Porpoise Bay

Whew - I managed to do all that I'd planned today which was pretty satisfying.  Began with a visit to Curio Bay to see if my opinion might change.  The whole place seemed so 'sanitized'.........big new office/cafe/shop at the entrance (rather than the small, rickety office, shop that used to be well into the camp.  The good things were that they sold milk (I ran out last night so no morning coffee today) and the public 'road/track' that leads to the headland is still open to the public despite it cutting right through the middle of the camp!  Whilst I was up that way I did notice some of the camping sites were on very dodgy ground.....I would never park my van in some of them and if you were in a tent you'd be rolling and sliding downhill all night long.  Still, the views were as I remembered - stunning, -despite the cold wind whistling around my ankles.  Dropped down into Porpoise Bay and spend some time watching a few Hector's dolphins swimming around.  Hector's Dolphins are one of the world's smallest dolphin and mostly found around the South Island of NZ.  They are at risk from a number of both man-made and natural threats and given their population is estimated to be around only 15,000 they're considered nationally vulnerable.  Porpoise Bay is one place where you can pretty much guarantee seeing some of them, as I did today.  They're easily recognisable by their Mickey-Mouse-ear shaped dorsal fins.  This pic was shot in Porpoise bay but, try as I did with my powers of dolphin whispering, I couldn't get one to surf to shore on a wave for me.  Had a coffee at the cafe which was nice.  I also had a squiz around some of the rest of the camp too.The old and quirky has most definitely been replaced by the new and functional, such is th eprice of progress.

I skipped out on dropping into Curio Bay itself - it felt like I would have been part of the penguin demise.  I've seen them before, and the 'petrified forest' so I felt fine to bypass it and head straight to Slope Point.

Slope Point is the southernmost point of mainland New Zealand - very little between the Point and Antarctica.  It was cold and blowy, as to be expected, but a very pleasant walk down and back up.  Nothing spectacular at the Point itself, but the farmland nearby is the home of some of the most crazy looking trees.  Macrocarpa trees (Cypress Pines) get gnarlier and knottier the older and bigger they get.  Add to this mix that strong southerly wind I mentioned earlier, and you get trees that look like they're running away! (see extras)  Fascinating - and very picturesque.

From Slope Point and the trees it was off down the road to the Waipapa Point Lighthouse.  Great stories of life as a lighthouse keeper's family dotted around the area and amazing to think there was still a resident lighthouse keeper until 1976 when the light was automated.  And still that cold wind blew!  Time for a cuppa :D

Last port of call for today was just down the road at Fortrose (I love that the south of NZ is littered with Scottish place names) where a large, open, harbour-side park is my stopping place for tonight.  Perfect end to a perfect day.

In COVID news, there were 19,566 new cases reported today; 373 people are in hospital and 9 in ICU.  These numbers are getting scarily large.