Catlins and beyond

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Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th

Oh, so they have Internet on computers now! Hommie

That is sort of how I have felt for the past 24 hours. I have been trying to Skype and e-mail with very mixed results. The video feed on the Skype was so bad we just gave up. Anyway, Thursday…I was still in the Catlins. The last two stops were Porpoise Bay and Curio Bay. Porpoise Bay as implied is the home to a number of Porpie. I was not quick enough to get any photos but I have to tell you I was treated to quite a show. The waves here are breaking at about 10ft. high and these silly guys were out there shooting the curl! More than once I saw them come into a wave and just stay either on top or in one case three of them were actually inside the wave just under the curl. Way cool! Curio Bay on the other hand was more for your science types as it is actually a very large area of petrified trees exposed when the tide is low. I included a couple of shots. After leaving there I headed first for Invercargill and then on to Queenstown. This took up the balance of the day. BTW – a big thanks to all the folks back home who heard about the earthquake and were praying for my safety. Thankfully I was nowhere near CC but will fly out of there in a week. Incredible devastation!! Much worse than last fall.

Friday 24th

“I kinda like this doin’ nothing, it’s something that I do.” REK

Well today was definitely a doin nothing day. I slept in. Went into town for a while. Had a light lunch. Skyped Carla and then went to Arrowtown for a while. Arrowtown is an old gold mining town that has become something of a tourist attraction, complete with the requisite souvenir shops restaurants and boutiques. Back in Queenstown I had dinner at a great Irish Pub. Tomorrow I’m off to Clyde where I will drop my car and get shuttled to the beginning of 2 days on the Rail Trail.

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