Shag Point. There was no way I intended going north
from Dunedin without at least spending a few minutes at the brilliantly named
Shag Point.
Of course being still quite near to the low cloud and rain from which Dunedin
was being blessed with the weather here was also fairly wet and
windy but we did see some seals as well as lots of birds around the area.
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Moeraki Boulders. Having enjoyed our brief visit to Shag Point
we next stopped off to look at these unique spherical boulders which are found on a small part of the
Koehohe Beach along the Otago Coast - South Island New Zealand. The possibly 60 million years old boulders
are slowly being exposed as the soft mudstone cliffs are eroded by the sea and wind. The boulders are almost perfectly spherical and have a circumference of up to 4 metres and weigh several tons - they were created by lime salts gradually accumulating around the cliff's eroded hard core. The best time to see the Moeraki Boulders is during low tide if possible as quite a few of them are right on the edge. of the beach. We thought a good place to park was in the large cafe/restaurant car park just off SH1 - note this is a car park for the use of patrons and if you don't use their facilities they ask for a small donation towards keeping their private wooden step access to the beach in a good safe condition. |
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Christchurch - New Zealand. The City. New Zealand's Garden City of
Christchurch is South Island's largest and the third largest city in the country - and with
the extensive Park, meandering River Avon and excellent Botanical Gardens it is probably the nicest to be in.
Christchurch has lots of old buildings to photograph and admire - several of them are shown below
There are loads of motels, hotels and all sorts of accommodation available in Christchurch - as well as plenty of
shops, bars and restaurants especially in and around Cathedral Square. Within the Square there is a main tourism
information centre and the area is pedestrianised - also you can take a tram from here - this trundles round the
inner city for a little bit of lazy sightseeing if you don't fancy walking.
Botanic Gardens. Created in 1863 the beautiful Botanic Gardens in Christchurch have understandably
given the City it's reputation as New Zealand's Garden City. There is no charge for going into the
Botanic Gardens which are controlled by several access gates - these gates open at 07:00 and close in the
Summer at 21:00 hrs - they close much earlier than this in the Winter. The Conservatories are open daily from 10:15
to 16:00 hours and also do not have an admission charge. (These times were when we were on holiday there so might
eas9ly change of course.
They are contained within the approximately 400 acres of Hagley Park and are
themselves around 52 acres in area. The Gardens - which are almost fully enclosed by the
wandering River Avon - contain huge rose beds, rock gardens, water gardens and several
conservatories as well as lots of grassy areas. There are also loads of mostly fat ducks plus
lots of other birds and wildlife enjoying the facilities.
There are plenty of really nice old trees growing all around the Botanic Gardens including Oak,
Elm and Sycamore - the oldest of these trees were actually imported from England. Perhaps this great
variety and spread of the trees has an additional benefit apart from their beauty because when the sun is
out this tranquil area becomes exceedingly hot and they provide welcome shade.
Whilst in Christchurch we took a drive out onto Banks Peninsula
- getting as far as Akaroa involved a considerable drive as it's 75kms from the
city and you are often driving on narrow twisty roads. Whilst on the Peninsula
we had an enjoyable drive along the Summit Road and also went down to Little
Akaroa Bay, Decanter Bay and Pigeon Bay.
However actually going to Decanter Bay was a bit of a waste of time (although the views were pretty good on the
way down) as the really narrow, slippery and steep gravel road ends at a sign a
little way before the beach area saying it's private - marvellous. We did
however return back to and continued along Summit Road to then reach the
main road and eventually we drove over Gebbie's Pass to arrive at Diamond Harbour.
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Hurunui Estuary. The Hurunui Estuary is reached via State Highway 1 heading north out of Christchurch towards Kaikoura - they are in fact quite a long drive away from the city but were well worth the effort. Turn right off the SH1 at Domett and the road takes you towards the estuary - turn left as you reach the cliffs and the track takes you quite high up to overlook the sea and shingle banks. There are several parking areas along here - loads of birds to spot especially along the edges of the estuary - and also this is a favourite spot for sea fishing off the shingle banks. |
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From the Estuary if you return back towards the main road take a right turn
to go to Gore Bay. What you really do not want to miss as you drive along the narrow road down
to the Bay are the really rugged and colourful Cathedral Cliffs - these are really beautiful.
It is actually easy to miss them as you drive along - look for a very small grassy parking area
on the left side of the road immediately as the road bends sharp right - it's just as you get
your first view of Gore Bay.
Gore Bay. Once down on the beach area at Gore Bay there are lots of
grassy parking areas. This beach is fantastic and feels quite wild - we wandered
down onto the
sandy/shingle beach and then went left heading for some rocks and cliffs away in the distance.
The waves coming in were really good and to cap it all as we got nearer to the
large rocks at the end of the beach we came across several seals - some dozing
on the sand and rocks and also a few were out surfing the breaking waves. You
have to be very aware of not upsetting these wild animals - in particular to
ensure you are not too close and not blocking their possible desire to seek
shelter and safety in the sea if they start to feel threatened.
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