Sunday 17th March.
For the first time since leaving home we have been able to attend Mass on a Sunday instead of the Saturday vigil. It was a pleasant surprise when we booked into our accommodation, The Bella Vista Motel,Oamaru, to find St. Patrick's Basilica just around the corner. What a coincidence.
The trip up from Dunedin was yet another scenic journey in pleasant sunshine. We stopped for some lunch in the town of Palmerston before moving on towards Oamaru. Passing another viewing point for a colony of Yellow Eyed Penguins we detoured to Shag Point to have a look. We were far too early to see them as they only start to return to shore in the evening. Took this picture and left.
Plodding on our next and final stop off before Oamaru was at Moeraki to view the harbour before going onthe beach to see the famous Moeraki Boulders.
Calling in at the I site to see what the attractions in Oamaru were, Anne couldn't resist a ride on the Penny Farthing there.
After tea we went along to the harbour where there is a colony of Blue Penguins nesting. We sat in a grandstand from 8 o'clock and waited in silence for them to return ashore and nest for the night. They are only a small breed, jhst about 12 inches tall. By the time we left at 10 o'clock 38 penguins had returned and more were expected.We were on the front row of the stand and saw them leaving the sea and climbing the banking before scurrying past us (just 6ft away) to find their nest in the darkness of some grassy dunes.
After checking out of our motel we headed off to the Basilica for Mass. It would have been my Dad's birthday, so it was an extra special day to be going to Mass. The Church would have been quite grand in it's day, and still was to a point, but the usual reordering that had taken place detracted from it's beauty and Spiritual atmosphere (my opinion) More pictures off my camera at the end of this blog, so you can decide.
There was a farmers market in the old part of Oamaru so we headed there after Church to spend the last of our tlme here before heading North and inland to the isolated township of Mt. Cook. You will no doubt be pleased to hear that the rain has caught up with us, and boy has it!!!! From leaving Oamaru it just got heavier and heavier. No complaints from us though as the farmers desperately need it. Some pictures from yesterday.
Our journey up to Mt. Cook was pretty uneventful except for missing the turn off to here and almost arriving at our next destination. Lost just under an hour before we got back on track. The highlights of probably the most bland of car journey's we have undertaken so far, was passing a quaint small jail and a couple of hydro electric power stations.
The following pictures are from my camera taken in Oamaru.
Above are pictures taken of St. Patrick's Basilica. Below are some more pictures of the Moeraki Boulders.
I almost forgot, on our way out of Dunedin we passed the University Cricket Oval where last week's 1st test match between NZ and England took place. Stopped off for a photo shoot.
For the first time since leaving home we have been able to attend Mass on a Sunday instead of the Saturday vigil. It was a pleasant surprise when we booked into our accommodation, The Bella Vista Motel,Oamaru, to find St. Patrick's Basilica just around the corner. What a coincidence.
The trip up from Dunedin was yet another scenic journey in pleasant sunshine. We stopped for some lunch in the town of Palmerston before moving on towards Oamaru. Passing another viewing point for a colony of Yellow Eyed Penguins we detoured to Shag Point to have a look. We were far too early to see them as they only start to return to shore in the evening. Took this picture and left.
Plodding on our next and final stop off before Oamaru was at Moeraki to view the harbour before going onthe beach to see the famous Moeraki Boulders.
Calling in at the I site to see what the attractions in Oamaru were, Anne couldn't resist a ride on the Penny Farthing there.
After tea we went along to the harbour where there is a colony of Blue Penguins nesting. We sat in a grandstand from 8 o'clock and waited in silence for them to return ashore and nest for the night. They are only a small breed, jhst about 12 inches tall. By the time we left at 10 o'clock 38 penguins had returned and more were expected.We were on the front row of the stand and saw them leaving the sea and climbing the banking before scurrying past us (just 6ft away) to find their nest in the darkness of some grassy dunes.
After checking out of our motel we headed off to the Basilica for Mass. It would have been my Dad's birthday, so it was an extra special day to be going to Mass. The Church would have been quite grand in it's day, and still was to a point, but the usual reordering that had taken place detracted from it's beauty and Spiritual atmosphere (my opinion) More pictures off my camera at the end of this blog, so you can decide.
There was a farmers market in the old part of Oamaru so we headed there after Church to spend the last of our tlme here before heading North and inland to the isolated township of Mt. Cook. You will no doubt be pleased to hear that the rain has caught up with us, and boy has it!!!! From leaving Oamaru it just got heavier and heavier. No complaints from us though as the farmers desperately need it. Some pictures from yesterday.
Our journey up to Mt. Cook was pretty uneventful except for missing the turn off to here and almost arriving at our next destination. Lost just under an hour before we got back on track. The highlights of probably the most bland of car journey's we have undertaken so far, was passing a quaint small jail and a couple of hydro electric power stations.
The following pictures are from my camera taken in Oamaru.
Above are pictures taken of St. Patrick's Basilica. Below are some more pictures of the Moeraki Boulders.
I almost forgot, on our way out of Dunedin we passed the University Cricket Oval where last week's 1st test match between NZ and England took place. Stopped off for a photo shoot.
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