Karitane was a delight, both as a place to stay, and as a place from which to visit other places. I got a year older since I last wrote, and to celebrate, Mary took me to the famous “Fleur’s Place” restaurant at Moeraki. It was brilliant, and lived up to the very best of my expectations, and we got to chat with Fleur herself, a delightfully extroverted character. While at Moeraki, we visited Mary’s cousin Rosalie who runs a hospital for sick and distressed sea life at Katiki Point where the endangered yellow-eyed penguins come ashore.
Waikouaiti River – stillness
On the way home, I asked Mary to pause as we crossed the Waikouaiti river. I suppose it was flowing towards the sea, but from the road above, it was mirror-calm and made interesting patterns with the bridge supports.
First Church, Dunedin
Next day with continued fine weather, we drove to Dunedin for a bit of shopping. A pause at the lights on Stuart Street reminded me of my long-held opinion that First Church is one of the most beautiful of the traditional churches in New Zealand.
Waikouaiti estuary
The next day, still in Karitane was just perfect and I was out of bed uncharacteristically early.
Wetlands at Karitane
As the day wore on, the stillness and the sunshine continued. By now most of you know I am a sucker for reflections.
Lake Waihola looking its best, but currently toxic
Then it was time to move on. Due to accommodation complications, we changed our original plan, and instead of going to Riverton near Invercargill, we went instead to Owaka in the Catlins. This took us down SH1 towards Balclutha, passing Lake Waihola on the way. This is a lovely lake to look at but due to an infestation of algal bloom, is currently unsafe to swim in.
Ducks seem immune to the algae
Nevertheless, in company with many other tourists, I went to the water’s edge and was delighted to be “photobombed” by a flock of ducks.
Lighthouse at Nugget Point on the Catlins Coast
Check-in time at our accommodation was 2 pm so we diverted to Nugget Point on the Catlins coast.
Hinahina bridge on the “Catlins Lake”
By the time we arrived in Owaka, we were catching the edge effects of tropical cyclone Cook. Next morning, skies were grey and rain and wind were promised. I wanted to visit the “Catlins Lake” which is in reality the estuary of the Catlins River. My luck held out and despite the grey sky, the water was perfectly still except for the occasional splash of jumping fish. This is the Hinahina bridge.
Purakaunui falls in reduced circumstances
From there, since the weather was still reasonable, we drove up to the park for the Purakaunui falls and walked through the magnificent bush to see them. What a let down! Scarcely any rain had fallen, it seems and the usually splendid falls were a mere trickle.
Old house in the rain
Next day, the weather arrived. It is impossible to be in the Catlins and just sit inside, so I went out looking for scenes and character. If you click on this image you will see the rain belting down. Our accommodation had a log burner and plentiful firewood, so we stayed warm and dry for the rest of the stay.
De Havilland Dragonfly at Mandeville
Yesterday (Thursday) we drove from Owaka to Queenstown, but on the way I was able to fulfil a long-held wish to visit the Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre at Mandeville, just a little out of Gore.
De Havilland Fox Moth and others of the breed at Mandeville
This is both a museum and a working aviation restoration facility. Almost everything on display is flight-worthy. They have a strong history with aircraft from the de Havilland stable but do other aircraft as well. Thoroughly recommended to my fellow aviation nuts.
The colors in these photos seem especially vivid/deep. I don’t have the knowledge, or the words, to properly describe the effect, but to me it is quite striking.
Some very nice images here, Brian. I especially liked the Lake Waihola one with the ducks. Your Dunedin shot reminded me of how much I enjoyed my visits there. When I visited in the early ’90s, there was a store that still had, what appeared to be, a Lamson wire central cashier system. It was gone by the late ’90s. It is too bad that such things, including pneumatic systems, have not been saved, at least in a museum, for future generations to learn about our history in these fields.