When guests arrive . . .
We go to all sorts of places.
Aramoana calls loudly, especially on a bright day. It was windy and cold, but we enjoyed the walk!
Heath had to get as wet and sandy as possible and even the progress of various ships down to the two Ports didn�t bother him!
We walked a long way, right along the spit in fact, enjoying the scenery. The other side of the chanel is Taiaroa Head, with the albatross colony, seal and penguin sanctuaries. We found the body of a tiny seal pup on the beach as we walked. Too tiny to survive, it had perished on the lonely beach, perhaps wrested from its mothers side by the strong tidal currents and high spring tides.
We drove through the hills enjoying the scenery, despite sneezes and snuffles from the huge amount of pollen in the air!
Blackbird Pottery, 7, Sandymount Road, The Peninsula, DUNEDIN.
We even stopped at a lovely Pottery, high in the hills near Larnachs Castle! Here, after much deliberation and debate, I succumbed and bought a piece � a Yellow Eyed Penguin. It now resides on top of the television, reminding me of a thoroughly enjoyable day out!
I would SO love to be able to afford to buy this old house and the land it stands on. What a place to live. Yes, it would take a lot of renovations and alterations, but one can dream!
Colin was fascinated by the little holes in the exposed sand of the river bed at Akatore. He investigated and found out who had made them. We also found many more crabs, nestling in the shade of the rocks and stones the retreating tide had left for us to avoid! This one issued a challenge, so it was picked up!
A trip to Taiaroa Head allowed us this rare view. Two penguins nesting in a burrow on the side of a cliff face. When we went back about 6 weeks later, the nest was abandoned � not uncommon for penguins, who like to move to other places along the same stretch of land. No doubt they have a new place, and were watching us as we hunted for signs of them!
This cottage, built entirely from sod still stands as a monument to the pioneers who first arrived here in the 1800�s.
Used to store farm goods, the structure is still relatively sound. It just proves that the engineering minds of yesteryear knew something of what was needed for a building to outlast the many subsequent earthquakes this region has experienced!
Finally, the saga of the Yellow Eyed Penguin! We had spotted some on the rocks in the distance, at Shag Point, but we couldn't get anywhere near them to take photographs. Then, as we gave up our vigil, I spotted this one on a patch of scree, less than 300m away. I climbed over a fence to get closer, hoping despite the failing light, that my effort was not in vain. On the way back I almost impaled myself on a broken stake, gouging my leg rather badly, so this grainy picture had quite a cost!