17 October 2014. Friday.
A little check on the weather… we are expecting shower.
After checked out from hotel, it started to rain lightly. Quiet street with clouds that looked like whirlpool.
We decided to spend sometimes at the Queens Park before the rain got too heavy.
To my surprise… it was extremely green in the park. (especially with temperature below ten degrees and was winter earlier)
There are countless varieties of flowers…
Our pictures
I love these spring buds… each waiting to spring into colors and life…
The park was bordered by two rows of tall trees….a reflection of brainy planning many years ago…. and a nice narrow path in between
It began to rain and we took a few more pictures of wet tulips before move on to Catlin.
This is a wonderful park that worth to spend many hours. It is another item to be added into our next NZ South Island itinerary. We were on long drive to Dunedin.
Outside Invercargill, it was sunny and dry…. few vehicles and easy drive.
Lovely open green pastures everywhere.
On the lower grassland, trees were planted in rows for wind breaking… isolated trees are rare and they really stands out against the clear blue sky.
Exceptional color.
Further uphill were some scrub followed by thick forest… these are natural varieties paintwork.
This is my favorite colors of green.
We were looking out for one that match Microsoft Windows screen display… this one was near but not exactly.
These two were closest we had captured.
Adding life to the green pastures. I thought this was nice.
From distance… the sheep looked like maggots on the grassland.
We stopped over at this sheep farm…
round, chubby, timid and innocent looking creatures…
We make another stop at a cattle ranch.
A little picture with the cattle…
Our assessment….the animals look aggressive and unfriendly … maybe they thought all human love Sirloin and T-bone.
Then it began to rain…. rain over us but sunny out there…
A group of Horses standing in the freezing cold rain…
We stopped at Niagara Fall Cafe for Lunch.
The building and the entrance…
We had options to sit outdoor or indoor.
The staff was preparing our food.
Indeed a very tasty feast….everything was so fresh. Exploring the compound after lunch…
They kept some animals too…and this is the true breed Merino.
We bid good bye to this lovely cafe. This cafe should be crown as Jewel of Southland.
A short 30 minutes drive, we were at Florence Hill Lookout.
We could not access the edge of the cliff… it is part of private owned farmland with animals running around.
From distance we could see Tautuku Beach and the aggressive blow hole in action.
And people enjoying themselves in ten degrees water…
A snapshot of a neighboring farm…. a showcase of wind power in this area.
Another 30 minutes drive and we were at Catlins Waterfall. The official name is Purakaunai Fall. This is about the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand.
A video clip of continuous water flow …
Our Pictures…
We suddenly noticed we were walking underneath giant fern.
And this is how the fern unroll itself…
The weather remained perfect when we arrived at Kaka Point.
Our Pictures…
And the small little Nugget Point Light House
More than ten kilometers of gravel road to Nugget Point Light House
Arriving at Parking area, we had to walk a kilometer to reach the Light House.
Looking back at Kaka Point…. looking down at the coast and looking ahead at Pacific Ocean…
The light House…
and the Nuggets….
A short video clip of Nugget Point Light House…
Different feeling different expressions….
Suddenly…. the rain poured aggressive over us. We struggled to our car and slowly drove to Dunedin. It took us more than 2 hours to cover the hundred kilometers. Arriving at Dunedin and this was the first time we encountered heavy traffic since our arrival at New Zealand.
It was nearly 2030 hrs when we get settled in our hotel room. We drove around looking for restaurants that I identified as must try…. too bad we were late. On one corner of a quiet street… we saw many people gathered at Wig and Pen.
We did not capture this outlet from tripadvisor. We love those cracky deep fried stuff and we love the stuff on our plate………very very good and the portion was generous.
End of Day 14 : It was wet morning at Invercargill … a little exploration at Queens park and we moved on to the very scenic Southland… a lot of Animals, a lot of rolling hills, great lookout, waterfall, fern forest, Lighthouse and Nuggets… a day full of scenic wonders.
Return to : NZ South Island Day 13
Continue to : NZ South Island Day 15
