The colony was in Taronga Bay, a small drive off the main road. It was a paved/board walk pathway leading to a large platform overlooking the seals. Due to rough seas and the time of year, most were sleeping among the rocks. Some younger ones were playing around and I have a video of a group swimming and playing in the water behind a large rock that created a relatively calm pool.
After the platform, the pathway became more of a dirt path. Leading towards Westport and a lighthouse.
Afterward I traveled south again and stopped at Punikaika and the Pancake Rock trail. It was another paved trail but a cool rock formations. Thought I had more pictures but can't find them at the moment.
I spent some of the next day there and had a nice late start to my day. Stopped at some lookout on the way and just enjoyed the cliff views of the coast.
That evening, it ended up starting to rain hard and go dark early. I was in Greymouth and so I decided to stay local. There was a small free car park close to the wharf.
Spent some time watching the waves and standing in the rain.
The next day it cleared up and I continued my slow drive along the coast. Stopped around noon for lunch and a hike at Mananui Lake. From here the drive moved more inland among the mountains.
That afternoon, I saw a note about dig your own hot pools off the main road called Amethyst Hot Pools. Unfortunately with no cell service and very minimal info I couldn't find them. Ended up walking along the river a fair distance. It was a great walk climbing the rocky shore.
I stopped at some lookout and the small town of Whataro before ended up at a camp site on the shore of Lake Mapourika, just north of Franz Josef.
That night amd the most of the next day, it poured rain on and off. Franz Josef is built at the base of the mountain and have a lot of hiking, kayaking, and expensive trips up to the glacier. With the weather, everything was closed so instead I went to the Glacier Hot Pools. It was amazing to just relax in the hot water.
(Stole the picture from the internet)
Late that afternoon while looking for where to stay, I saw mention of another seal colony. It was about an hour drive, half off road and through the mountains at Gillespies beach. I got there in time to try and watch the sunset and cook dinner.
The next morning I went for a hike looking for seals. It was listed as a 4.5 hour return. A lot of ups and downs as the path wandered through the forest along the coast. The path was also flooded in many places. I randomly picked up a walking stick along the beach which saved me multiple times along the path from sinking ankle deep into muck.
Once I made it to the beach, it was a 20 minute walk to find the seals; I stumbled upon them accidentally and startled one. Ended up sitting on a rock 100 m away watching them as I ate lunch. The beach was great, every flooded part of the path became a waterfall off the cliff. There was approximately a dozen in the 20 minute walk.
I considered spending another night there, but it was early and the sand flies were coming out and so I decided to continue my journey. I again took my time driving, stopped at a few look outs. By evening, I was again on the coast and was passing Knights Point around sunset. I stopped, along with a dozen other people, to watch. The sky was clear and it was a gorgeous sunset.
Finished the evening in Haast at a motor park where I could cook really food and shower.
The next day I stopped at the information centre to ask questions, and I decided to go to Jackson Bay. The bay itself wasn't what I expected. It's a small fishing community with a few boats out in the bay. Smelt strongly of fish. There was a short hike to a beach where I climbed along the rocky coast again. Supposedly there is a breading colony of penguins in the area, but unfortunately I could not find them. There is also a Kiwi management program. But it was not accessible and they are nocturnal so I wouldn't see them here.
What was amazing is that as I was leaving, I saw something jump out of the water down away from the fishing boats. It ended up being a fairly large old of dolphins that were playing by the shore and hunting.
Unfortunately I mostly took videos of them and without my laptop I cannot upload the videos.
I then made my way south again. Stopped at half a dozen waterfall look outs and a couple short hikes before ending up at the blue pools. I spent the night down the road. The next day I ended up in Wanaka. It took me about three weeks to travel a little over 1000 km to get here. Before heading to Queenstown , I decided to spend a few days here. Found a nice little hostel named Billy's. Spent my first day doing laundry, cleaning my car and some other errands. Around 4 pm, one of the other guest returned and we started talki ng about activities I can do. So that evening I bought a package, proper clothing and the next morning.
It was an amazing experience. The package includes the rentals, lift pass, and lessons. I arrived in the morning after driving 1.6 km up the mountain to be among the clouds.
I hadn't skied in over a decade. But going down the first green hill before my lessons, and it mostly came back to me. The lessons were really good, correcting my mistakes and helping me improve. It was a tiring but fulfilling day.
This brings my up to date on my time so far. Today I slept in a bit and will find something small to do in the afternoon. Tomorrow, no idea yet. Depends on the weather. Unfortunately I haven't had positive job responses but am not too concerned. Only a little over 2 months into my time here, with summer just getting ready to start soon.
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