Invercargill

The 'golden nuggets'
The 'golden nuggets'

Coastline of the peninsula

Seals on the Golden nuggets
Light house
NZ sea lion

Sleepy

the sea lions had blood red mouths

having a good scratch
beach where the sea lions haul up
Part of the National park where the sea lions rest Beach
Beach
washed up tree trunk
McCleans waterfall

McCleans Waterfall

McCleans Waterfall

Park where the waterfalls are
River feeding the waterfall


Curio Bay
Beach look out

Preserved Trees

Grain is still visible in the fossils
Waves battering the beach

Waves

Our group Last stop for the day - we stop at a popular holiday spot where the houses are accessible only via the beach at low tide

We leave Dunedin for Invercargill. Invercargill is at the very bottom of the South Island as is one of the most southerly cities in the world (only a city in south America is closer to the south pole). Invercargill is approximately 4,200 km from Antarctica. The day starts with a stop at the 'golden nuggets'. They are a rock formation that looked golden in the sun when Captain Cook passed. They retain this name to this day.

We then stop at a reserve that has a beach popular with the NZ sea lion. The sea lions are endangered but not as critically as the yellow eyed penguins though. The population in NZ is mostly males (10 males to 1 female) and we walk around the beach looking at the various males sleeping on the beach. Our driver has to go first as apparently sea lions can run faster than a human on the sand and if they feel threatened they will run at you. We get surprisingly close to the sea lions and one wakes up and starts to scratch himself for the cameras.

Our next stop is at a reserve that features a large water fall. The track is quite muddy and i feel my feet go a number of times when climbing up the track. I don't fall (thankfully) and get to the falls. The falls are pretty impressive and well worth the walk.

Our last stop is at Curio bay which features a fossilised forest. The trees were preserved by the chemicals released by a nearby volcanic eruption. You can still make out the grain from the wood of the trees even though the fossils are open to the elements and the sea. Pretty amazing place really as the fossils are millions of years old.

Invercargill is a pretty small town. The town is pretty much walkable in 20 minutes and there isn't much to do here and so I spend the evening in the local cinema!!!