Starfish

Wow!  What a windy night last night was!  I was woken at 2.00am by the not-so-gentle rocking of the van, the rattling of van bits and a bit of a concern that this might just be a bit too much for ol' Gerty and me.  I lay awake for about an hour and fortunately, during that time, things s=did show signs of easing which was a relief.  I spent the hour contemplating plan B, C and D! Fell asleep again then woke to blue skies, warm sunshine and some strong breezes that faded very quickly to nothing.  Breakfast then off down the road to find my rocks.  As it turned out I was only a few kms away and the stretch of highway I thought was the right place was indeed right.  The difficulties in identifying the right spot was down to tides - when I was here in September it was at a low tide which revealed much more of the rocks.  The low tide this morning revealed the rocks I was looking for(though sadly, only one of the beasties I was looking for.  Still, I now know that I need to return not just at any old low tide but on a low, low tide which will require some homework to identify suitable times.  In the meantime, I did find a few of these locals - a reef starfish.  This chap is lounging in water which made it a bit of a challenge to get good focus without water reflections.  

The West Coast sure is an interesting area - natural history, social history, geology, it's own weather and further south, glaciers and rain forests.  I'll be back and hopefully, it wont be too long.

Staying tonight in the Nelson Lakes National Park - kind of my pressure chamber between the holiday and the return to normal life.  Back home tomorrow.