Seascapes in Southland

On our visit to Southland this year we found ourselves holidaying in glorious sunshine.     And on one day Invercargill achieved the highest temperature out of all the cities in New Zealand, a high 25 degrees.

 So we felt it was important to capture the beautiful weather on film, as we drove around some of our favourite coastal areas.    

The first area, Oreti beach.    A large expanse of sand, with many sandhills behind it, and on this occasion there were a few cars on the beach, and a few hardy surfers in the water.    I can remember coming here, as a child,  on very hot days (usually in the low twenties) and it was difficult to find a place to park the car on the beach.   The water never felt cold in those days.   Obviously we were hardy children.

 A view from Bluff hill, overlooking the harbour, and the estuary.   Normally there is a gale blowing up there, but not on this day.   So peaceful.   So calm.    And so warm.

 A view of Foveaux Strait, with Stewart Island in the distance on the right hand side of the photograph.   The sea, which can be very treacherous here, was very calm.  And the clouds in the sky were just fluffy clouds, with the sun streaming through.  

 Blue, blue, and more blue.  

 Even down at the mouth of the Waiau, all was relatively calm and quiet, although those clouds did try and blow into a storm, but failed, thank goodness.

 I should point out, that Southland does not always have blue skies, and the weather can also produce four seasons in one day.   And it does rain, often, although I have been told that there has been little rain for months, and the farmers are getting very worried.    So blue skies are not what they wish for these days.

And it did rain on the day we went to the Waituna lagoons and nature reserve.    Walter looking very snug in his rain coat, as he posed on the board walk.   I might add, that this was the first time we have worn raincoats since we left the United Kingdom on the 11th January, so we have no reason to complain about wet weather.

Waituna lagoon holds the water from small rivers.   The water eventually finds a way out into the sea, which is on the other side of the narrow strip of land, running alongside the lagoon.  There is an abundance of fish and bird life in the area, however the delicate ecological balance is often disturbed by the amount of run off from dairy farms, which finds its way into the estuary.    Hopefully an agreement is reached soon between the farmers and the conservationists, otherwise a very important area for the wildlife could be lost.

My father used to mine for gold, along the stretch of land below.    No doubt the mercury he used did not help the wild life in the lagoon, but he was unable to obtain any gold flakes due to the oil that was being discharged from the ships out at sea, and which eventually settled on the sand in the dunes.     So I guess, the current problem with the dairy farmers is nothing compared to problems of oil residue and mercury.

But as a child, camping out on this stretch of land, was bliss, as we played in the sand dunes, and around the rocks, without a care in the world.