Young World Travellers: Day Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five

On Monday evening we headed for the Moreaki Boulders, a recognisable landmark of unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the Otago coast. From there we headed further along the coast to Katiki Point where seals and penguins were just coming ashore for the evening after a long day fishing out at sea. It was amazing to see them in the wild, we've been very lucky to see an extensive range of wildlife on our travels. The seals clambered their way up the hillside and laid to rest right by the pathway. You could literally go right up to them and sit down next to them, but out of respect and a slight fear of our own safety, we left them alone. They didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by our presence, nor were they bothered by the extreme wind which was the strongest either of us have ever experienced.

The next morning we woke up to appalling weather so we drove straight to our next point of interest, the Tunnel Beach Track near Dunedin and parked up and cooked lunch, waiting for the rain and wind to die down. Finally the clouds relented and we headed down the steep pathway towards the beach. Aside from great views from the cliff-top, there is a small cave-like tunnel straight through the cliffside that leads to a secluded rocky beach. There were one or two little waterfalls to enjoy too and it was a really fun experience as we were the only ones there. The steep hike back up was a good bit of exercise but by now the weather was drawing in again and we wasted no time in heading to our campsite in Balclutha for the night.

After catching up on laundry and emptying/filling up the camper, we headed out for a day of visiting several waterfalls in the south, starting with Purakaunui Falls. It was a fairly short walk through the forest to the cascading waterfall, pretty damp too. Matai Falls was our next port of call and there was a slighty steeper and longer walk to reach it, again in the middle of a rainforest. The most impressive falls was Maclean Falls, a 40 min round trip and quite steep in places but totally worth it as the falls were beautiful. We noticed that the water had a brownish/orange tinge to it and apparently it's something to do with iron deposits, but it didn't ruin the spectacle. As opposed to a viewing platform, you could go up and stand right in the falls which made it all the more special.

We decided to freedom camp for the night and found a nice spot just outside Invercargill which we have come back into this morning. Our journey will now begin north-wards with Queenstown and Milford Sound firmly in our sights.

Day Thirty-Three Highlight - Seeing penguins in the wild
Day Thirty-Four Highlight - Tunnel Beach Walk
Day Thirty-Five Highlight - Maclean Falls