Moeraki to Dunedin

It is absolutely astounding how quickly time flies when you're having fun.  And packing the days full of activity, or like Linda says "filling my eyes".  Our eyes have most definitely been filling up.  So today, I will just try to capture what I did today, and will try to catch up on the past week as I go.  Just to make sure I don't lose it however....

Wellington to Picton on the ferry, Gary and Bridget pick us up and we go to Westview for a couple of days.  We spend New Year's Eve day tasting wines and olive oils and generally exploring the Marlborough wine country area.  New Year's Eve is spent with Gary and Bridget, Bridget's sister and brother-in-law, and a couple of friends.  Food is awesome, lots of wine, great conversation.  New Year's Day we pack a picnic lunch and head out to Wairau Beach, then White's Bay where we hike up an enormous hill and then down the other side, have lunch, see a starfish and a tunnel through the rocks, then drive around the top of the Marlborough Sounds seeing some phenomenal scenery.

Late supper, sound asleep, then on a plane to Christchurch.  We pick up the car and start finding our way around, find a sculpture garden, a great beach, marvel at how cold it is in the summer, then go to Linda's friend Ed's house.  Very cool place.  We walk to the nearby pub for supper, laugh and laugh and laugh and have a few drinks.  Out cold very quickly.  Next day we drive into downtown Christchurch and see the damage from the 2010 earthquake.  A lot of buildings are still there, damaged.  Many buildings are now empty lots.  Lunch, then we drive out to Lyttelton and Akaroa.  Fantastic day.  Come back and have supper at a fabulous Indian place, then pass out.

Next day we drive down to Oamaru and past to Hampden.  The hotel we have booked is a lovely old Mill House, right on a river, very historic and beautiful, out in the country, miles from town.  Perfect for our first night "on our own".  We zip into town and find a tavern that serves remarkable fish and chips, and then, because it's still light out, drive slightly further to the Moeraki Boulders.  I've been told they are a "must see", but the light isn't great for photography, so I vow to return at sunrise  Which brings me to today.

I awake at 5 a.m., because the sun will rise at 5:55.  I've already learned that the tide will be fairly low, and the weather is to be slightly cloudy.  You can't get much better than that.  I get to the beach with the Moeraki boulders, which are very round, like huge stone balls, hoping for a shot with the sunrise and the boulders.  The sunrise is a bit disappointing, lovely, but not very colourful.  However, I do manage to catch a few good ones, and it will be fun to work with a couple of them and turn them into pieces of art.  Hopefully I will soon have a strong internet connection and can upload some of the pics.

After getting as many pics of the boulders that I can (there are several other photographers there as well), I decide to try another spot for some wildlife that a friend had told me about.  He said "go down to the township and look for the lighthouse, you won't regret it".  So I drove a bit further south, found the lighthouse road, and a walk down the hill a ways showed me a colony of seals.  There was a penguin blind as well, but no penguins to be seen.  But the surf was up, and the scenery on the way was enough to make me think I should go back to the hotel and get Linda and bring her to see the seals.  So off I went.  We packed up, had breakfast, and headed down the lighthouse road.  

Wow.  We discovered a trail that led off along the side of the hill, and all of a sudden we found ourselves in the midst of some of the most amazing scenery on a wind-swept cliff topped with a few seals.  We had to be careful to heed the signs posted saying to keep 10 meters distance from all wildlife - that was difficult to do as the seals were less than 20 meters apart!  Unbelievable.  They were just sleeping mostly, and didn't seem to mind us walking around.  

After getting our eyes filled here, we opt to keep driving south towards Dunedin, where we have a room booked for this evening.  We find a "scenic route" and a "lookout" and are stunned by the vista.  Although it has taken a bit longer, it is worth every minute, especially since we have lots of time.  Dunedin is only an hour away and we have nothing else planned, although we have a couple of options, such as driving straight through town and going down to the Catlins.

When we arrive in Dunedin however, we are quite impressed with the beautiful architecture, and decide to check into the Sahara Hotel, which is a Victorian home on an older street.  Stained glass windows and lots of detailed woodwork make it a lovely choice.  But now what?  There seem to be many choices, but we choose the Larnach Castle.  Awesome.  Although the drive up to the top of the "hill" is pretty intense, driving along the edge of cliffs on very narrow roads in a big car, it is worth the trip.  The castle is New Zealand's only castle, and is really just a very large home built in the style of a castle.  Similar to Casa Loma in Toronto.  But stunning.  The grounds are well kept and the castle itself is gorgeous.  We spend a couple of hours wandering around and taking photos (allowed without flash), and then through the gardens as well.  

Now we're starving though, as we haven't eaten since breakfast.  So we are on our way back into Dunedin and see a sign for "Signal Hill Lookout".  It seems that Lookouts here are worth taking the time for, so up we go, more driving along very narrow roads next to sheer drops, but find the view of Dunedin from a few hundred feet above sea level is stunning.

Finally we find Buddha Stix for supper, a Thai/Asian/Fusion place with great music, lovely decor, great food and wine, and it's across the street from the hotel.  And now it's time for bed.  Tomorrow morning we hope to get down to Nugget Point Lighthouse early enough at least for some golden hour shots.  :)