Those of you who have seen the film "Muriel's Wedding" might be thinking 'Porpoise Spit' at this point and conjuring up a
ll kinds of images connected with the movie! Forget all that! Farewell Spit is a 35km arc of sand which is the longest natural sand bar in the world! Wow! It's a nature reserve so you can only walk a short way along it. To go further you n
eed to book one of the 4 wheel drive tours that are available - which we did! You can see CK posing by our impressive vehicle! We got to
climb up on the huge sand dunes which felt like being in the middle of the desert somewhere rather than New Zealand! It was quite a calm day when we were there but it can be exceptionally windy on the Spit which means the dunes are constantly shifting, moving and changing shape. I lost CK at one point - but all I had to do was follow the footsteps ... there she is! The times of the tours depend on the times of the tides and on the day we went we had to set off at 6.30a
m! It was worth it though to be there on the beach when the sun came up! Click the photo to see the little oyster catch
er admiring his reflection in the sunrise! We loved those little birds with their long orange beaks and earnest poking into the sand. Apparently they can crack open an oyster shell in 15 seconds! They run across the sand with their little legs goi
ng like the clappers! We saw a little family of 3 on the sands and our guide pointed out the chick as his beak was not yet bright orange although he was as big as his parents. The parents kept poking him and pushing him away as it was time for him to fend for himself but he didn't seem keen to go and kept following them around only to be pushed away again! How
s
ad is that?! Just look at the photo of him on his own - he just looks so dejected! You just wanted to pick him up and take him home with you! It was a brilliant trip and zooming up and down the beach in the 4 wheel drive bus was fantastic! We ended the tour with a view of Cape Farewell where the little archway is. Our old friend Captain Cook left New Zealand from here after his first visit apparently!
Those of you who have seen the film "Muriel's Wedding" might be thinking 'Porpoise Spit' at this point and conjuring up a
ll kinds of images connected with the movie! Forget all that! Farewell Spit is a 35km arc of sand which is the longest natural sand bar in the world! Wow! It's a nature reserve so you can only walk a short way along it. To go further you n
eed to book one of the 4 wheel drive tours that are available - which we did! You can see CK posing by our impressive vehicle! We got to 
climb up on the huge sand dunes which felt like being in the middle of the desert somewhere rather than New Zealand! It was quite a calm day when we were there but it can be exceptionally windy on the Spit which means the dunes are constantly shifting, moving and changing shape. I lost CK at one point - but all I had to do was follow the footsteps ... there she is! The times of the tours depend on the times of the tides and on the day we went we had to set off at 6.30a
m! It was worth it though to be there on the beach when the sun came up! Click the photo to see the little oyster catcher admiring his reflection in the sunrise! We loved those little birds with their long orange beaks and earnest poking into the sand. Apparently they can crack open an oyster shell in 15 seconds! They run across the sand with their little legs goi
ng like the clappers! We saw a little family of 3 on the sands and our guide pointed out the chick as his beak was not yet bright orange although he was as big as his parents. The parents kept poking him and pushing him away as it was time for him to fend for himself but he didn't seem keen to go and kept following them around only to be pushed away again! How
s
ad is that?! Just look at the photo of him on his own - he just looks so dejected! You just wanted to pick him up and take him home with you! It was a brilliant trip and zooming up and down the beach in the 4 wheel drive bus was fantastic! We ended the tour with a view of Cape Farewell where the little archway is. Our old friend Captain Cook left New Zealand from here after his first visit apparently!
3 comments:
Well, if you are stuck for a job when you eventually come back, may I suggest being a photographer? The photos you are posting are stunning! I love the lone oyster catcher photo; it's beautiful! Hope your plan for the next part of your journey are going well. Happy Easter too! Carol, Alan and Rachael xx
Thanks Carol! Although don't even want to think about the job situation just yet - way too scary!! Glad you liked the oyster catcher photo - we just love those little birds! And they aren't at all bothered by humans - you can get right up quite close to them! They have real attitude - I love that!
Just finished planning the Asia part of our trip for the month of June - quite easy to get decent but cheap accommodation there. Now looking at the US for early July onwards - whole different story! It's way over the top expensive! Don't the Amercans know we are in the middle of a global recession?!!! Will probably mean we will return home earlier than planned but still determined to see as much as possible and appreciate every moment! Then it's back to reality (but not just yet!)
Happy Easter to you all too. Love Julie XX
ahhh Muriel's Wedding! One of my favourite films!! that's just what I was thinking when I saw the title... Goodbye "Farewell Spit!" - ummm... might go and watch it now.... Luv Sare x x
PS.... 17 days to the big trip!!!! can you believe that??? Uganda here we come!! x x
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