Catlins, Southland

We have come from Northland and now we are in Southland – from one extreme part of NZ to the other extreme part of NZ. We are in a motel room at McLean Falls Motels & Holiday Park. Very well appointed as was the motel last night in Dunedin. Normally we are in the camping part of a Holiday Park so it makes a change to be in a self contained unit (cost is different too in that we are paying $135 per night as against a possible $35/40 per night. The cafe/bar that here is called The Whistling Frog Cafe and Bar. This evening we had dinner there. Walter had nachos, chilli con carne and cheese and I had wholemeal thyme pancakes which were filled with lentils, silver beet, mushrooms. Simple but delicious!
This afternoon we went for a walk to Cathedral Caves, which have the same name as the caves on Coromandel Peninsula, but are more spectacular. The walk down to the caves today was not as strenuous either. It is only possible to visit the caves during low tide as they fill with water at high tide. I had a moment of apprehension as we walked deeper into the caves and thought if a tsunami hit you would be dashed to pieces in the caves and drowned. The bay remained calm and peaceful thank goodness.

We left Dunedin, after I visited a hairdresser for a well needed haircut, so I no longer look like an aged hippie. We had trouble finding a place for coffee and were beginning to feel desperate but luckily we finally found a cafe in Milton, which also sold the Southland speciality – toasted cheese rolls – which we could not resist. These rolls are actually white bread rolled up with cheese and onion in the middle and a bit of cheese and butter on top. Once toasted under the grill they are delicious and very fattening.

We also visited the iSite Centre in Owaka which had an interesting museum about the local area. There was only a tiny section on the Maori influence here, which is understandable because only 5% of the Maori live in the South Island.

I have now read information about the Moeraki Boulders. These boulders are classed as septarian concretions (just to be a little technical), and were formed in ancient sea floor sediments. Basically, the boulders started off as a fossil shell, bone fragment or piece of wood and lime materials built up over time around the fragment until they became large boulders. The erosion of the cliffs have sent the boulders down on to the beach where over more time the outer layer became eroded so now they look like giant footballs, or turtle shells.

Lunch is now outside, which is a bit of a come down from the campervan!