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30th January 2008
Hello again,
Leaving our troubles behind we continued south
along the East coast from Timaru to Dunedin. The countryside gradually
changing from the flat Canterbury plain to hill country that forecast the
approach of the mountain regions. We were travelling on Highway 1 ( their
M1) and it was Wednesday 30th Jan. The traffic was terrible - we counted
the cars and lorries we passed going the other way - they averaged less
than one every minute and very rarely were we in company with another vehicle
going the same way as us. The weather was fine and as you might expect we
made very good time.
We didn't stop in Dunedin but turned
left straight onto the Otago Peninsular and wound our way around its edge
very slowly as it was very torturous with cliff on one side and the sea at
the edge of the road a few feet below on the other. After half an
hour of this type of driving we pulled into Portobello Camp and were halfway
along the peninsular to give you an idea of size. The Otago
Peninsular is the remains of an ancient volcano rim so is a mountainous ridge,
steep to, with large scallop bays of mud flats and beaches. After tea
we walked over the top from one side to the other, it was strenuous, very
steep, with a bright low sun in our eyes but well worth it. We
descended into Allans Bay, a huge mud flat with loads of birds feeding as it was
low tide.
The following day we set off to explore.
Taking a quiet dirt road over the top we dropped down to Allens Beach again and
followed the road round the next headland to dead end in a farm yard. This
was very fortuitous. A track lead off over some sand dunes to what appeared
to be a beach. It wasn't really beach weather, there was a cold wind and a
hazy sun through a light sea mist and it wasn't very enticing. Anyway
after some deliberation we decided to go through the sand dunes and look at the
sea. Imagine our surprise when coming over the rise of the last sand dune
there on the beach, as large as life was a huge male sea lion. We crept
forward to find another a short way up the beach. They did not seem
bothered by us, and we didn't crowd them, but if we got too close they just
moved on a bit. While we were watching a third one came out of the sand
dunes. We must have walked right past him!! We were the only people
there so we retired and left them in peace. Afterwards we learnt that
they were Hooker Sea Lions, a species they are trying to protect.
To compliment the sea lions we were privileged to
watch a seal at play. We came round a bend, on a cliff edge above the sea
and below this seal was obviously playing, rolling on the surface, diving and
turning and generally having fun. To finish our day we drove off the Otago
Peninsular along the top ridge with spectacular views. We drove south towards
Invercargill through sheep, dairy and arable country; the mountains haven't
really arrived yet.
Roger & Mags
Mum & Dad
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