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St. Clair Beach
Doesn't the cloud on the horizon look like a land mass? NZ Day 11
We had another lazy morning at the house, but that was good because I got to do a little studying to prepare for my exam tomorrow. After a long lazy breakfast, Sarah and Pip and I got in the car to go for an adventure to the Peninsula around the south side of the harbour. I was glad that Pip wanted to come and tour guide us because she took us to some really neat places and navigated the area much better than we could have done.
First she took us to St. Clair beach which was very pretty and only 15 minutes from the house. It seemed like it would have been very nice in the summer time. The could formations were very interesting and made it look like we could see a land mass in the direction of the South Pole. The colors in the sky were also very beautiful.
Then we headed more to the center of the Peninsula to the Lanarch Castle. It’s not really a huge castle but it was at one time a private families estate. It was found by another family in disrepair and they refurbished it
and now run it as a tourist attraction. The castle and the grounds were gorgeous.
Inside the castle there were very informative displays about the original owner and the history of the castle. The family who restored it found a lot of the original furniture at auctions and have made quite a beautiful and authentic display of the place. At the top of the castle there is a winding staircase to the turreted roof where there are spectacular views of the harbour and a neighboring dormant volcano.
Pip said that they hold a lot of functions at the castle such as balls and parties in the ballroom. We fantasized about how much fun it would be to attend a ball in lovely dresses at a castle. We enjoyed a cup of tea by the fireside in the ballroom café and had a nice chat.
Our next stop was out by the Albatross colony. We stopped at some beaches just before the colony to look for seals and penguins. The seals were far below us again but we could see them through the binoculars.
We did however come at the perfect time to see the Shags
(a type of bird) flying in to land for the night on the side of the cliffs.
We were also there at the perfect time to see the brilliant colors of the sunset in the sky and on the clouds. It looked like paintings that you think are unreal or overdone but it was definitely real and perfect.
At dusk is when the penguins are supposed to come back from fishing and we could see them going from the beach to their burrows in the grassy cliff behind it. We watched and waited at the beach from 5:15 to 6:15. The light was gone by 5:30 and it was definitely dark dark by 6:00 and yet no penguins came. We waited and waited but didn’t get to see any.
Fortunately the evening was not lost because we did get to hear the penguins calling from their burrows. It was a very strange gutteral clicking sound that I would not have recognized if Pip hadn’t pointed it out to me.
On the way back through town I asked Pip to point out the flat where my brother stayed when he studied abroad here. I took a picture
Lighthouse
Gorgeous colors! of what she thought was it but it’s a little dark. It’s crazy to think that he lived here for a while. It seems so long ago.
Well I’d love to write more but I need to go to bed. My Uni career ends tomorrow when I take my last exam. Here’s to good luck and well wishes.
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Brittany
non-member comment
Woo!
NZ looks gorgeous, and it sounds like you're having a great time. Say hi to Sarah for me.