Day 11: Pancakes

Bit of a slow day today, spent most of the day driving and exploring various lookouts. A recurrent struggle for me is the inability to take photos that truly show how beautiful it is here. You really just have to take my word for it. The water (lakes, rivers, even small creeks) are such vibrant colours. The trees are so varied that you feel like you move right out of a farm into some sort of Jurassic Park mountainside before hitting windswept beach trees. The landscape is just continually shifting.

A field of sunflowers for Renae

The first big pit stop today was at Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park. There’s a very small jetty here that is on the New Zealand bucket list - and I think everyone was there today to check it out. But I wanted my turn quite happily entranced by the view. I even paddled a little (extremely little) and can verify the lake’s ‘alpine’ status. Man, was it icy.

When I was able to get a clear view of/from the jetty I pounced but I just don’t have the ruthlessness needed to set up the right angle. I watch other tourists shove people out of the way and line everything up and that is just not a trait I have mastered. I’m fairly happy with my askew photos though, so I’ll consider it a win and tick it off the bucket list.

It's very hard to explain to kindly strangers that I wasn't after someone to take my photo - but since I've been instructed by a few of you to actually be in some, here you go.

After leaving Lake Rotoiti, I played leap frog with Buller River, one of New Zealand’s longest rivers. I drove alongside and over it and managed to get sneaky glimpses of it’s beautiful greenish waters raging along through through trees. I did eventually come to a good stopping point at a lookout to take some photos for you but, again, it truly doesn’t do it justice.

My afternoon goal was to reach Dolomite Point in Punakaiki to see the the Pancake Rocks. This reminded me a little of the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland* - you have to love a weird, not entirely explainable coastal formation. Scientists know the basics - that marine sediment has settled over millions of years only to be pushed up from the seabed… but why exactly it has maintained this layered appearance they can’t quite say.

Animal Sightings

Cows
Sheep
Horses
oh-so-many deer**
several New Zealand falcons
an overly friendly duck I was sure would get in the van
black swans
eels

Today’s Playlist

D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #5: King of the Ghouls
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #6: Fighting in the Dark
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #7: Charmed
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #8: Things Get Worse
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #9: The Big City
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #10: Unicorn Princess
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #11: Keeping it Druid
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #12: One Eyed Daniel
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #13: Devils Fire
D&D is for Nerds - Hus Firma Pride #14: Animal Companions
How Stuff Works: How Delta Force Works
How Stuff Works: How China’s Pollution Sniffers Work
How Stuff Works: How Entomophagy Works
How Stuff Works: How Cannibalism Works
How Stuff Works: Will We Soon Be Extinct?
How Stuff Works: How Living Off the Grid Works
How Stuff Works: How do Tibetans avoid altitude sickness?
How Stuff Works: How Prayer Healing Works
How Stuff Works: Why do grooms carry brides over the threshold?
Science Rules #12: What Evolution Wants
Science Rules #13: Are We Living in a Simulation?

Daily Stats:
Kilometres travelled: 402km (2232 in total)
Approximate length of Lake Rotoiti jetty: 10 metres
Approximate people standing on jetty at any given point: 3 million
Approximate number of deer seen: 80
How many times I was irrationally excited to see the deer: 80

*but less cooler, sorry Pancake Rocks. You at least have the yum factor going for you.

**In true road trip fashion (just me?) the first herd of deer got a cheery “oh hello deer!”… and then there were several paddocks in a row. It was quite the loud road, but they were all greeted.