Jan 27, 2024: Aoraki -> Curio Bay

Last night was wild. 140-190mm overnight and wind gusts up over 120km/h. When I’d gone to the bathroom in the late evening, the paths were already all running streams and it did not ease up. At one point, I woke because the tent punched me in the head – the gust of wind had bowed the tent so forcibly the corner pole hit me hard in the head.

I don’t know if I’ve ever adequately appreciated the “Alice Palace” (which is a burly MSR Remote – a winter basecamp tent). It did not break, or blow over, or blow away, and it did not let water in. Long live the tent!

Not trusting the morning showers, we took off and cooked eggy burrito breakfast further down the valley where we worried about getting sunburned instead.

Mostly today was a driving day, but we made a few stops to break it up. And to make sure we don’t get too far ahead of schedule! (Ha ha.)

We stopped to look at Takiroa Maori Rock Drawings (limestone caves and rock paintings). I got distracted by the flock of birds living in the little upper caves.

We later narrowly avoided paying $20 each to see a penguin in a box near Omaru – the kind lady at the desk pointed out the time to see their yellow eyed penguins is dusk when they come in to feed their chicks and that if we wanted to make it to Curio Bay tonight, we’d better keep driving.

So we only made a feeew more stops…

Calcite from groundwater that cemented around shell fragments or pebbles built these harder spheres within mudstone. When the rock was uplifted, the softer mudstone eroded first, leaving these standing out. Alternatively, for Kāi Tahu, these boulders are the washed ashore food baskets and gourds from the Araiteuru waka (canoe) on its return journey from mythical Hawaiki. (The waka crashed and ended up as a reef at Matakaea (Shag Point).)

We also stopped at Nugget Point Lighthouse via a road that was very nearly at sea level.

At the lighthouse, we saw animals! We saw spoonbills (those white lumps are birds, I promise!) and many seals including lots of pups playing in oceanic kiddie pools

We spent the latter part of today on the Scenic Southern Route – it IS scenic. It’s a bit Shire-like, especially with The Fellowship soundtrack playing. Windy narrow roads with green fields and lots of sheep, or a F has dubbed them land maggots!

Alice