Saturday November 26, 2011
Tracy was up with the birds which meant I was up by association. In fact, I was asked the time about every half hour beginning at 4:30AM. She was concerned we might miss the ferry. Supposedly there were only 30 knot winds, but the trailing seas were going to be rough. We edged towards the front of the line & got in seats on the back right side of the ferry. The boat was crowded. Tracy was anxious. We got under way & the waves were about 8 ft. so not too bad. They got progressively worse as we got closer to Bluff as we ran into the tide & rough seas left over from yesterday. As the swells got to be 10 to 12 ft. a lot of people's stomachs or minds lost the battle. Tracy's Sea Legs pill got her thru the ride, but she was a pretty shade of green by the time we landed. The car park payment machine was broken in Bluff, but that was OK as the gate was broken too. No worries just drive around it. The wind was blowing like crazy.
We found a Post Office & mailed Tracy's new treasure. We next visited the world famous "Henry". He's the oldest living Tuatara in the world about 150 years old. Tuataras happen to be the oldest living lizards in the world as they are unchanged from the dinosaur age about 250 million years ago. Henry used to be very aggressive & cranky until he had a cancerous growth removed from his tail. He waited about 8 years to recuperate, mated & became a Daddy at the young age of 80.
We left the teeming metro area & headed for the Caitlins. The coast was rough w/ violent waves & the wind was howling. Tree breaks were planted to protect fields & animals, but most trees were knarled & were leaning significantly. We made our way to Porpoise Bay-no porpoise, but the waves broke furiously on the rocks. It was hard to hold your position & take a photo. Tracy thought I'd been blown over the edge several hundred feet down. No such luck as I am persistent too. They have a surfing school there. Good Luck coming back alive.
At Curio Bay we struck gold or should I say yellow-eyed penguin. As we looked down from the viewing platform to the beach we saw a single one emerge. They are the rarest in the world & are in their nesting mode in the Spring. We watched for awhile & moved onto Nugget Bay where we saw two more yellow eyed penguins-one exiting the rough sea to the delight of his mate. A very large sea lion lolled on the beach observing all this action as several college students from Minnesota took pictures of the wild life w/ iPhones from approximately 100 yards!
At 8pm we stopped in Balclutha for dinner as many places close early. About an hour later we pulled up to our hotel in Dunedin. Our key was in an envelope taped to the lobby's front door. Welcome back to civilization.
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