New Zealand Middle Earth Epic: The Shadow of the (Mountains) Past

I got up early on the morning of the 21st (the one month point of my travels) and I headed to the ferry terminal.  My ferry was set to leave at 7:45, but I had to be there no later than 1 hour earlier.  My alarm was set for 6, but I was up before that (the classic fear of oversleeping meant I underslept).  I had showered the night before so literally all I would need to do was put on my clothes and pack away my PJs.  I was at my spot in the holding line by 6:20.  The ferry back to the North Island wasn't even close to as busy as the one I took on the was down.  I'm sure that probably had more to do with time than anything.  The good news was my car was on a lower deck and protected, so I didn't have a brine covered car when I got back to it after arrival.  

Heading into the passenger area after parking my car.

I had decided that I had already hit everything in Wellington before I headed to the South Island, so I headed straight out of town.  My plan for the day was to hit a number of LOTR filming spots on my way north, and see how far I got.

The first stop was a river that played the role of both the River Anduin and the Rohan River in the films.  Now that I'm back here on the North Island, I've noticed the difference in rivers, as in the ones up here are not glacier fed, and don't have that milky quality to them that a lot of the rivers on the South Island have.  I'll have to be looking for that on my next LOTR viewing.  

Harcourt Park LOTR filming a location.

The next spot wasn't too much further up the road.  Here at Harcourt Park they filmed the Isengard Garden scenes.  The ones where Gandalf and Saruman are walking together, talking about The Ring.  It is also where they filmed the scenes with the Uruk-hai pulling down trees.  They didn't actually pull down real trees in the park, but they did dig giant holes and pull down uprooted dying trees from elsewhere with painted leaves on them.  My guidebook actually has the coordinates for where the trees were and it was sort of like looking for a geocache.  There were two other non-LOTR things about this park that were unique.  1) They had multiple orienteering course there, so if you had a compass, you could have some fun.  2) They had a child's bike/scooter course that was like a city with stop and yield signs, and exit ramps and such.  There was a kid with a scooter having fun there.

See, isn't that fun?

From Harcourt Park, I went up the road like 15 minutes to Kaitoke Regional Park.  It was in this park that they filmed Rivendell scenes.  They had pieces they brought in, though the wide fantastical shots were done with a miniature and so they weren't actually shot there.  But it is the location for where they shot the scenes between Bilbo and Frodo, and others that took place outdoors on the walkways (not the council scenes).  There is an archway there now that is Elvish in nature, but wasn't actually in the films.  It was put there after as a tribute to the film.  This was actually the first filming location outside of Hobbiton that advertises that it was a filming location as there were signs pointing to "Rivendell" in the park.  After I visited the Rivendell site at the park, I walked a trail through the woods and across a swinging bridge to get some steps under my belt for the day.

That tree in the middle can be seen in Rivendell scenes (obviously the others around can be too, but that one is obvious because of its size).

After that, I drove and drove.  I had been aiming for a hiking trail at Manuwatu Gorge outside of Palmerston North, but realized that I wasn't going to get there until about 5:15 and it was going to be a 3 or so hour hike and I really wasn't up for hiking that late after getting up early and not sleeping great.  So instead I went into Palmerston North, got a hotel, and got up the following morning to go hike the Manuwatu Gorge Trail.  

As I was traveling north I also had a decision to make.  Do I take the turn to Napier or continue north and head past the back side of Tongariro National Park.  I stopped at Tongariro like 3 days into my trip, but due to poor weather, I left early and headed to Wellington.  Well, now the weather looked like it was going to be good and going by there meant seeing Mount Doom!  On the other hand, there is a well known National Aquarium at Napier (have you ever seen the posts about the Good Penguin of the Week and the Naughty Penguin of the Week...that's that aquarium).  I had the morning while I hiked to think about what direction I wanted to head.

Manuwatu Trail

The Manuwatu Trail was honestly a lot more forest and less gorge than I had been expecting, but I liked the trail.  As I head further north though, the humidity is increasing.  It really makes you miss the cool hikes of Mount Cook.  On this trail, partway in was a giant statue representing an important Maori figure and adventurer from the early days of the Maori.  Upon finishing the hike I got some amazing passionfruit-honey ice cream at an ice cream hut down in the parking lot.  Definitely will be searching for more of that!  Also, I feel that all hiking trails need an ice cream hut.  Shaved ice hut would work too (I used shaved ice as an incentive for finishing a trail in Hawaii years ago).

A northern rata tree.  The northern rata grows from the top down.  Their seeds usually germinate in the canopy of other trees and then they start dropping roots down, which eventually wrap up the tree host tree (which is usually already dying anyways).

After leaving the Manuwatu Trail, I made the decision to head north instead of east to Napier.  This meant stopping at one more LOTR site that I otherwise would have not passed (honestly I have missed many, either due to them not being reachable by normal means, or not being near the route I'm taking).  This one was another river gorge used for the River Anduin (there were actually 4 rivers used for the one river and I think I've hit them all).  I was not expecting the gorge at all.  I hit the bridge (one of the many 1 lane bridges in this country) and shocked as I drove over it.  I parked at the far side and walked onto the bridge to look down probably 70 feet to the water below, with straight walls up the sides.

With what was likely the last LOTR spot visited, I headed north towards the backside of Tongariro.  This side of Mount Ruapehu is used as an Army training ground so there aren't any trails or roads through that area.  One pulloff I took, said do not leave the road as there may be unexploded ordinances in the area.  OK!  But I did pull off to get some pictures of Mount Ruapehu, when I could actually see all of it.  And of Mount Ngauruhoe which was used as Mount Doom in LOTR.  The mountain is a very classic cone volcano.  100% would not be surprised to see lava spewing out of the top of it.  Mount Ngauruhoe was the most active New Zealand volcano of the 20th century, erupting 45 times.  It has lay dormant though, since 1977.

Mount Ruapehu

Just to the north of Tongariro National Park is Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand.  The town of Taupo is also my home for the next two nights before I move onto Rotorua for Christmas.

Mount Ngauruhoe

New Zealand Middle Earth Epic: Over Hill and Under Hill (uhh, Water)

Nightime view from Mount Cook Village

Before actually falling asleep at Mount Cook, I decided I should get out of bed and see if the stars were out.  I walked outside in just a sweatshirt, my pajama shorts, and shoes.  I'm sure it was probably like 45 degrees outside, but it didn't feel that cold.  The sun had set about an hour and 15 minutes earlier.  Up above me the night sky wasn't fully dark yet so only the brightest of stars could be seen.  Right over the mountains in front of me was Orion, something familiar.  I'm not good at staying out late to see the stars.  I'm typically in bed by 9:30 and have been waking up about 6:30.  Really I've just been listening to my body.  Save for alarms on a few mornings that mattered, I haven't heard an alarm in almost a month!

Nighttime view from Mount Cook Village

In the morning I got up and heading out to Red Tarn Track.  The day before, when stuck in the Visitor's Center during the rain, I had been looking at trails and this one said it was roughly 2hr round-trip and had great views of Mount Cook.  It mentioned stairs, but otherwise nothing about it being super steep or anything.  The trail was probably about 85% stairs and I can tell you that I felt those stairs the next morning.  As I went up, I frequently stopped to take pictures.  Unlike the day before, the sky was a mix of blue and light, white clouds.  I may or may not have been using picture breaks as breathing breaks.  At one point about 2/3s of the way up, I sat down on a rock and just looked out at the scene before me for about 10 minutes.  It was gorgeous!

Mount Cook is the right of center peak sitting a bit further back.

When I made it to the top, the one person who passed me on the trail was sitting up there.  We started talking and it turns out she was from Colorado.  We sat up there for about 15 minutes, took some pictures for the other, and then I wandered off to check out the wetlands area up on the plateau we were on.  On the way down my knees decided they weren't a fan of the stairs so we went really slowly, with some help from my hiking poles.

After I got to my car, I headed to the airport where I was set to do a helicopter-glacier hike.  I had been scheduled to do that the day before, but because of the bad weather, that wasn't an option.  But I was able to get on one the following afternoon.  I have never been on a helicopter before.  Honestly, I was extremely nervous.  I don't understand helicopters.  I don't get how they fly.  But all was good.  I made it to the Tasman Glacier, but my stomach was slightly queasy.

Our helicopter getting ready to take off from the glacier.

Our guide on our hike was Flavia from Argentina.  She showed us how to put our crampons on, handed us a hiking pole, and then we set out.  The main rule was "we go in a single file line because you don't know what is or isn't a meter to the side."  She called crevasses and moulins "one way tickets".  I had never heard of a moulin before, but basically they are holes in glaciers.  As we hiked, she explained that the moraines (or rocks pulled along by the glaciers) both helped and hurt glaciers.  If it was thick enough, it protected the glacier from the sun and melting by reflecting the sun.  But if it was a fairly thin or spotty layer, the rocks heat up and melt the glacier more.

Ice cave at Tasman Glacier

We hiked to an ice cave that had formed in the glacier.  She said about 3 weeks ago the cave was only just big enough for one person to get into at a time, but it is now large enough, that all 13 people on our hike could fit in it.  She says it might last another few months before melting away/being to unsafe to come to.

After the ice cave we wandered to a large moulin that was probably 6 feet in diameter at least.  And then to another ice cave in the making (or something).  I'm not really sure exactly what it will become.  Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in New Zealand at 24km long.  Standing on it, we had amazing views of Mount Cook above us. Clinging to the side of the mountain are glaciers, and if you watch long enough you'll see these glaciers calve, sending "little" avalanches off the edge.  We saw 4 of them, and heard another.

Mount Cook

Mount Cook isn't exactly tall at 12,218 feet by other mountain standards, but it is the tallest in New Zealand.  It actually has 3 summits along a ridge so some climbers will try to hit all 3.  It is a tricky mountain to climb.  Since I arrived in New Zealand 4 people have died trying to climb it.  A few weeks ago 2 climbers fell from the summit ridge.  And they were still searching for 2 climbers who had been overdue while I was there.  As of yesterday, SAR has stated that they believe they died in an avalanche after finding climbing gear near an avalanche zone.  

After getting back from the heli-hike, I was off towards Christchurch.  I wasn't sure exactly how far I'd make it, but the goal was to get at least halfway there.  Shortly after drive past Lake Tekapo, I came across a field of flowers.  There was an area to pull over.  It was stunning.  It was a natural field.  Nothing being farmed.  And it smelled amazing!!!  A search told me that the flowers were Lupine.

Fields of Lupine with the Southern Alps in the background.

I made it to Geraldine before deciding it was time to stop.  I had had enough driving and I was tired.  I had had a busy day.  The next morning I set off for Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula, which sit a little ways outside of Christchurch.

I did a hike in the Hinewai Reserve.  The trail had a bunch of waterfalls along it.  Unfortunately I bypassed two of the waterfalls after feeling a hotspot on my heel and realizing I didn't have any bandaids with me to cover it.  I still have 2 weeks left of my trip and more walking/hiking to do, so I really didn't want to end up with a bad blister.  The good news was when I pulled my socks off after the hike, there were no signs of a blister.  It was just a bit red.

Just holding onto a tree so I can take a picture and not fall.

Upon finishing the hike, I headed to the town of Akaroa, which is a town on an inlet on the Banks Peninsula.  It is kind of reminds me of a New England seaside town.  There were kids playing in the water, which I'm sure was fairly chilly.  I walked around for a bit, got some ice cream, and figured out where in Christchurch I was going to be spending the night.

Rata Tree, which can only be found in New Zealand.

In the morning I packed up my things, moved my car and walked across the large Hagley Park.  My hotel was on one side and downtown was on the other side.  The park had so many things in it.  Rugby fields, a little lake for RC boats, grass tennis courts, a large botanical garden, and I'm sure if I wandered it more, I would have found a cricket field.  Rugby and cricket are the two big sports here.

Shame I won't be around for this!

In the center of Christchurch is Christ Church Cathedral in Cathedral Square.  The cathedral was badly damaged in the earthquake in 2011.  It is still being fixed, but when it is done, they will have worked to put the church on a seismic stable platform to hopefully keep any future damage from occurring during eventual earthquakes.

The cathedral being worked on.

For the most part, in Christchurch I just wandered around for a few hours.  I happened to wander into an outdoor wear store that had Christmas sales happening and found a pair of hiking pants with 6 full-size (aka men-sized) pockets.  I am beyond thrilled!  As you may be aware, people seem to think women care more about fashion when hiking, that places to put things, so I find there are never enough pockets.

Kaikoura

From Christchurch I drove up to Kaikoura.  At Kaikoura there is a huge seal colony.  I looked down on them from the high viewpoint.  From up high, if I had to guess, we're talking 200+ seals down below.  By far the most I've seen.

Just a mom and her pup in Kaikoura.

On my last full day on the South Island, I got up early to go scuba diving.  It ended up being just me and one other girl from California.  I had wanted to do one dive on the each of the islands and I had read the Kaikoura was a good place to dive.  Unfortunately for us, a storm blew in last night which turned up the ocean, brought colder temps, and made better dive sites unusable today.  The dive site we went to was called Old Wharf.  I knew the diving was going to be cold.  I knew we'd be in 7mm wetsuits with gloves and a hood.  I was surprised when we got in and my rented dive computer said the temperature was 15C, which translates to 59F!!  It also was about the same temperature outside, though it felt colder in the water.  This was my first time diving in an area with kelp, which was interesting.  There were small anenome and some decently sized snails attached to the kelp leaves.  And when I say decently sized, I mean I saw one probably the size of an 8 year old's first.  There were also oyster (or some type of shellfish) shells that were probably 6-7 inches in diameter.  I also found a large, 7-legged, purple sea star.  At first I saw a leg and thought "octopus!" but then I realized it was purple, and I've never seen a non-fictional octopus that was purple.  When I saw more of it, I realize it was a starfish.

After getting out, me and the other girl decided one dive was enough.  We were frozen.  My hands, still showing scarring from last year's Peruvian sunburns, were purple (I matched the sea star!).  

I took a nice warm shower and then returned to the seal colony where I watched baby seal pups in a little seal nursery for like half an hour.  There were so many of them and they were so cute.  The moms would make a trilling call, while the babies made more bleating sounds.  And it was interesting listening to those bleats because some were lower pitched and some higher pitched. There was one little pup who seemed like the adventurous sort.  He started wandering off in the direction of people and eventually mama said, "that's far enough" and started chasing him down.  Then she seemed like she was trying to convince him it was time for a nap, but he wasn't having any of that and started hopping along again it a different direction.  

After a bit, I got in my car to make the trip up to Picton, where I load onto the ferry in the morning for my return to the North Island.  I really enjoyed my time on the South Island, and honestly, I felt I could have spent another week here at least.  That would have given me time to stay overnight for a second night in a couple of places that I debated staying (Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo (which I mostly just bypassed due to time), the Catlins (Curio Bay, etc), the northern coast, even Queenstown and Wanaka which I stayed in for 2 nights I might have considered staying longer and relaxing a bit more.

Ferry arriving in Picton

New Zealand Middle Earth Epic: The Gathering of the (Storm) Clouds

 Yesterday was a day of wildlife!  Seals, Sea Lions, and Penguins!  Oh my!  Upon getting up and going in the morning, I set out for the Otago Peninsula right near Dunedin.  I stopped at a vista point before getting too far and the cloudy skies made for a nice picture!

As I was driving I went to pass by Sandfly Bay Wildlife Refuge (if anything doesn't need a refuge, it is sandflies...my bites have finally stopped itching after like a week!), but then I noticed the road it was on was called Seal Point Road.  Seals?  Does that mean a chance of seals?  Well count me in!  To start I was like, I'm only going to the overlook.  But then from the overlook I saw what seemed like a large rock...or was it a seal?  Hmmm....better go investigate further.  On the way down I'm thinking, "this is going to be horrible to go back up!" because it was essentially sand dunes.  The sand was shifting underneath you as you walked.  Partway down I got passed by 2 men in orange vests, one of whom was in waders.  The other was in loafers...seems like a poor footwear choice.  When we got down to the beach the one in waders headed straight into the water.  They stayed for about 5 minutes and left.  I think maybe they were testing the water at the beach.

A sea lion on Sandfly Bay Beach

Down at the beach, there were so many birds!  And I could see the boulders part way down the beach.  I told myself I'd walk down to the boulders and that was it.  As I was walking along the beach, I came across some weird tracks in the sand.  I had no clue what it was from and then the head of a sea lion poked up from behind a log!  Alright!  

I continued down the beach and found a total of 9 seals and even more tracks.  Some of the seals were alone, but two were looking a bit cozy together!  It is breeding season and I think someone is going to be having a baby sea lion pup next year!  All of the sea lions were sleeping on the beach.  I sat down and just watched some for a while.  I was the only one down there after a group of 3 women left at this point.  As I started to wander back more people were starting to show up.  Guess it is a good thing I like to get started early!  At one point on my journey back, I had my phone out, taking pictures of two sea lions.  Then I sneezed.  One of them sat up and looked at me before falling back asleep. 

The only sign of life came when I sneezed and this guy popped up to see what that noise was.

From Sandfly Bay, I continued on my way out to the the Royal Albatross Centre.  I hadn't decided if I was actually going to the center or not, but it was kind of the end of the road, so I was at least going that far.  I made it out there, decided I didn't really need to see the birds, but did grab some food because I was hungry, before heading back towards Dunedin.

Highway to the Danger Zone!

From Dunedin, I headed north.  The next stop was the Moeraki Boulders.  These boulders on concretions that have something to do with hard formed rock being forming a smooth, large boulder before the earth around them eroding away, leaving them sitting around.  I saw similar formations at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.  These ones were on a beach, not a long time ago inland sea, like those ones were.

Moeraki Boulders

After a quick stop there, I headed to Oamaru.  I had a date with Little Blue Penguins later in the evening!  At the Oamaru Penguin Colony, they have a couple hundred burrows for penguins to live in, but the penguins are actually wild.  They don't feed them.  They live natural lives other than the fact they have houses built for them and they are tagged for research.  Little Blues are the smallest penguins, coming in at only 30cm tall and 1kg.  Like other penguins, they leave in the morning to go hunting, and come back at dusk.  The organization has made this return an event for people wanting to see penguins.  They have stands for you to watch from.

Two teenage Little Blue Penguins gathering while their parents are away hunting for food.

The penguins come to shore in "rafts".  Basically groups of like 15+ penguins who meet up about 500m to 1000m out at sea and then swim in together.  Upon reaching shore, they have to hop up the rocks.  Then it was really quite funny because it was like they had to get everyone up to the top and then they'd make a run for it.  There were 4 gates for them to go in through, back to their burrows.  They seemed to most show up in groups of 10-25.  It was so adorable and definitely a highlight of the trip so far!  Unfortunately no videos or photos are allowed when the penguins are coming into shore and back home.  But on the way out I did catch a few having a conversation outside.

Little Blue Penguins after coming in for the night.

In the morning, I packed up and set out, back across towards the west coast to Mount Cook.  This cross Island journey is mainly because of where Mount Cook sits.  I knew I wanted to go to the park so the question had been while planning, do I go north before Wanaka or come back to it later.  Mainly due to my then deadline of hitting Doubtful Sound for my overnight cruise, it was decided I'd cross back over the island later to get to it.

The site of the Battle of Pelennor Fields

On my way over from Oamaru, I stopped outside of Twizel at the location that was used for the filming of the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the large battle outside Minas Tirith near the end of the Return of the King.

Lake Pukaki with Mount Cook NP in the background with a storm coming sitting over it.

After stopping there I continued toward Mount Cook.  When I stopped at an overlook that was supposed to overlook Mount Cook it was apparent that indeed, the weather forecast was correct.  It appeared there was a storm over the mountain.  This was not good as it was not conducive for my helicopter tour of Mount Cook and Tasman Glacier.  I was able to get rebooked for tomorrow afternoon though!  I'm so nervous about this!  I've never been on a helicopter before and I don't understand how they are able to fly!

Upon my arrival at Mount Cook Visitor Center, it was pouring rain!  I ran in and spent the next couple of hours going through the visitor center just hoping for the rain to pass.  Eventually it let off enough to at least get out some to shorter hikes.  I was able to get out and see Tasman Glacier.  And even catch a peek of Mount Cook.

Outflow from Hooker Lake

Tasman Glacier is down there at the end of the lake.

The one thing I did find out today was I couldn't access the Evergy website to play my electric bill!  Like, it just wouldn't load at all, and I got and error saying "Forbidden".  I eventually had to call my brother and have him log in and pay my bill for me.  So lesson learned, set the electric bill to autopay before leaving on a long trip.

Mount Cook is just to the left of my finger, right above my head.

New Zealand Middle Earth Epic: Queer Lodgings

So up next was my Doubtful Sound Day Cruise.  This unfortunately wasn't what I had booked because way back in July, I had book an overnight cruise.  Then about 24 hours before I was supposed to set out on my cruise, I had an email saying there was an issue with the boat and they weren't going to be able to sail, but there were still day cruises available.  I sucked up my disappointment and settled for a day cruise of Doubtful Sound instead.  New Zealand has two well known sounds, or fjords: Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound.  You can get to Milford Sound by car and it is, thus, a lot busier.  To get to Doubtful Sound you have to take a boat across Lake Te Anau, a bus over a mountain pass, and then you get to Doubtful Sound.  This all means it is a lot more secluded and peaceful.  I wanted to see this one instead of a busy, crowded one.  While with the overnight tour we would have had the opportunity to traverse all the legs that come off of it, we would only do one on the day tour.

Crossing Lake Te Anau

But first, I had to arrive bright and early!  Check-in started at 7:00, which meant I was there at 6:58.  A little before 7:30, we started loading onto the boat that would take us across Lake Te Anau.  The lake was so calm...thank goodness because I realized after getting on the boat I forgot to take my Dramamine.  I'm not always great on boats.  We crossed the lake and then got onto a bus.

Doubtful Sound

Our bus driver told us stories and really bad jokes on the hour or so long bus ride over the mountain pass.  When we got to the top of the pass, there was a place to pull over and we were able to get off and take pictures of Doubtful Sound.  It was gorgeous!  He told us that we were lucky because a lot of times you get up there and see nothing, but the clouds you're in.

He also told us that back in the early 1900s, Canada gifted New Zealand 14 moose.  7 males and 7 females.  They were released in Fiordland (the region of Doubtful Sound).  They thought they had all died out years ago.  And then last year a Canadian tourist who was out hiking swore he saw a moose.  He told them exactly where he saw it and scientist came out to investigate and actually found moose DNA.  So apparently there is at least one moose in New Zealand.

Doubtful Sound

We got down to the boat and boarded.  It made me laugh because our captain was in shorts and his pressed captain's shirt.  It was chilly and I was really wishing I had one more layer on!  I wasn't expecting it to be so chilly.  The first part of the trip was great!  Doubtful Sound is made by a bunch of glaciers that carved out the sound, thousands of years ago.  There are some huge island in the middle, which I really didn't even think of as islands until I looked at a map and realized that technically they were.  They've been working to rid these islands of the same pesky small mammals as everywhere else and have had some luck on a few of the islands.  Those islands are now becoming flush with birds that have been struggling elsewhere since they arrive!

Seals!

As we neared the mouth of the sound, the waves got bigger and my stomach started to get a bit queasy.  I said, "NO!  You are not allowed to do this!  I want to see the seals!"  And so I was able to hold my breakfast.  Out at the mouth of Doubtful Sound, where it emptied into the Tasman Sea, is a large seal colony.  Unfortunately, these are the best pictures I have for right now, until I can replace this picture with one from my camera.

Doubtful Sound

From the mouth of Doubtful Sound, we ventured into Crooked Arm.  Once we got up to the elbow (because the arm bends at roughly a 90 degree angle), they cut the engine and asked everyone to find somewhere to sit or stand without moving for the next five minutes.  And then we sat there in the quiet of Crooked Arm, no one talking.  It was amazing.  You could hear some waterfalls and birds.  It was so peaceful!  From there we made our way back to port, the bus, and port again.

After finishing my cruise I got back in my car and drove south.  Invercargill was my destination.  Almost south south New Zealand.  The owner of the hotel was very personable and gave me a map of the lower south-southeast coast and told me everywhere I needed to stop along the way.  From the hotel, I walked to supper a few blocks away, where I had the most delicious meal.  I ordered a loaf of tear-apart bread as an appetizer, which was actual bread pan loaf size!  I joked (to myself) that my waiter was going to go home that night and tell her friends about the woman who ate a whole loaf of bread by herself (I didn't.  I had 2 pieces left, which was perfect for breakfast!).

Silhouette of Stewart Island

From Invercargill, I went south.  South to Bluff.  I had been under the impression that Bluff was the southernmost point of the South Island, but the hotel owner told me that was incorrect and if I wanted to hit that spot, I'd actually need to stop at Slope Point a bit later in the day.  I still stopped in Bluff though, and did a hike in around Sterling Point.  From there you could see Stewart Island, which is a decently sized island just south of the South Island.  It doesn't have any major settlements on it and is mostly wild with lots of hiking and birding.

Cliffs at Fortrose

My first stop after leaving Bluff was Fortrose.  It's barely a town, but there were some cliffs there that overlooked the South Pacific.  It was so lovely and empty, that I considered grabbing my book and sitting down for a bit.  I didn't, however, as I was still trying to figure out timing.  I had to be to Cathedral Cave between 3 and 6, and I had been told I needed to stop at Curio Bay for penguins between 3 and 6 (this was faulty information).  And I still wasn't sure where I'd be spending the night, so I left and continued on.

Waipapa Point Lighthouse

From Fortrose I stopped at the Waipapa Point Lighthouse.  Really, I don't have much to say other than the whole scene was beautiful!  Bright blue ocean against bright blue sky.  I then moved onto Slope Point, which if you recall from above, happens to be the southernmost point of the South Island.  I walked out the point and of course took my picture with the sign.

I made it!

Up next was Curio Bay, where I was told there were penguins, dolphins, and a petrified forest.  I saw the petrified forest.  Basically a long time ago a forest was bulldozed by a volcanic eruption, which resulted in petrification of the trees in this certain area right down on the coast.  You can see what appears to be whole logs felled by the eruption.  Around this time I was starting to formulate my plan for the evening.  I found an Airbnb in Curio Bay that was a good price and open so I snagged it.  I would then continue on to Cathedral Cave and double back for the night.

Petrified Wood

Cathedral Cave is a seaside cave that the ocean has been blasting into for millions of years and slowly eroding the rock away.  It is only accessible at low tide and roughly the 2 hrs before and after.  Otherwise it is underwater and you can't get to it.  Because of this, the time it is open shifts every day, so if you decide to visit, check the website.

Cathedral Cave - From this picture you can really see how large it is.

After visiting the cave, I made by way back to Curio Bay to look for penguins.  Upon still not finding penguins, even though it was between 3 and 6, like I was told, I decided to go to the web for answers.  Answer?  Dusk.  3-6 might be correct in winter, but not in summer.  Shoot!  Sunset was set for 9:32!  I wasn't sure I could stay up that late!

Porpoise Cove

I got checked into my room for the night, which was this neat tiny home called the Gypsy Wagon.  And even more neat was it was about 1-2 minutes walk from the beach.  After cooking some supper, I wandered down to the beach with my book and a towel to sit on.  I lasted about 20 mins before getting cold and heading back.  I then fell asleep before making it back out to look for penguins. :(

The Gypsy Wagon Airbnb (no ridiculous cleaning fees here!)

I woke this morning, quickly grabbed clothes, and headed to the beach.  I had been told that morning was a good time to see dolphins out in the cove.  I got down there just in time to see 2 or 3 swimming around.  The dolphins in the cove are Hector's Dolphins.  The smallest of dolphins (so they say, but I feel like they were bigger than the grey river dolphins we saw in the Amazon last year) and with a mouse ear dorsal fin.  I got some pictures on my camera meaning I'll have to look at them when I get home.  I also wandered up and down the beach and found signs that the penguins had been there.  I could see tracks both heading out of the water and back in.  They spend their day catching food and then at night come ashore to feed their young before heading back out in the morning again.  

Penguin Tracks!

After packing up, I started out again toward Cathedral Cave, but this time stopping at a couple of waterfalls along the way that I had bypassed the day before.  I had some time alone at the 2nd one, so I had some fun!

McLean Falls

In Papatowai there is this place called The Lost Gypsy Gallery.  I had been told about it twice, once each by each of my two previous hoteliers.  They said you have to stop there.  The best way to describe it is whimsical.  Some guy has spent the past like 20 years building little gizmos out of found things.  They move and make sound.  Wandering through his gallery was worth the $10NZD.

One of the gizmos at The Lost Gypsy Gallery

From Papatowai I had a roughly hour long drive up to Nugget Point.  The maps said lighthouse and seals.  I saw a lighthouse and seals!  Mission accomplished!  From Nugget Point, I continued up to Dunedin (Doo-knee-din), where it turns out the hotel/hostel I booked is the student dorms at the local university, which is now on summer holiday.  It's actually not bad.  A private room and the dorm I would put at less than 10 years old, so it is still in good shape!  Anyways, long post!  

Nugget Point