Philip's parents, and we had Roast Pork Loin with apple sauce. I still think fondly of the cracklings (I supposed it's called that because of the crackling sound you hear when you crunch on it). It's akin to eat the skin on the best "Siew Yoke" we get in Singapore. Between Grandpa (or was it Grandad... Hmm... can't quite remember what the children uses) Laurie and me, I think we finished almost 90% of the cracklings. Not only that, we even had pineapple crumble (or was it pudding), nicely decorated with icing sugar on the side, for dessert. (See, the pounds are piling up at the waist!!! :P)

It was a pretty quiet day, till we visited Lamont family at their farm. I had told Philip that I would like to get a feel of how the farms were like. I had also talked about wanting to see how cows were milked. So, the afternoon, it was time to have a good chance to see a sheep farm. It was also here where I got a chance to ride the bike which they now use daily (which is different from the old days, where horses were used). This is the place where I get to know a bit more about sheep farm, and took a closer look at the land, where they were kept.

We took a ride out to where the sheep were enclosed. This sheep happened to be the closest to us, and it was moving across the field when it turned its head. Looked rather comical with this shot.

The rest of the gang joined in and were looking at us, like they were expecting something. I was told that they were hoping to see us opening the gate, so that they could go over to the other field to graze.

Day 11 - Today we carried on with the Southern Scenic Route, along the Catlins Coast. The first location was the Waipapa Point.

The sea was pretty rough that day. Perhaps, that's why no sea lions/seals were found. However, the waves were pounding into the rock, thus allowing this shot.

It was then to Curio Bay to view the petrified forest, It was high tide at that point, most of it was buried under water. So, we moved on to McLean Falls.

McLean Falls

McLean Falls in IR, which I felt it looked nicer, maybe because of the amount of water!

Moving on, we reach Tautuku Beach. I thought might be the site used for Chronicles of Narnia but I was wrong - they had used Purakaunui Bay instead (which we did not visit)

Tautuku Beach from Florence Hill Lookout

Tautuku Beach in IR from Florence Hill Lookout

Next stop was short walk to the Purakaunui Falls.

Purakaunui Falls

I cannot remember where we stopped for lunch, but I distinctively remember that we stopped somewhere to have sandwiches and it was like a shelter built from tall plants with pretty thick leaves. Anyway, it was a long drive before we reached Cannibal Bay. This time, we were fortunate that there were something to see, other than just the beach.

The most active sea lion on the beach. The rest, other than one other sea lions, were too busy having their naps to bother with us.

Seagull (I think) on the shores of Cannibal Bay.

Footprints on the sand of Cannibal Bay.

Final stop for the day was at Nugget Point. I also walked down to Roaring Bay in search of Yellow Eyed Penguin. According to here, April is not a good time to view as they are moulting, so they will not head for sea - They could be right, I only managed to see 2 of them in the evening from afar (had to borrow someone's binoculars) as the actual lookout was under repair!

Shoreline of Nugget Point

The rocks that is jutting out from the location where the lighthouse was situated. Chances are it got its name because of these rocks.

Day 12 was spent in Edendale, making a trip to Invercargill to collect the rental car. I had also managed to see how the cows were milked. Kind of interesting as it's a 2 person operation. The cows were queued up and moved individually into a carousal. When they got on, 1 person will put on the tubes, and then the carousal will move to the other end. When it reaches the other end, 1 person will take the tubes out, and the cow is free to move out of the carousal, ready for the next cow to enter. One thing you have to get use to is the smell of cow dung! The cow will dump the dung everywhere, whenever it wants to. So, the cow could be on the carousal, and down it goes, or even when it starts to move out of the carousal. The people working on the carousal will have to immediately, using high speed water hose to flush it off the place, into the drain. If your nose is very sensitive, avoid this place!

Day 13 - It was with some sadness that I left Edendale, as it's time to carry on with my journey (I do need to get home, although I don't mind staying in NZ for a while). So I said goodbye to the Lauries, and with the same amount of luggage (and weight), I headed toward Oamaru, where I will be spending a night.

Now, I have been driving across the South Island and I noticed a lot this "grass" that sometimes lined the road that I drove in. I have been trying to find a good bunch of them as well as the right skyline to take a photo of them I finally did on this day, although the amount of "grass" is still pretty sparse.

Grass with sky as background somewhere along Waipahi Highway

First actual stop was Larnch Castle & Gardens, where I had my lunch (yes, pretty expensive one too!). It was a small nice garden to walk around, with pretty interesting flowers, the building itself, perhaps due to the timing which I was there, as well as the number people there (there was this group of students having an outing there), makes it hard to photograph. As I was low on cash, the price to see the inside was a little too high to pay in cash. Perhaps the interior maybe of an interest, well, could always make a trip there again, next time.

Then it was further up in the Otago Peninsula toward Harington Pt where the Royal Albatross Centre were located. Joined in the tour and got to see actual young albatross from a distance as they were very much protected. You get to learn more about the albatross from the guide.

While my cousin had spent some time in Dunedin town, I actually skipped it as it was getting late, I had to carry onwards to Oamaru - wanted to catch the blue penguins colony and I was told that I should be there by 6.30pm.

The last stop before Oamaru was to see the Moeraki Boulders. Had a snack here as I was hungry by then, and yet they don't see filling stuff at the cafe - in fact I think it was about to close! Happened that when I was there, 2 bus load of tourists - from their accent - from China/HK descended into the beach. I had to wait a bit just to get some shots, as they were practically monopolizing the area for their own photos. It was only after they found something else and got out of the way, that I could take the shots I want.

Look very much like marbles buried in sand... :p

Time to move onto Oamaru and since it was late, decided to head to the blue penguin colony immediately, instead of the motel. Spent 2 hours there as I was early, or perhaps the penguins were late!!! There was one penguin that arrived early that day and then it took almost another hour before the next 10 - 15 penguins to arrive. Perhaps it's not the right time to see them, for I was expecting a rush, like what I saw in Philip Island, Australia. It was not to be, most of the people there gave up by then - especially since they were mostly from tour companies. They were running late! As I drove out of that place, I saw a few penguins outside that area!!! If I had known, could have save the $$$ and just wait there... The penguins were pretty close to those few who waited there.

Finally, found my way to the Alexandra Motel, check-in and headed towards the Ramadan Hotel for dinner (as recommended by the person at the Motel). Oh, it turns out this motel was run by a Singaporean-turned-NZ-PR couple (Not too sure if they had changed their citizenship).