Petrified forest

Back blipped on 24th April. 

We drove back to the coast by a lovely back road, some of it gravel.  We'd set off under threatening  skies, but with glimpses of sunshine on distant hills giving us hope, see 1st extra.

However, the weather once again disappointed.  Our first destination was the petrified forest in Curio Bay.  You can only see this for about 2hrs either side of low tide, which today was at 1255.  We were able to walk amongst the fallen petrified trees, but we didn't stay long, as there was a howling wind coming off the sea.  

We also walked around another bit of native forest, which once again delighted us with the verdant plant life.  W and I  have just sat over our dinner, and discussed the possibility of returning to NZ in a few years.  We might try a different time of year, but we have no delusions, rain is vital to this type of forest landscape.

We drove a little further down the same point, in the hope of seeing porpoises, but no luck.  We did see some see birds (see 2nd extra), which I believe I have correctly identified as variable oyster catchers.  They were not catching oysters, but presumably finding worms in the saturated ground.

We drove on round the south coast, but the torrential rain and howling wind led to us cutting short the day and returning to our lodgings for an early night.