Hi Everybody!
We finally left Te Anau and headed up the east coast by way of Gore. We had a plan but it did not totally work out. We drove Highway 1 north through Dunedin, hoping to see penguins near Moeraki. We stopped at a cute little coffee shop on the way called the Mayfly Cafe. Here they had markers to all kinds on important places in the world. As you can see, we were half way between the South Pole and the Equator. We then went to Gore where there is a statue of a large brown trout. The town of Gore claims to be the world capital of brown trout fishing.We carried on from there. We stopped first at a viewing site called Shag Point. We saw seals and shags ( a bird much like a cormorant) but no penguins to be found. The view was very wild as the wind was howling and the temperature was barely double digit. It was chilly. We carried on to see the Moeraki Boulders. That was quite interesting. The boulders were formed like oysters and are part of an ancient sea bed. Then the ocean floor became part of a heaved surface that formed a cliff beach. Erosion has worked away at the soil to let the boulders drop to the beach. They were fascinating to look at. They have some cracks and crevices from erosion and some have split. The rock is fascinating to examine. We then ventured out of a lighthouse to see if we could spot penguins here. We got there via a twisty road with beautiful views of sheep grazing within sight of the ocean. Once we arrived, we discovered that the viewing area was closed for shooting. Sure enough, we could see a man walking across the field carrying his shotgun. We suspect the shooting is to get rid of pests like ferrets and stoats that will kill the baby penguins. We finally gave up the quest for penguin spotting, stopped for groceries and headed to a town inland named Kurow. We hope to find some brown trout around here that are hungry. Maybe a quick drive back to the east coast one evening will allow us to see penguins.
As we drove today Bon Jovi was chroning out, Its My Life, Its Now or Never." Karen and I smiled because its NOW!
Very cool!
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