Windswept

First thing this morning we drove into Invercargill for breakfast at Batch Cafe.  We shared some muesli and pancakes which were excellent.  We then went for a walk and had a look at their historic water tower.

We had quite a long driving day today, travelling all the way through to Dunedin.  Our first stop was at Slope Point, which is the most southerly point on mainland New Zealand.  There were about five or six couples there, all the more surprising because New Zealand don't seem to think it a tourist destination - it was down at the end of some very rough unsealed roads!

We spent some time here looking at the windswept trees that were along the cliffs.  They've grown in a particular direction after years of buffeting by the wind.

Our next stop was Curio Bay, where we looked at a petrified forest in the rock on the beach and admired the crashing waves.

We stopped at Florence Hill Lookout after lunch, before driving on to Purakaunui Falls to take some photos of the waterfall (see first extra).

Our best walk of the day was to Nugget Point, where we walked along to the lighthouse which gave spectacular views over the bay and the "nuggets" of rock at the end of the headland (the other two extras).

Our final stop was to look at the bridge in Balclutha, where we had the most surreal experience of the day.  We were in the car park when five cows trotted left to right on top of a flood bank, looking as if they were out for their nightly jog.  A couple of minutes later they all trotted back the way they'd come...