NZ Part 12 - We're at Catlins!
Curio Bay
These are not just rocks - it's a fossil forest. Can you spot the tree stumps? There were also some sealions lying around, looking like rocks.
Lots of fleshy bull kelp lying around. check out the thick yellow stem.
there were several Oystercatchers, a native bird, foraging. has a sharp red beak, useful for picking up his favourite food.
an elaborate feature staircase (in nz standards, that is) leading to the fossil forest.
we planned to catch sunset at Nugget Point, so we zipped straight off to Baclutha from Curio Bay without stopping. checked into our cosy hostel, Balclutha Backpackers, before dusk, dropped our bags and rushed to Nugget Point. what busy tourists we were...
on the way to Nugget Point, in close proximity, we chanced upon a penguin viewing hut. This bay is a fav hangout of yellow-eyed penguins. we were lucky to visit during the penguin nursing season. have to keep very quiet, and wait for the penguin parents come to shore, bringing food to feed their chicks, who wailed very loudly and pitifully.
we thought we would have a better chance of spotting them at dusk so we went off to Nugget Point. here's Nugget Point - breathtaking views!
golden brown chicken nuggets anyone?
sun is setting, time to go check out the penguin parents returning home to feed their chicks.
this is the quiet bay where we waited to watch penguins.
there they come! 3 penguins walking across the sand, can you see them?
very nice to settle into cosy room after such a busy evening. ours was a cat-themed room. so cute eh? the hostel manager even placed a candy on the bed, such a nice touch.
neko-chan on the pillow
chasing a mouse
tiny kitty
having a conference around the fireplace
the chairman
sitting pretty on the sill
looking grouchy and sleepy
pretty picture
we were supposed to meet up with the guys at the hostel but it was pretty late already and they had not arrived. we had a serious discussion about whether to head out to look for them. while we were discussing, they suddenly arrived at the hostel. it turned out that they had an accident - their car skidded and went down into the ravine. gasp! a couple of phone calls were made to the car rental company to discuss how to rescue the car in the ravine, and how they were going to get a replacement car.
so the next morning, we split up with the guys, heading off to explore the Catlins, while they stayed behind at the hostel to wait for the towing company to get the car out of the ravine, pick them up and send them to Dunedin where we would regroup. however, the towing company never came for them, they were chased out of the hostel by the very strict hostel manager who was adamant that the guests leave on the dot at the specified checkout time, and they sat outside the hostel in the cold, waiting for hours.... very pitiful but in cold-bloodedness, we ditched them to look for sealions.
the really helpful staff at the tourist information centre advised us to head to Cannibal Bay and Surat Bay at like 10am (or was it 11am) and we will get lucky because the sealions will be swimming out to feed. btw, the tourist information centre is worth a visit not only for the useful advice, it was a nice urban (re)treat in such a rural place. was pretty impressed with the effort put in details such as playing bird chirping sounds in the toilet...
anyways, we headed out to Cannibal Bay at the timing advised and true enough, saw our first sealion frolicking in the calm waters in the bay. he was very daring, swimming very close to the sandy shore, to our delight.
we sat down far enough from the waters edge and waited. the sealion felt safe enough to get out of water and run about a bit. very fascinated with the fact that we were watching sealions in their natural habitat, running wild!
this is as near as we got before he dashed into the waters.
next on our checklist was the waterfalls.
matai falls - check.
short, pleasant trek through beech and podocarp forest to get to purukauni falls.
purukauni falls - check. splendid!
These are not just rocks - it's a fossil forest. Can you spot the tree stumps? There were also some sealions lying around, looking like rocks.
Lots of fleshy bull kelp lying around. check out the thick yellow stem.
there were several Oystercatchers, a native bird, foraging. has a sharp red beak, useful for picking up his favourite food.
an elaborate feature staircase (in nz standards, that is) leading to the fossil forest.
we planned to catch sunset at Nugget Point, so we zipped straight off to Baclutha from Curio Bay without stopping. checked into our cosy hostel, Balclutha Backpackers, before dusk, dropped our bags and rushed to Nugget Point. what busy tourists we were...
on the way to Nugget Point, in close proximity, we chanced upon a penguin viewing hut. This bay is a fav hangout of yellow-eyed penguins. we were lucky to visit during the penguin nursing season. have to keep very quiet, and wait for the penguin parents come to shore, bringing food to feed their chicks, who wailed very loudly and pitifully.
we thought we would have a better chance of spotting them at dusk so we went off to Nugget Point. here's Nugget Point - breathtaking views!
golden brown chicken nuggets anyone?
sun is setting, time to go check out the penguin parents returning home to feed their chicks.
this is the quiet bay where we waited to watch penguins.
there they come! 3 penguins walking across the sand, can you see them?
very nice to settle into cosy room after such a busy evening. ours was a cat-themed room. so cute eh? the hostel manager even placed a candy on the bed, such a nice touch.
neko-chan on the pillow
chasing a mouse
tiny kitty
having a conference around the fireplace
the chairman
sitting pretty on the sill
looking grouchy and sleepy
pretty picture
we were supposed to meet up with the guys at the hostel but it was pretty late already and they had not arrived. we had a serious discussion about whether to head out to look for them. while we were discussing, they suddenly arrived at the hostel. it turned out that they had an accident - their car skidded and went down into the ravine. gasp! a couple of phone calls were made to the car rental company to discuss how to rescue the car in the ravine, and how they were going to get a replacement car.
so the next morning, we split up with the guys, heading off to explore the Catlins, while they stayed behind at the hostel to wait for the towing company to get the car out of the ravine, pick them up and send them to Dunedin where we would regroup. however, the towing company never came for them, they were chased out of the hostel by the very strict hostel manager who was adamant that the guests leave on the dot at the specified checkout time, and they sat outside the hostel in the cold, waiting for hours.... very pitiful but in cold-bloodedness, we ditched them to look for sealions.
the really helpful staff at the tourist information centre advised us to head to Cannibal Bay and Surat Bay at like 10am (or was it 11am) and we will get lucky because the sealions will be swimming out to feed. btw, the tourist information centre is worth a visit not only for the useful advice, it was a nice urban (re)treat in such a rural place. was pretty impressed with the effort put in details such as playing bird chirping sounds in the toilet...
anyways, we headed out to Cannibal Bay at the timing advised and true enough, saw our first sealion frolicking in the calm waters in the bay. he was very daring, swimming very close to the sandy shore, to our delight.
we sat down far enough from the waters edge and waited. the sealion felt safe enough to get out of water and run about a bit. very fascinated with the fact that we were watching sealions in their natural habitat, running wild!
this is as near as we got before he dashed into the waters.
next on our checklist was the waterfalls.
matai falls - check.
short, pleasant trek through beech and podocarp forest to get to purukauni falls.
purukauni falls - check. splendid!
posted by nan at 11:30 PM
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