After a rainy morning in Fiordland (the region of Milford Sound and Te Anau), we drove to the most southerly point of the South Island - not of New Zealand as there's a third island, Stewart Island, further south.
We stopped at Slope Point, in the roaring forties, closer to Antarctica than to the Equator (chilly, I may say). I actually don't have a picture of Slope Point. But I have other ones, equally good.
The south of New Zealand is not as touristic as the rest of the country, and so we loved it! Mighty Squeaky did a great job in taking us on dirt roads, gravel roads etc... without complaining (just squeaking as usual).
So our first stop was Invercargill, the southernmost town of New Zealand. I took no pictures, sorry. Next on the way: Riverton - see below.
After a rather uncomfortable, back-breaking night of camping - it was so windy and rainy that we slept in the car - we drove to Curio Bay, in the beautiful region of the Catlins. In Curio Bay, there's a fossilised Jurassic forest - no kidding. These "things" on the ground are 180-million-year-old fossilised trees that make you realise you live on an old planet. It's a bit like the Australian stromatolites: visually unimpressive but incredibly mind boggling.
After the mysterious Jurassic forest, we had a walk in a real, present, lush forest.
And then back along the coast. The Catlins truly are an amazing place, where lush rainforest sinks into a beautiful sea and where beaches, you'll see later, are home to a crowd of interesting animals.
Sheep with a sea-view.
The inimitable portaloo. After the unpronouceable "portakabin" - I mean, should the stress be put on "ta" and "bin" or on "por" and "ka"? - here are the eco-friendly portaloos.
I'm tempted to write "sheepish look" but ... ok... I will...
Sheepish look.
New Zealand is known as the country of kiwis (the animal, not the fruit). I haven't managed to see any kiwi, which I now consider as an elusive concept, being either imaginary or invisible. So in my deepest meditative moments, I realised that New Zealand should be called the land of sheep. One fact beats all: New Zealand's total sheep population, according to my little "Safari Pete's Adventures" guidebook, is 45,390,000, or 11.24 sheep per capita. And kiwi has become an adjective meaning New Zealander. So if you replace kiwi by sheep in the New Zealander language, you wouldn't have kiwi sheep anymore (they'd simply be called sheep), but you might find a sheep kiwi if you're lucky.
Jack's Blowhole - more info below.
The surprise du jour: an encounter with huuuuuuuge (enough "u's" ?) sea lions!!!
D'ou l'expression "une haleine de phoque".
Nugget's Point, named after the rocks scattered down the cliff.
Sunset seen from Nuggets Point.
We stopped at Slope Point, in the roaring forties, closer to Antarctica than to the Equator (chilly, I may say). I actually don't have a picture of Slope Point. But I have other ones, equally good.
The south of New Zealand is not as touristic as the rest of the country, and so we loved it! Mighty Squeaky did a great job in taking us on dirt roads, gravel roads etc... without complaining (just squeaking as usual).
So our first stop was Invercargill, the southernmost town of New Zealand. I took no pictures, sorry. Next on the way: Riverton - see below.
After a rather uncomfortable, back-breaking night of camping - it was so windy and rainy that we slept in the car - we drove to Curio Bay, in the beautiful region of the Catlins. In Curio Bay, there's a fossilised Jurassic forest - no kidding. These "things" on the ground are 180-million-year-old fossilised trees that make you realise you live on an old planet. It's a bit like the Australian stromatolites: visually unimpressive but incredibly mind boggling.
After the mysterious Jurassic forest, we had a walk in a real, present, lush forest.
And then back along the coast. The Catlins truly are an amazing place, where lush rainforest sinks into a beautiful sea and where beaches, you'll see later, are home to a crowd of interesting animals.
Sheep with a sea-view.
The inimitable portaloo. After the unpronouceable "portakabin" - I mean, should the stress be put on "ta" and "bin" or on "por" and "ka"? - here are the eco-friendly portaloos.
I'm tempted to write "sheepish look" but ... ok... I will...
Sheepish look.
New Zealand is known as the country of kiwis (the animal, not the fruit). I haven't managed to see any kiwi, which I now consider as an elusive concept, being either imaginary or invisible. So in my deepest meditative moments, I realised that New Zealand should be called the land of sheep. One fact beats all: New Zealand's total sheep population, according to my little "Safari Pete's Adventures" guidebook, is 45,390,000, or 11.24 sheep per capita. And kiwi has become an adjective meaning New Zealander. So if you replace kiwi by sheep in the New Zealander language, you wouldn't have kiwi sheep anymore (they'd simply be called sheep), but you might find a sheep kiwi if you're lucky.
Jack's Blowhole - more info below.
The surprise du jour: an encounter with huuuuuuuge (enough "u's" ?) sea lions!!!
D'ou l'expression "une haleine de phoque".
Nugget's Point, named after the rocks scattered down the cliff.
Sunset seen from Nuggets Point.
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