Waterfalls & Boulders - To Waihola Lk, Oamaru and Rakaia R

' The EARTH Has Music For Those Who Listen '

William Shakespeare

We're running out of travel time now. 

We only had 4 more nights camping after Curio Bay and then just 1 additional day moving northerly towards Christchurch; which pretty much marks the end of our stay in NZ. Once the coastal highway diverts away from the Southern Alps along the South Islands' west coast (and all the National Parks there), the opportunities for many activities, including longer day-hiking are limited. 

Oamaru, appears to have a few things that interest us and there just happens to be, a 3-day Harbour Street Jazz & Blues Festival on right now. We're also a bit road weary and may use these last few days to relax and sleep in, readjust and begin to repack before our flight(s) home, maybe just do touristy sight-seeing trips and short hikes along our way. 


From Oamura we just drove, a night in Rakaia River and then the final night in Christchurch.

SO ... here you go, the map to your right, tracks our route from the south end of the South Island and then along the east coast, there's some text and photos too.

WALKS
Waterfalls: Matai, Horseshoe & Purakaunai

These were quiet trails through cool forest; a nice break from some of the heavily used walks we've been on.

Photos ... a flaky (or paperbark tree), black pine with red lichen growth,  

Moeraki Boulders

' The Moeraki Boulders are a group of very large spherical stones  on Koekohe Beach near Moeraki on New Zealand’s Otago coast. 

These boulders are actually concretions that have been exposed through shoreline erosion from coastal cliffs that back the beach. They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments around 60 million years ago. '

RESTAURANTS
Fleur's Place

Website

' When British television chef and restaurateur Rick Stein was told he could choose to go anywhere in the world to write a travel article for the English newspaper the Daily Mail, he chose Fleurs Place in Moeraki, New Zealand. '

 Well, Rick's choice was a good one! 

For The Foodies In US!

This was truly, one of the best meals we have ever enjoyed, anywhere ...  all local, all fresh caught or harvested, all organic, simple and perfectly prepared and presented. Of interest, the renovated building is on the site of an old whaling station.

Our Entrees

Grilled Blue Cod & Groper (not Grouper), one accompanied by a medley of local cooked vegetables, the other with a fresh garden salad. Fresh picked herbs & flowers, lime & caper dressing. Spy Valley, a local chardonnay from the region.

 

WHAT'S NEXT

We'll fly a total of about 15,000 kms from Christchurch to Auckland to Los Angeles to Toronto and from there we drive home to Bath, Ontario. It will take the major part of 5 more days before ...

... Trip 141 ' LOAFin-Around the World 2016 / 2017 ' is officially over.

 

This may be our last published post for awhile, unless Auckland impresses in some way. Wry tells me we're staying in a real hotel there, for 2 nights, with a real bed with clean linens and a real shower with a real hot & cold anti-scald valve and apparently some slot machines nearby, so who knows?

We will be moving to a new BASECAMP, sometime in August and all the preparations required to do that, will keep us busy for a few months after we get home. There are a few potential trips listed on our Right Sidebar under PLANNING ADVENTURES, but we haven't fully committed yet, to when or where our next adventure will be. 

If you're still interested in our travels, Please Stay Tuned!

  
~

Follow us by opening TRAVEL MAP 2016/2017 on the right sidebar ([view larger], zoom +/-, pan around).   

Click on any photo (some stock) in this post to launch a slideshow gallery of all the photos. 

Wikipedia provides some content. 

Crusty & Wry ... Thanks for Following Along!