From Banks Peninsula to the end.

Dawnbreaker
Lars Alfredson
Mon 30 Jun 2014 10:19
Pos 46:40.40S 169:00.11E
Slope Point (Southern point of NZ)

Akaroa

The more South we go the warmer it seems to get.  In Akaroa we stayed at a Top Ten Camp Ground and I noticed that the owner's
name was Bo Arwidsson and he was from Göteborg and lived in the street where I learnt Swedish and also where Lars went to College.
The village Akaroa was very French with alot of names with both their Maori names as well as French names.  The shops were great.
Lars saw a shop that he knew I would spend alot of time in, it was a shop full of different stones, jewelry and stuff that I like to look
at.  I was in there for ages. We had a very nice lunch before we continued on our journey.

    
             Akaroa from a lookout high above the village.                                                             Akaroa pier with several shops I missed.


Okains village.

Sometimes we see some very strange looking houses.  Someone had come up with the idea of using Silo's as Holiday cabins.  They
sparkled in the sunshine but what will they look like in a few years. It's truly funny some of the idea's that we've never seen before like
hedges that are about 12 - 15 meters high and are perfectly cut, they have them around everything from their houses to vines or
cattle or even in the middle of nowhere.  Someone has invented a machine that can go along a hedge that can be as high as you like and
it cut's perfect lines.  That's just a couple of item's that we've seen so far.


    
                                   Silo cabins with steps and balconies                                                       A Ford for a change that was overflowing

At Okains Bay, where we stayed the night, was another night without power.  We were in the middle of a wood where all
the trees where fir trees.  We had showers and toilets but there were no power outlets.  We went for a walk on the beach to
see if we could find any Paua shells.  We didn't find one shell and the beach was empty of even driftwood.
Alot of the beach here in New Zealand are so clean. No plastic of any sort, no rubbish at all.  Many have driftwood that come
down the rivers that come out into the sea but other than that there is nothing dirty about them, it's amazing.
Late at night I saw a hedgehog making it's way through the woods of Okains Bay.  It was very peaceful and the stars were so bright
at night with no lights around.  I saw the MilkyWay and millions of stars, wonderful.

On the Banks Peninsula there are a lot of bays.  We are still going south and on our Tourist Radio we hear about a Camp Ground
called Kelsey's Bush Farmyard, just outside Waimate village.  The couple that owned the Farmyard are Joy and Keith and after
several years of their Farm being on the market they had finally sold it.  It's in Waituna just near Waimate Forest.  They still had
a few animals left, Toby and Xenia which were a brown deer and Xenia is a lovely white deer, ducks and a couple of alpacas.  The
whole place will be upgraded with more animals for the summer which is in December.  They also had a peacock with a harem of
female peacocks.

    
       The peacock wouldn't come very close but he was beautiful                                     I don't know if these are females or young peacocks



                           This is Toby, he had to smell me first.

A process that started sixty million years ago made these large grey Moeraki Bolders, some are over 2meters in diameter.  They hide a
honeycomb centres which is a central core of carbonate of lime crystals that attached other minerals from their surroundings.
All that information is from our Guide to New Zealand.  It was quite a walk to get to the bolders and they were worth seeing.  They looked
like Giant solid balls until you find one thats been crushed over the years and then the centre is revealed.

    
                              Biiiiiiiig baaaaaaaaaaall.                                                                                            He didn't do it and it wasn't me!  



                  Most of the Moeraki Bolders that are left

Know no one laugh, again!!!!!!
We went to Shag Point where there are alot of Shag's (Birds) and fur seals.  The seals are decreasing and it's a worry to the people who are
living around Shag Point.



                               Shag Point and the fur seal colony.

On leaving Shag Point we came across this beautiful house that someone had taken alot of trouble and patience to build.  Their
letter box was made of Paua shells and driftwood and skulls of animals were made all around their garden and house.  There was
even a wishing well made of Paua shells.  It must of taken years to get it all up from the beach and make all the decorations. 
Wonderful and a great idea.

    
                                       The House Front                                                                                                       Their letter box of Paua shells


     
                      "Shiver me Timbers" great sence of humor.                                                Another great letter box, some are very out there.

Dunedin was a lovely place to visit but not to stay over night. Many of the houses are old and have the old type of veranders
all around the house with decorations in each corner made in iron. It makes the house look quite quaint and old fashioned.
We stayed at Portobello just outside Dunedin and it's on the eastside of Otago Harbour.   Far out at the tip of Otago
penninsula is the only colony of Albatross.  We hoped to see one, at least, the next day.  It was difficult to see them as
they were on the other side of the cliffs.  We heard them, thats about all.

We continue to Kaka Point and after we find a Camp site Lars went off for his usual walk on arrival and I gave him a small
plastic bag just as a laugh.  I asked him to look for Paua shells but didn't expect too much as we had been looking for weeks.
Surprise! Surprise! Lars not only comes back with the bag full, he's got bit and pieces of Paua shells everywhere in his rucksack.
He said he would show me the next day.  It was a fluke that he found them, he was going to take a picture of a gate we had seen
on our arrival and found the Motherload.

    
      I'm happy, now how do I get a bucket load back home.                                     The gate Lars was making for when he found the Paua shells


    
   Children had made this pathway beautiful with Paua shells                                       I made Lars stop to take this photo, I loved it.

Something else we thought was strange. A helicopter hovering over a hill (wonderful hovering), letting out some kind of liquid, on a Sunday.
Strange things are a foot!!!!!!!!
When we enter Owaka village, we came across "Teapotland".  Teapots everywhere, all sorts and they were closed for the Winter.  We had a good
look around anyway.  They had even made a Dove Cote and there were two white doves living and feeding in a Teapot.

    
                                               "Teapotland"                                                                                                     The doves feeding Teapot.

Before stop for the night we decided to Fossil Forest. Yep that's what it was called.  Trees that were fossilized over centuries and
had finally shown themselves on a beach.  It is suppose to be an amazing find.

    
                                        A fossilized tree trunk.                                                                                       A tree trunk made into stone


    
  You can see which way the wind blows, there's a house behind them.                       How they feed their sheep here, until nothing is left.

We finally made it.  The Southern most Point of the South Island.
Beat the Drum's, now it's back north again and 24 days to get
back to the boat again.

    
                                                Slope Point.                                                                                                  South Pole is that way............................


only 4803 km away.


Well we got to the end of the island so it's more to come about
our trip back to North Island and the boat.

Love Caroline and Lars x