New Zealand: part 6 - the marvels of the South
25/02/2020 With these geese migrating we feel the need to go on. They are heading North, we go South ...
The landscape is again drastically different. But not less beautiful 😎 I honestly think that the absence of the sun brings out more of the different greens 😍
On the road one of the many dams and another "first" or "best" for the New Zealander: the control gate of the Waiau river 😂 Quite cool, actually it appears to be the "first" dam, keeping a natural lake level. Only one riverflow was negatively influenced and the origin of a loss of a whole ecosystem... Anyway, better than fossil fuel 😑😈
Besides sheep, we drive along incredibly dramatic valleys, ...
... and breathtaking shorelines (Orepuki/Pahia Point).
... pinguins? No this seems to be the closest we get to pinguins...
This is the petrified forest of Curio Bay and we should see the pinguins here, but they were gone swimming I guess.
Anyway, instead of animal fossils of the Jurassic period, you can find Jurassic fossil trees. Still very special to see! For the girls to look at a fossil tree some dinosaur nibbled on was quite special 😍.
And the last stop before Dunedin is again very promising.
Short moment to stretch our legs after this long drive: the Nugget Point lighthouse.
Lets just say these are pinguins, OK?!
But then we really zoom in with the camera and look! Seals in their private swimming pool!
And a bit further around the nuggets, you have to have good eyes, but there are so many seals with their baby's, fooling around in the swell but sheltered by the rocks 😍
While Anna goes for short powernaps ...
... Louise has to absorb everything around her!
And then finally, 6 hours later, we arrive in Dunedin.
Now we all need a powernap so we can explore this city tomorrow 😎
26/02/2020 Before a visit to the city, we try to find more sea-animals. As we drive up there we see more remnants of the incredible amount of logging in NZ. Much like Idefix (from Asterix and Obelix), it makes my cry!!! 😱
This walk is along "Long Beach". The beginning actually looks quite a lot like the forests you find in Belgium 😌
Off course the beach view is a little bit different 😏
Lets see, what happens when you feed a seagull? 😂
A check of local "seafauna"...
And hippie caves... black from the romantic fires 😎
The obligatory stop in the playground. We should have written a book about playgrounds in the most amazing surroundings!
After a delicious lunch we're off for a small city hop.
Next: the train station and museum. Guess what! It's free!!!
How a lot of woman sailed over from Schotland for exemple. Hmmm I prefer LouiseAnna 😌
The NZ colonists.
A whole exposition on life in the 19th century in Dunedin.
We decide to end the day on Otago Peninsula in the hope to see the pinguins that come on land at nightfall. The drive to the Royal Albatross Centre is gorgeous.
Extra detour to the Allans Beach Reserve where a family of Sea Lions was getting a sun tan 😍
We're off to some rock climbing and found another lady chillin' in the sun!
She has quite an attitude! 😂
Enough sand in our eyes and ears, so it's time to move on.
Tired but motivated we're off to the Waihaheke Seabird lookout. Dawn will be around 21:00 so a bit too late to see the penguins after this exhausting day, but we saw one of the most amazing birds in the world: the albatross!!!
They graciously glide along the cliffs with their wingspan of more than 3 metres and when they turn they paddle with their "feet" 😁
Anna is very impressed and realises she witnesses something quite exclusive 😍
We search for the small blue pinguin, but it's too early ...
So when the girls start mimic-in these seals, we realise their too tired and decide to call it a day.
Still more than an hour to get back to our Airbnb.
And a long drive ahead tomorrow as we'll be travelling inland towards Lake Pukaki. It's "on our way" to Christchurch and the end of our New Zealand adventure.
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