Catlins

Luck for us Hanna and Ben were traveling in a similar direction to us. So we asked if they would mind having us as passengers. They thought it would be great to have us as they went through the Catlins.

Our first stop in the Catlins was a walk to a waterfall. Here is Ben, a painter and the reason Hanna is in New Zealand and Hanna, a Swedish folk musician that plays the soprano sax and Glenn ofcourse.




We had some trouble finding our campsite for the evening but we were glad we made the effort.




This was a stunning beach and we enjoyed watching all the surfers catching waves. This beach seemed to be a very popular place to surf. We built a little fire when it got dark--around 10pm days got longer the further North we went. The lady in the campsite next to us even joined us for a glass of wine. She also brought us two bottles of her homemade ginger/elderflower and red currant wine. It was quite good but oh so potent.

The next day we made our way further down the Catlins. We heard from someone that we should stop at a place called the Lost gypsy. So we did and we spent at least an hour there. Inside this parked gypsy caravan (mobile home)was all sorts of kinetic and interactive sculptures. Before entering you are tempted with a sign reading "I know that you want to push me," and a button below. When you push the button a stream of water comes shooting out of the mouth of a mask stuck on the side of the caravan and you get wet.



Inside the lost gypsy the workshop.



The experiments and funny gadgets inside the Lost Gypsy.




After our curiosity had been fully satisfied in the Lost Gypsy. We continued down the road. Our next stop was a walk to a cave.

The cave was a huge and you could easily walk through it, actually four or five people could walk side by side and there would still be room. There were also some colorful rock growth...




It was a windy day. Here is a shot of Ben as made our way back to the car along the beach wind swept beach after seeing the cave.




We wanted to find a campsite before it got to dark so we settled on a fancier campground, with showers, kitchen area and laundry. After setting up our tent Glenn and I took a walk and explore the beach area. There we saw a Spoonbill, this has to be one of the coolest birds I have ever seen. Its feathers are all white and kind of wispy especially those on its crown, making it look like Mozart. Its long legs and spoon shaped beak are solid black. Wow.

That night after dinner and Ben taught us how to play a card game called Anarchy. It was an evening of laughter.

The next day it was raining and it the temperature was getting colder. So we decided we would make our way to Invercargil were we could stay with a guy we had met at the whare folk festival. We did make a few more stops on the way. One being the Southern most tip of the South Island. There we saw some huge waves and a young seal that seemed to be lost or maybe just mad, because he was waddling after cars and barking at them.