Te Anau to Dunedin & the East Coast

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Left Te Anau after a night of showers and rain - much needed as the ground is so dry. An eerie evening as the skies were a pale orange - a result of all the bush fires in Australia.

As the weather was not great we took the opportunity to head across to the east coast and get the bulk of the journey out of the way. We stopped at various towns to browse around - but none of note as it is much less commercial and the "true" side of NZ. Finally got north of Dunedin by early evening and found a fantastic spot off the main road at a little town called Karitane. We found a fantastic spot right on the beach and decided to head out for a walk despite the rain. Plenty of sea-life here - even saw albatross, gulls, terns and even a seal heading into the mouth of the river against the turning tide (he even jumped out of the water for us several times - just to ensure we weren't seeing things!)

Since then we have been heading steadily north up the coast - stopping when we feel like it - and generally enjoying the scenery.

Stopped at the Moeraki Boulders - which are much written about in the guidebooks. Worth the stop for approx 20 - 30 large round boulders that seem half buried in the sand and mud cliffs. Very bizarre on a large bay that is otherwise sandy and clear of any rocks. Not as large or as impressive as we were led to believe - but such is life...

Stayed at a really unusual campsite last night - with a smallholding right next door. As a result we have fed baby wallabies, deer, met 3 live possoms and numerous other beasties - all fascinating stuff. Really friendly people (again) - got given 4 eggs from the chickens - freshly laid this morning and still warm. Such a welcoming country - it is a really special place.

We fly from Christchurch to Aukland on Friday - and are preparing to explore the North Island.

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Comments

[Julia]

WOW!
Fab photos and sounds like a fab trip so far! Keep enjoying and adding to the blog, JB x

[hayley gale]

Sounds fantastic
Hi, Sounds amazing. You and your mum seem to be having a trip of a lifetime. The pictures are all brilliant(I hope they weren't intended to be put on here to make us all jealous!!!!) Lana is well and Becky got some footage of her playing in the snow the other day(she had great fun!) All is well on the yard but the horses are lacking exercise because of the weather, yet they really do not mind!! Keep the pictures coming, if only to make me more jealous. Keep enjoying yourself and hope you have a safe journey wherever your next adventure may take you both. lol Hayleyxxxx