Southern Scenic Route Part 2

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NZ Day 9

We thought we were doing the main tourist route but we found ourselves quite out of the way of the typical tourists

Our first stop was at the oldest wooden lighthouse. It was a beautiful sight and view of the ocean but we were a little disappointed that we didn’t see any seals or sea lions dolphins or penguins, which the guidebook said we might see.

Our next stop was the infamous Slope Point. The southern most place on the south island of NZ. The description in the guidebook made us think that this was a very popular tourist attraction. The “thing to do.” We soon realized that not too many people actually make it out there. Sterling Point at Bluff where we were the day before (7k north) evidently is enough for most people but it wasn’t enough for us.

We parked on the side of the road by a sign that said it was a 20 minute walk to Slope Point. It pointed through pastureland. I’m sure if we came during another season the pasture wouldn’t have been as muddy but of course we picked the best time to come. We were lucky however because the morning frost had not been hit by the sun first so we were able to walk on frozen grass/mud for a little while. By the time we were half-way into the pasture I felt like I was developing platform shoes with all of the mud clinging to the bottom of my shoes.

We felt a little lost walking through the pasture but didn’t see any signs telling us where to go so we just kept on walking. And walking, and walking. We had read in the guidebook that the point was named after the sloping of the ground so when it started sloping toward the sea we figure we were headed in the right direction. Then we started to come up on a steep part and something didn’t seem right. We could look to the right and see shorelines that went out farther than we were and we didn’t see a sign on the end of the point. Finally when we got right up to the edge, we realized that it was a straight drop cliff into the whirling sea below. Oopps. “Well maybe the end just fell off,” I said. “But shouldn’t there be a sign” Sarah argued. “Maybe it fell off into the sea” I replied. We were a bit discouraged but took some pictures of us at the end of the point just in case this was it.

On our way back through the pasture I wondered aloud if we were supposed to go through the gate into another pasture where there were sheep. Sarah didn’t think we were supposed to disturb the sheep but I figured that we had come to far and gotten muddy enough that a farmer yelling at us for disturbing his sheep couldn’t be too bad. So we crossed into an even muddier pasture and the sea of sheep before us split as if Moses himself was parting them for us. We kept walking towards a short white silo until I finally saw the sign. We had found it. It was quite an adventure getting there but we made it to the southern most point in NZ. We figured it might be the closest we will ever get to the South Pole. Pretty spectacular!

After that great adventure our shoes were covered in mud and even my rolled up pants were splattered and dirty but we ventured on to more exciting adventures along the drive. Our next stop was Curio Bay where there were supposed to be great numbers of Seals and Sea Lions and even penguins. We thought for sure we’d see some mammals but no dice. We were left to more NZ birds. We did however see just a little of the petrified forest left on the beach that the beach is famous for but it was difficult to see because the tide was coming in and covering it up. It was also still early enough and the sun hadn’t gotten to the beach yet so all of the rocks were covered in frost and very very slippery.

Porpoise Bay just down the road was named so because of the resident dolphin colonies. They are a special kind of dolphin that is almost exclusively in this bay and a couple other places around NZ. We though for sure we see a dolphin but again no deal. The signs told us that while they were almost a guaranteed sighting if not meeting in the summer, they were not often seen in the winter months. Shucks darn!

Another stop that the guidebook led us to believe was on every tourists to do list was Jackson’s Blow Hole. It was a hole in the middle of a pasture on a cliff, carved out by the rushing water from the waves of the ocean. The guidebook made it seem like water came shooting up out of the hole just like a whale’s blowhole. We didn’t realize again that we would be walking through very steep and very muddy sheep pastures with live sheep in them. About 4 large pastures away from where we parked the car and up two very steep hills we came to see a very large hole in the ground that had grown so much vegetation in and up the sides of it, it was almost impossible to see the rushing water below inside of it. There was one vantage point that we could see the water rushing in through a tunnel to the ocean that we stopped at to enjoy our PB&H sandwiches but after such a long muddy walk I was a little disappointed. Then we had to walk all the way back through the muddy muddy fields to the car. By this time my shoes were covered in mud.

Along our drives off the main roads to find all these cool tourist attractions we did get to see two things that I was just waiting with baited breath for us to come across. Livestock in the road!!!!! First we came across a farmer herding his cows across the road and we turned down that side road just to get the picture. Then by chance we ran into some random sheep along the side of the road. They were pretty funny trying to run away from us by running down the road ahead of the car. I felt like we were really in NZ because we ran into livestock on the road.

Another funny Bill Bryson kind of a stop that we ran into was Niagra Falls. It was a short jaunt off the main road and the description in the guidebook told us that it was named comically so we were eager to see just what that meant. It was worth a stop but I wouldn’t have driven down here just to see it. Maybe someday I will be able to see the US Niagra Falls and compare it with my own personal opinions.

Our last and finally successful attempt at seeing wild mammals occurred at Nugget Point. We hid in a hide behind a beach where Yellow-Eyed Penguins are known to colonize. We just so happened to rock up there are 2:59pm an the sign said that penguins were usually seen around 3 o’clock. Score finally something was gonna work out for us and sure enough not long after we got into the hide (a little shack to hide from the penguins in), but there he came. A penguin washed up on the shore and waddle around. He played for a bit in the surf before he headed up the beach. Then he ran into the side of the cliff but that didn’t stop him. He shimmed right up past where we were and further up to the cliff to a burrow, I assume. It was soo cool! The yellow-eyed penguin is the rarest type of penguin in the world.

Then we headed out to the end of the point towards the lighthouse and saw a couple of Seals sunbathing on the rocks far below. We were hitting the previously empty jackpot of mammal sightings on the coast. We were thrilled and excited.

The rest of our drive to Dunedin was pretty uneventful. I did get to drive on a real style highway for a little bit getting into town which was exciting but not as exciting as driving in a major city. I’m feeling pretty confident driving on the wrong side of the road now and I even did okay driving up to my Uncle’s house which seems like the steepest thing I have ever driven on in my life.

My aunt had a delicious seafood stew waiting for us as we arrived and we had a nice sit-down meal with the fam. It was very fun to visit with my cousins and uncle and aunt. I even remember their house mostly. We will be staying here for several more days so it is nice to relax in one place.

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Photos

Fake Slope Point
Maybe the sign fell of into the turbulent water below.

The real deal!
Why did I choose to stand on the chilly side instead of the tropical side?

Curio Bay
What's left of the petrified forrest.

Yellow-Eyed Penguin
Look closely you can see him. If only I had a zoom lens you could see his yellow eyes.