Day 44

The morning was very cold with frosted grass. Ate breakfast and drove ahead of Esther to Tautuku Bay. A bush track lead to a wide and long beach. Esther caught up and we found her kicking in the waves. We then drove to Picnic Point and followed the beach where I saved an abalone washed up on the shore. Pursued the longer Kings Rock Track (unfortunate for Esther in thongs) and I stepped in poo – apparently good luck in France. We explored the bay the track led to, Kings Rock fell in 2007 to an earthquake, finding shells and some smaller sea caves. I found a lovely Paua shell, thanks good luck poo? Returned to the car and had lunch in the sun.

Heading towards Owaka we stopped by Maiti and Horseshoe falls as the weather warmed up and Purakaunui falls which entertained Esther and I. Arriving in Owaka the girls were able to get free wifi at the info centre while I looked at the museum. Refilled water, dumped rubbish and brought some more food then went to Surat bay. Two very relaxed sea lions posed for photos before doing the walk, which due to a mix up, was not what we thought and because of its condition was also a little confusing to follow. Running out of time we went to Jack’s Blowhole at Jacks Bay. This large hole sat 200m away from the ocean and was 55m deep (putting Harwoods Hole into perspective). Back at Owaka we had dinner with some chips on the side and played at a dangerous playground which nearly knocked out Marianne! We followed Esther to the COD campsite for the night, but needed some extra directions from a local. We slept near Catlins River.

Entree Written By Jack