Sunday 20th Nov

North of Dunedin we soon spotted a sign for Moeraki and remembered that an entry in the rough guide mentioned something about strange boulders on the beach.

We turned off the main road and found a parking spot overlooking the sea. The boulders were a good couple of miles further along the broad sandy beach and as we approached on foot we realised that they are a major attraction, coaches discharging their contents of mostly Japanese and Chinese tourists who enjoyed posing on the boulders.

They look for all the world as if they have been dropped onto the beach by a caterpult wielding giant whose ammunition pouch had sprung a leak. In fact they emerged some millions of years ago from the low mudstone cliff as erosion leaves the harder boulders exposed.

 

Walking back along the beach we passed the car to starboard and walked a few miles on the village of Moeraki where we managed to squeeze in to the very popular  restaurant and get a delicious bowl of seafood chowder. Fleurs Place turned out to be very much the in place to eat so we were lucky to be served. The timber building was built from re-cycled materials on an old whaling station site.
Back to the car and on to Oamaru further up the coast which  was well worth a few hours stop. There was a wedding in period costume, a Steam Punk museum full of scrap metal sculptures, a pier crowded with shags, and a shopping street with some fascinating shops including a wonderful book store specialising in exploration. It even had one of Cris' Erskin press publications.
	Onward inland towards our bnb we stopped at a little geological museum in a tiny village on route. The proprietor was just shutting up but was very happy to let us look round and gave a recommendation to look at an interesting nearby geological feature. The Waipata earthquake walk was perhaps a step beyond our daily limit for sightseeing but worth the detour to see the cliffs and chasms. Walking along the path you realise with alarm that the low bushes beside you are actually treetops with the trunks disapearing into the fracture in the ground. The bnb when we arrived in Kurow the gloomy drizzle was a bungalow with lots of space and good kitchen. Supper and bed in short order.