Albatrosses and sheep

Feb. 7 - We drove from our unpronounceable campsite to the Otago Peninsula today, just east of Dunedin. It was NOT a nice day, lots of rain and high winds. But our objective was the Royal Albatross Colony right at the end of the peninsula, and of course that was perfect weather for the birds! Our guide told us that the day before had been hot and sunny with no wind, and most of the birds were grounded as they need a good wind to get off the ground (they are REALLY heavy with a 3 meter wing-span. They have mock ups of the chicks at various stages of their lives which they pass around for you to see how big they are - a full grown chick is about 15 kg!). When we got there, the electricity was out as a tree had fallen on the power line, so we had a cold lunch while waiting for our 1 pm guide. At 12:59, the power went back on so we were able to see the DVD on the wildlife around the peninsula. We had a lovely guide who was very knowledgeable. You go up to a “hide” overlooking some of the nesting grounds and there were 3 birds on the nest (chicks have hatched by now but the parents have a 1 year commitment after which they take a year off! Sounds like a good idea!) The only bird to get up and have a stretch was partly hidden by a ridge, so we couldn’t see her chick, but the high winds were a gift to the unmarried birds and the partners off duty, so we saw dozens of them flying. They really are huge and it was quite a thrill to see so many. It’s pretty tough to photograph them as obviously they swoop by pretty quickly, but John managed to get a few good shots. There is also an old fort at the point, Fort Taiaroa (more vowels) which has a disappearing gun so of course, we had to go and see that. It was actually really fascinating - it was put there in the early 20th century to guard the entrance to the harbour and the gun pops up out of the ground on a hydraulic system, shoots the enemy and then disappears! It was never actually used in combat but is the only complete gun of its kind still in existence.
The next day we stopped in at Dunedin to pick up money, food, gas and books. One of the top 10 second hand bookstores in the world is there, Octagon Books, and we managed to track it down. We have been doing LOTS of reading - there’s not a lot to do in the evenings in a campsite unless you meet some convivial neighbors, so we play cards and read. We are leaving a trail of finished books behind us but since our visit to Octagon, we are considering starting a mobile lending library!
We were headed for Pounawea, a little dot on the map in an area of the South Island called the Catlins which is renowned for its scenery. We stopped for a picnic lunch on the beach at Brighton - could not be less like its English counterpart (see picture)! There was one other couple on the beach which was gorgeous golden sand, huge breakers crashing on the rocks, blue sky and hot sun. However, there isn’t much between the south end of the south island and Antarctica, so the wind off the sea is always cold. The temperature really drops at night and we even slept with our toques (wooly hats) on last night (Mark and Zoe will understand!)
Feb. 9 - Pounawea was lovely if a little rustic from the camping point of view. We were right on the estuary which had lots of birds - tuis are like the Australian magpies with the most amazing range of calls, some burbling and some like a bell. Our neighbours were a delightful couple from the North Island, Zelma who was 80 and her husband Jack who was 78. They go camping at least once a month pulling their caravan and they very kindly offered to drive us round one afternoon to go exploring! The weather wasn’t great so it was nice to have something to do. We tootled around all kinds of back roads and found some interesting-sounding places - Cannibal Bay for one - and they were a lovely couple (we saw lots of sheep!).