Southern Track - BIG DAY

We drove from Te Anau down to the southern most part of the South Island, and it was spectacular. We saw so much and did so much all in just a short drive.

First, we went to the Clifden Caves (just outside of Clifden, surprisingly). Fortunately, we had done a little caving with Black Water, and this was a well marked path so we felt pretty confident doing it without a guide.

The only problem was that it had rained the previous day, so we got to a certain point which was flooded and we had to turn around. Technically, it was more fun because we got to do the whole thing over again. It's a good thing we had plenty of batteries.


Next, we visited Waipapa point, which has a lighthouse and there was a sea lion. It was just hanging out in the surf, and I thought it might be injured at first. However, when we got a little closer, it raised its head and started barking at us. Since the sign on the beach said that it might bite, we moved away pretty quickly.




We also went to Slope Point, which is the south most point of the South Island (this does not count Stewart Island). As you can see from the photo, it is pretty far South. The wind was whipping pretty hard and it was kind of cool, but not as cold as you'd expect a wind which last touched land in Antarctica.


Finally, we went to Curio Bay which has a Yellow Eyed Penguin colony as well as a petrified forest. We drove up to the shop and purchased a Snickers, and on our way back out to the car we saw a couple of sea lions. This sighting was even stranger than the first, because they were playing right in front of the picnic benches. As we drove by, one of the sea lions followed us to the road and actually chased us down the path as we drove away. Crazy!

We went a little further in Curio Bay and saw the signs for the petrified forest, so we pulled in and walked to the beach. According to the signs, the sea used to cover this area and a long dead forest was buried by volcanic ash, and other sediments.


The wildest part is that as we were tramping around, a penguin came ashore RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. It was so close that a game warden came over and warned us to move away. According to the Ranger, the penguins feel threatened by crowds and get scared way from their nesting grounds. We backed up, but only after snapping this cool photo and video.

J