Hauling my butt out of our freezing campervan at silly o'clock was utterly worth while. Not only did my wonderful husband gently wake me at the nearest possible time to sunrise but also pushed a mug of coffee into my hand as he pushed me out the door. By the time we hit the beach, about a 1 minute stumble, our drinks were cooling to luke warm...can you tell I'm finding it hard to adjust to the temperature drop! Another gorgeously amazing day had begun.
Wherever you turn or drive there are stunning scenes which make you gasp and feel so alive.
First stop for the day was Purakanui and Horseshoe falls just a short walk through the bush. As we walked further into the bush, the cold grappled with our clothes, darkness envelolped us and a peaty smell invaded our nostrils. Hiding place given away by the sound of churning water we stood enjoying the view and solitude.
Tearing ourselves away we headed for Jack's Blowhole coastal walk...many of you can imagine alternative names Matt used to refer to the blowhole!
Although we'd visited at high tide, the blowhole was not blowing and apparently needed a good storm to perform. Still an incredible sight though and well worth the steep walk.
Matai falls
followed by a walk along the Old Coach Road loop until we got blocked by the incoming tide.
Florence Point provided the most immense view of Tautuku Bay, pretty perfect beach huh?
Lake Wilkie, tranquil and eerily silent except for the odd bird call or buzz of an insect.
On our way to Cathedral Caves we emerged onto this beach after a steep decline through bush.
The caves could be accessed at the far end of the beach but only at low tide. I got caught by the tide as I scurried at the wrong time, all good fun though.
Everywhere you look were these massive branches and tendrils of seaweed. On first glance I thought I'd found a dead body, spooky!
Today had to be shower and laundry night, so we paid to stay at a proper camp site with power and hot water, very excited (how sad!). Bustling into action we had our washing dry and showers complete by 7pm ready to head to Curio Bay and hopefully a sighting of the Yellow Eyed penguins. Easing out of the site a warning light blinked intermittently, low coolant apparently. Already having a rear light out and now a potential coolant issue Matt quite rightly didn't want to risk conking out in the wilderness at night so we agreed to visit the penguins at dawn the next day so we settled in for the evening.
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