More wet.

Trip Start Nov 06, 2006
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Trip End Apr 11, 2007


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Flag of New Zealand  ,
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Ely  -   After the horrible weather at Milford Sounds we were really hoping to escape to the sun by taking a road trip to the Catlins, a lovely scenic road on the southernmost east coast... boy were we wrong. We set off under the rain and raging wind, and drove for most of the day under sheets of torrential rain, it must be pointed out that this really reduces the enjoyment of driving a 'scenic' road when you can't see 5 meters away. However we did manage to time a visit to the local lighthouse just as the rain stopped, which was nice. The lighthouse itself was small and unremarkable, however as we walked around it to the beach we saw 5 sea lions lounging about on the sand! That was great, took loads of photos and walked very close to them, maybe 4 or 5 meters away, though always keeping ready to run away, the buggers move a lot faster than you would think possible. They were enormous, like giant seals with a lion-like mane of hair (hence the name!), and they were pretty active, growling and mock-attacking each other or snuggling in little groups... very cute.
To drive to our hostel we had to take a 25 km unsealed road (we were a bit worried about that since our insurance explicitly says not to, but hey, you only live once!). However the drive was pretty stressful, by that time the rain had started again and we couldn't see much, and between the gravel and slippery wet track it was a bit touch and go, but Nick drove slowly and like a pro and managed to get us to the hostel in one bit. once there we quickly proceeded to hide under our duvet with a cup of hot chocolate to warm up.
The weather was so crap the next day that we decided to just give up on the Catlins and drive straight through to Dunedin. After all everything fun to do in the Catlins is outside and along the lines of 'walk on the beach' 'walk in the woods'... not so much fun in the rain.
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