Heading South
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2007
1
3
Trip End
Apr 09, 2007
Dunedin, New Zealand
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Picked up our super cheap travel agent rate rental car this morning. It's not much more than a bucket on wheels. A sky blue 2006 Daihatsu 3 cylinder auto gutless wonder. We covered 427 kilometers in it today and even though it hasn't missed a beat it hasn't really grown on me! Didn't use much petrol I suppose. Tin can, plastic fantastic!! However. the south Island has grown on me, and I hope some of these pictures do it justice.
The day started out heading around central Dunedin meeting Clare's sister for lunch, and buying concert tickets for Saturday night to see a local band called Pluto
Another angle
. We didn't head outta town until 2:30pm and into a picture perfect afternoon.It started off well until we got lost somewhere between Balclutha and Gore so took the back roads. I asked a man in the Bottle store, who was already appropriately sozzled by 4pm on a Thursday. After that it really became back roads proper as it turned to gravel and I realised I hadn't seem another car for the last 1/2 an hour. For the purists it was the road from Purekireki and Owaka. The next inhabitants to come my way were the woolly, bleating variety. Hence the opening picture.
The sense of open space and being alone in the world far from the big city is all pervasive out there. Vast. jagged hills stretching a far as the eye can see. Wow!
Once we hit the main road again we headed south through the Catlin Forest, and wound our way towards the sunset through some of the most ancient woodland on the planet. We had a destination in mind, it was Curio Bay where some really ancient forest lays. I way getting tired of driving, but the landscape kept pushing me on as if through a trance. I just could turn around until it was dark.
Bucket on wheels
In Curio Bay there is an archaeological site there were a petrified forest can be seen. It has been revealed after years of erosion to the cliff face and is one of the most import of it's kind. You can clearly see logs which have hardened over millions of years. They aren't easy to see in the photo's. You can just see hard flat lines in the rock.
What a great day in godzone. I'd highly recommend you to phone your nearest travel agent and get down here!
I can't guarantee the weather though. I think we just got lucky.
Goodnight
Ian
