Golden Bay
Salamander
Sun 19 Dec 2010 03:06
|
Spent the night at Golden Bay - renamed as the
N-Zealanders thought building a holiday resort around Murderer's Bay might put
people off. Caroline's only bad night of sleep as our cabin was next to the camp
shop, being refurbished with all the freezers outside, humming away. The manager
of the Pohara Beach Top 10 already knew of the problem, but hadn't bothered to
warn us or offer a discount. Fortunately the friendliness and helpfulnes of
Kiwis is legendary and this is one of our few Pommie whinges.
Farewell Spit is renowned for whales and dolphins
and a very large gannet colony, so we saw lots of - black swans - as
we drove past. The views from the Paddling Crab Cafe are renowned, but this was
only our second day of torrential rain so the view was reduced; and this after
leaving the reputed We(s)t Coast where we had grown used to dry sunny
days.
 Cape Farewell is the northernmost point of South
Island and we wandered there in furious winds and watched sealions surfing in
the waves and hunting the same fish as a shag (to its dismay).
 Followed by a trek through more LOTR forest to
Harwoods Hole the biggest karst in the Southern Hemisphere at 183 m deep. The
guide says if you can see the bottom you are falling down the hole! It was
soaking wet with the path resembling a stream: still an enjoyable walk - the
forest was so pretty. Ended with the usual robins who stand and look at you
until you scuff the ground with your feet to make it easy for them to grab the
grubs, saving them a lot of beak work.
 |