June 14, 2017 – Nugget Point, Kaka Point, Purakaunui Falls, Surat Bay

As usual we’re up really early!  Lots of time for breakfast and packing and set it out before our parking meter runs out!  We’re heading for the lighthouse at Nugget Point, in hopes of seeing Hector’s dolphins or seals or sea lions.

The day starts out rainy;  but it is on-again, off-again, and never bothers us!

Can't wait to see these up close and not through the car window!

And a rainbow!

Pretty bridge

As we’re driving I remember that we met a couple at Cadbury’s that have been following the entire rugby tour.  They have a little stuffed animal with an All Blacks sweater and he has his name on the back.  He’s Lion-All Black!  And I also remember that the three Brits we met at the steepest street told us that during the tour all the Brits are best chums;  but when they get home they go back to supporting their local teams and the others can go hang!

Anyway – onward to Nugget Point.  Before we get there we stop at Kaka Point because the crashing waves are not to be ignored!  It is so hard to stop shooting in hopes of catching the perfect photo of the ocean’s majesty.

You have to quit, though, and when we get to Nugget Point it is even more astounding.  The lighthouse seems to be unmanned;  but the big deal is the ocean.  The wind is really blustery and we’re glad we’ve got many layers.  I’m wearing a hat with my Alaska coat’s hood pulled over it, and gloves, and three other layers! If you aren’t facing one another you can’t be heard!  By the tie we’ve climbed up, taken our pictures and come back down, though, we aren’t cold any more!

See?  Blue skies!

On the way up we encounter people from the Department of Conservation who are working with students from Otago Polytechnic to remove broom from the sides of the cliffs.  They say it’s fun but it looks like torture to me in this weather!!

These guys are from further south and think it warm!

We head back into Kaka to The Point Restaurant and Café for lunch and something hot to eat.  The blue cod comes either pan fried or bttered and is served with a heaping portion of steak fries and a lovely side salad.  I have mocha and Marilyn opts for the flat white coffee, which means it has less foam than a latte or something.  You can also get short black, or tall white, which means it has one shot of coffee with some water or even more water.

We decide to locate our next accommodations before heading to the waterfall, so we aren’t fumbling around in the dark again! The lady at The Point gives us great directions, as long as we understand that when she says not to take the gravel road, she means the road that used to be gravel!! She also tells us that the beautiful cups we’ve been using were made by one of the girls on staff!  She sells them but we’re strong and resist! 

And another rainbow!

Note - this isn't the Hillside Camp!

 We find the Hillside Camp with little trouble and the man who runs it is quite friendly.  He upgrades our room from bunk beds to a double and a twin (still bunk beds!)  He has early onset Alzheimer’s and tells us all about the symptoms.  It doesn’t sound like fun at all!  We think he’s very brave to be running this whole place without any help!

Before we even look at our room we get directions to Purakaunui Falls.  The owner says he’ll have our place cleaned up before we return and he gives us linens for free in addition to the upgrade!

It isn’t too difficult to find the falls, with a nice ten-minute hike through a rainforest.  It is so beautiful and we spend some time playing with our cameras, learning how to get different effects!

 After that we go looking for sea lions on Surat Bay, because “everyone” sees sea lions there.  The walk parallels the coast, with some sections that are actually beach and you have to be careful to time the waves!  It’s getting close to sunset (which is a bit after five) and we go as far as we think is prudent if we want to get home before it’s black out.  And we don’t see a single blasted sealion!  Of well, we saw the yellow-eyed penguins that most people don’t, so I guess it balances out.

A different kind of shoe tree!

 We make it back to camp before full dark and check out our home for the night.

Our cabin is, well, miniscule!  We decide it is about eight by twelve! Besides the bunk beds there is a TV-tray sized table and a wall mounted TV.  There isn’t room for anything else!  You can borrow DVDs and, presumably, a player from the office, if you leave your driver’s license.  The owner told us that he had to go into town this morning for a doctor’s appointment and forgot to give people back their licenses before he left!  He had to drive back to take care of that before going to his appointment.

We go to the bathroom to make sure we know where it is and when we try to pull open the door, the handle comes off!  We go into the office and at first he says the door won’t open because someone is in there;  but when we say the handle came off he says, “Oh!  Not that one!  It’s out of order!”  We have to use the shower next door, which also has a toilet and sink in it.  Good to know!

We go back to our “room”, gather our computers and dinner makings, and head to the communal kitchen.  There are wonderful kids who come and go while we’re in there.  One couple has been on holiday since last SEPTEMBER!  They’ve been to the west coast of the US and lots of Asian countries and will spend two months in New Zealand.  They quit their jobs to take this trip!  He’s an elementary teacher and she designs food products before turning them over to mass producers.

Another couple has been traveling for two months and are recent graduates who don’t have jobs yet.  They, too, have been everywhere!  Bali, Thailand, Viet Nam!  They, too are heading to the west coast of the US and Vancouver before flying back to England.

The kids are comparing notes on their travels and vehicle experiences!

And there is a resident black cat.   

You're seeing the entire room.  If Marilyn stretches out her arm, she'll touch the other wall!

 We’ve enjoyed our PBJs and hummus and carrots and are downloading our photos.  And I’m blogging.  I’m not too excited about going back to the room where we will be in total darkness if we close the blinds;  but we do!  I have the top bunk and finish typing in the dark.  I guess I'll put my computer under my pillow, 'cause I'm sure not climbing down and back up again in the pitch blackness!  Sure hope Nature doesn't call in the middle of the night;  it's as dark outside as it is in.  Someone turned off the light outside the bathroom and that trek won't be fun in the cold with only a phone flashlight!  Another adventure!!