Moeraki Boulders

We stayed at a DOC site the night before and had the entire site to ourselves... or so we thought until we realized there was another campervan nearby when we awoke the next morning. It was NZ$6 for us to stay there and you pay by putting the money in a small envelope and sliding it into a slot. We didn't have exact change so we were trying to decide between paying nothing and hoping DOC people didn't check the next morning, or paying NZ$10. Luckily we did the latter because the next morning we were greeted by two smiley DOC officials who made sure we camped legitimately.


These deer are kept in a fenced-in area near the beach that the Moeraki Boulders are located. You can buy deer food in the shop nearby and feed the deer. I just put my hand out and one of them licked it to Andrea's disgust.


The Moeraki Boulders were formed 60 million years ago. During a time when the current beach was submerged by ocean, fragments of plants, shells, etc., settled as sediment on the ocean floor. The boulders formed as concretions via a chemical process involving mud clumping around nuclei in the mixed up sediment which was then hardened by calcite, silica, pyrite, and/or iron oxide. The waves then slowly uncover the boulders where they ended up sitting on the beach.
Believe it or not, this picture was taken at 10:45 am. The sun sure stays low in the sky now!


Unlike previous attempts, I was able to defy the dangers of standing on a large stone sphere and achieve perfectly vertical form.



This is my attempt at looking like a super hero– Wolverine, I think.

... I have to admit, I couldn't help myself. Gigantic balls laying on a beach had too much comedic potential for me to ignore. The following video is the result of some quick improvisations while Andrea videoed me.



If you enjoyed that video, here are some out-takes:

The Catlins

The Catlins is an area in the southeastern part of the south island that is covered in temperate rainforest that harbors many endangered species of birds. The coastline is rock, tall, and steep in spots and is very beautiful and fun to explore.


This was the second time I have been in the Catlins and both times it was windier than I can ever believe possible on this green earth. These trees demonstrate how windy it is and how often. Although it looks like these trees are in the process of having their socks blown off, they have actually just grown this way because of being constantly win-blown. At the time of this picture, it was quite calm.


This is Curio Bay where, during low tide, you can walk along the beach and see remnants of a forest that has been petrified over 170 million years ago. The forest was covered by volcanic mud flows and the wood was impregnated by silica that literally turned the trees to stone over several month's time.


In this photo, you can see the wood grains of a 170 million-year-old tree. Amazing!


This is a petrified tree stump. God only knows whether it formed from a fallen petrified tree or if the tree fell and the stump was petrified. I'm sure it made a sound though. I am pretending I am the host of a science television show.


In the autumn, the sun noticeably sets very early. It is dark here by 7:00 pm. We made it to nugget point before dark, but had to stop and take this beautiful picture before we got there.

It was a quick tour of the Catlins and we didn't get to see the Cathedrel Caves because they were closed due to high serf and strong winds. We freedom camped for one night and endured the freezing cold weather. That being said, it is still a beautiful place to visit any time of year.