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Published: August 12th 2005
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The family split into two vehicles and we headed off in convoy to Nugget Point in the Caitlins to the seal colony. There was a lovely lighthouse there, however the seals were more difficult to spot with the naked eye. We borrowed binoculars and we watched them basking in the morning sun. Leaving Uncle Ian behind (he had a date with some deer sperm!!) we moved on to the Otago Peninsula staying in McFarmers Backpackers in Portobello (nto quite the same as the Edinburgh version, Janette and Gareth!!). As there was no-one around when we arrived but there was a key in the door so we let ourselves in, made ourselves comfortable and started preparing dinner. Old McFarmer arrived home to find 2 Scots and an American cooking pasta and after his initial surprised look and comments he started a fire for us in the pot bellied stove and proceeded to look after us really well. The following morning he lit us another fire as he was worried that we would be cold and then gave us tips on where the best places to spot wildlife on the peninsula were for the day. Our day began with a cultural stop at
Lanarch Castle (the only one in NZ !!) followed by tea and scones in the ballroom!! Kelly was keen to see the albatross reserve so we drove up to the point of the peninsula but unfortunately at that time of year there were none flying around however we could watch the chicks in the nest on the tv monitor. Mr McFarmer had told us about the hide at Sandfly Beach to spot penguins and seals. After a long trek down over huge sand dunes we watched a beautiful NZ sunset and then Kelly and Sara went off in search of penguins while I took pictures of the coast line and sky!!It got very dark very quickly - Sara and Kelly had to follow my footprints back along the beach. As my concern grew with there lack of appearance and my overactive imagination (no more Crimewatch for me) I used my camera flash to as a beacon to guide them back to the car park. Apparently it was worthwhile as they had seen penguins hopping out of the sea and climbing the hill and seals in the distance. On departure we realised that we were around 50c short of the accommodation
fee so we left as much as we had in the honesty pot and half a tub of ice cream and scarpered (sorry Mr McFarmer but you really do need to get a cashline on the peninsula).
Had a quick overnight stop in rainy Dunedin where Sara couldn't resist a visit to the Cadbury Factory. Found a bar to watch the first of the Lions Test Matches and made an early start the following morning for the long drive to Akaroa. It was so long in fact that we weren't sure that there was enough petrol in the car to make it. Thankfully the end of the journey was downhill and we rolled into town on the fumes from the tank!! Booked into Chez La Mer - a cosy hostel complete with log fire and hot water bottles (my idea of paradise!!). Wandered around this quaint French Provincial town and saw the Daly Wharf and the lighthouse. We were disappoited by the settlers cemetry as the old graves had been removed and a modern monument erected in its place. Akaroa was definitely a spot that I would like to spend more time in and hope to return here one
day to explore it more.
Christchurch was our next stop. People say that it is reminiscent of an English town. It has a beautiful botannical gardens beside the river, a great museum and a park - all within easy wlaking distance of the town centre and our hostel. On leaving Christchurch we headed up to Kaikoura, made famous by whale watching trips. The town was founded by a Scottish guy called Fyffe. We visited his house on the water front however it was closed that day!! We saw some seals in the distance at the colony before we drove a little further along the coast to do some morning wine tasting at a cliff top vineyard. Having been disappointed by the recommended viewing points to see the seals along the south coast I spotted something moving on a beach as we made our way to Blenheim. Approximately 10 feet from the edge of the road and down a bank there was a colony of seals (at least 20 including seal pups!!). Can't say that they were too happy at us watching them but we kept our distance and were entertained by them for some time before we moved on.
For the first time in four months, the hostel that we had selected to stay in was full so we ended up in the ferry town of Picton a day earlier than expected. In the end it worked out for the best as we got free soup and fresh bread for tea and breakfast in the morning - thank you Sequoia Lodge.
Drove
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Uncle
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Sperm
I didn't have an appointment with some deer sperm, the job just happened to find me. Artificial insemination is very important okay!