The boulders of Moeraki

Our road trip is approaching it's end and we must get back to the coast. But we have the whole day and so we made the most of it. From high glacier carved mountains through rolling green farmlands, to the sea all within a few hours. I'm amazed by the compact diversity here.

In Mackenzie county we stopped off to explore enigmatic eroded canyon of sandstone. As our "rent-a-dent" splashed through muddy ruts up a farm road they look more like something from the Australian outback - so out of place here. We found a natural amphitheater like space between high muddy columns. They remind me of the drip sand castles you might have made at the beach as a child - magnified to huge proportions. Rock doves purr from the heights and it feels still and cathedral-like.

Continuing our journey we passed still lakes under brooding mountains hiding enormous trout I can only imagine. Rivers heavy with rainwater slogging towards the sea. And soggy green fields of sheep and horses where tidy hedgerows partition everything like old England. And eventually the coast. By then the rain and wind was awful. Big, wet gusts shrieking from the Antarctic. We braved the weather though to see the strange boulders of Moeraki. Like giant pearls lying in the surf they look alien and mysterious. Like capsules from another world, like eggs from some great sea dragon, like questions huddled together pregnant with secrets...