February 16, 2019
The itinerary for today was to spend the morning visiting some areas near Dunedin and then drive north and inland to the town of Twizel, near Mount Cook National Park (estimated 3.5 hours drive time).
We woke up to partly cloudy skies. We had the heat turned on in the room, which was a good thing since it was very chilly when we opened the door. It appeared that a cold front had come through the night before.
Heinrich drove us back through Dunedin to see Tunnel Beach. There was a very steep walk down the hillside. It was clear, cold and windy. For the first time since the Tongariro Crossing hike I put on my hat, gloves and rain pants to stay warm.
We had a great view of the sea arch during the descent. The final drop to the beach went through a tunnel, hence the name. This was a beach accessible at low tide, and we were there at the right time. There were stunning cliffs and alcoves surrounding the beach, and they looked very pretty in the morning light.
Heinrich drove back through Dunedin and north to the next spot: Doctors Point. This was another area accessible only at mid or low tide. There was a 10-minute walk down the beach to a natural cave. There were two sea arches that we were able to walk through, and a third very small arch on the side. It was a nice peaceful place. There was a sign at the beach saying that penguins were in the area, but we did not see any.
Next on the agenda was to take a detour from the main highway: the scenic coastal route. This was several miles of somewhat narrow and twisty road that climbed to a viewpoint at Puketeraki Lookout. When we arrived at the lookout, it started to rain lightly: just some localized weather. The view out to the sea was nice, but I did not think it was worth the time needed for the detour.
The road rejoined the main highway and we continued on to Shag Point. At the end of the road was a short walk to see fur seals. There were many of them on the rocks, some napping and others diving into the water. There was a pair that were continually playing together in and out of the water. It was a lot of fun to watch them, and I had a very good view.
As we were getting ready to leave, a guy told me there was a little blue penguin in the cove near the car park! We found it easily. It was standing quite still near a large rock and did not move while we were watching. I wondered if it was asleep or maybe it was sitting on a nest, but it was in a wide open area and not an ideal place for a nest.
Further north was the Moeraki Boulders. This place was more touristy with a cafe and gift shop, and tour buses in the car park. We were asked to pay $2 per person to access the path to the beach and the boulders. There were many boulders scattered along the edge of a narrow beach, and some were partially covered by the waves due to the rising tide. They were really weird looking: they reminded me of bowling balls. Heinrich commented they looked like huge geodes.
I took over driving and we headed inland and west on the road to Twizel. It was an easy road to drive, nice and wide with many straight sections. There was not much interesting to see as we drove through sheep pastures and grasslands. The surrounding hills became golden as we entered a drier region.
We stopped to see the Elephant Rocks. This was a series of limestone outcroppings in various weird shapes. It did not take too much imagination to see animals in the shapes: definitely an elephant was there! Heinrich could see one with a small hole in it: a mini arch!
Next stop was a limestone cliff at the Waipata / Earthquakes Scenic Reserve where partial fossilized remains of a whale had been found and were on display. Access was via a long and narrow gravel road. Nobody else was there. It was somewhat interesting but I did not think worth the time and effort needed to get there.
I drove to Twizel and we checked into our room at the High Country Lodge and Backpackers. It had a private bath, small refrigerator and a sink. There was a shared kitchen on the property that was being used by several people when we got there. Neither of us felt like cooking, so we walked over to the town mall and went to a restaurant to order a pizza, salad and beer for dinner.
The weather was completely clear and we had great views of Mount Cook while driving into Twizel. I checked the weather forecast for the next day, and it was cloudy for Mount Cook, not at all what I wanted to hear. So after dinner we filled up on gas and then drove to the southern edge of Lake Pukaki where there was a great sunset view of Mount Cook and the surrounding mountains across the lake. I snapped several photos. No matter what tomorrow may bring, at least I finally have a few shots of the Southern Alps with no clouds.
