It rained for two days. We drove a loop inland in the hope of seeing something interesting. Mostly we saw damp fields and rain clouds. We passed through Roxburgh and Alexandra then headed for the east coast. A hydro-electric scheme held our attention briefly and I photographed another flower.
Heading north from Dunedin the weather started to show the first hints of clearing up. We stopped by a flooded lake for lunch and watched some rather soggy looking black swans. These birds are native to Australia but were introduced to several other countries by the Victorians for their decorative value. Then they escaped and went off to do their own thing.
Just up the road we arrived at the boldly named Shag Point. We drove down the narrow road in the hope of finding shags but instead we stumbled across a colony of fur seals. They were laying around, basking on the rocks. Not basking in the sun, it was cold and windy, just basking. They seemed very comfortable though. New Zealand fur seal is actually a type of eared seal, or sea lion. Characterized by their pointed noses, long whiskers, and external ear flaps. Quite commonly found wherever there is a rocky coast in New Zealand. There was a nice set up with a viewing platform on the end of a rocky ridge. We could watch the seals from here without disturbing them.
This section of coast was proving fruitful for things to see. A little further north we came across the Moeraki Boulders. Large, roughly spherical boulders up to 2 m across scattered around the beach. Clearly popular with tourists who like to stand on top of them and take a selfie. The boulders, grey-coloured septarian concretions, consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. They grow over millions of years deep in the mud under the sea. The bulk of a boulder is riddled with large cracks, septaria, that radiate outward from a hollow core lined with scalenohedral calcite crystals. Some of the rocks have cracked open revealing a complex and interesting interior.
In the evening, at Oamaru, we went looking for little blue penguins. Also known as fairy penguins. They are a marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk. Just after nightfall, the penguins at Oamaru pop out of the sea and head home – they live in burrows but also under people houses and in the bushes of gardens. Little Blue Penguins are the smallest of all penguins. They live around various locations in Australia and New Zealand where the suffer from the usual problems of predation, hunting and loss of habitat. Little penguins on Middle Island off Warrnambool, Victoria suffered terrible predation from foxes and were almost wiped out. They are now protected by Maremma sheepdogs and are recovering well. We spotted a few penguins. They were hard to see in the dark and the use of lights or flashguns is discouraged.
In the morning, we went to see the Elephant Rocks. These are a collection of large, weathered limestone rocks that ostensibly look like a herd of elephants. What I found most amazing was the number of people that came to look at them. Coach loads of people. The site was used in the film version of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even so, not genuinely very interesting.
We came across another wine growing area and this time decided to stop and try some. Sitting in a very nice garden which backed onto a field full of vines, we were served a flight of different wines. New Zealand whites are largely Sauvignon and smell of passionfruit. This is what makes it so popular. Easy drinking, dry, crisp, and very fruity. The Chardonnays can be a bit more interesting. Usually, some oak going on and notes of vanilla. Pinot Gris is possibly the most interesting with quince type flavours. All of this, I find moderately interesting but not exciting. I am very happy drinking New Zealand wine but have yet to find a wine with the “wow” factor. It is a matter of personal taste. For me, big, bold reds every time. The tasting did include a red, a Pinot Noir which also did nothing for me. Please do not be annoyed with me New Zealand, I have never been impressed by Burgundies either. We bought a bottle of white wine to have with dinner.
We continued inland which took us past some very impressive reservoirs. More hydro-electric power. There appears to be a lot of this in New Zealand. In the evening, we camped close to the curiously named Twizel, pop. 1800. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. These days tourists number three times as many residents in the summer. The name comes from the nearby Twizel River, in turn named for Twizel Bridge in Northumberland by John Turnbull Thomson, Chief Surveyor of Otago in the mid-19th century. The area has one of the world’s cleanest, driest, and darkest skies. Twizel is well known to astronomers.
