Beachy Keen, Jelly Bean

A wee bit about our beaches. There are so many. We haven't had nearly enough time to explore them all, but here are a few of our neighborhood favorites.

First up, Colac Bay. Colac is our prime surfing spot.

We weren't sure how much surfing there was going to be, or how safe it was, this far down south. We have been pleasantly surprised. And by "we," I mean Lily.

The blue dot is where we live. We're about 20 minutes from the cute little town of Riverton that sits right between the sea and the estuary, and about 10 minutes past that is Colac Bay.

The road past Riverton rises and falls through the hills, but then you come over the last crest before Colac, and everything falls away to a crescent bay of the most magnificent blue you have ever seen. It takes my breath away and cracks my heart just a little bit every single time. 

In the distance, Stewart Island and Rakiura National Park rise up out of the water, while the Fiordlands keep watch from the west.

Just in case one were to forget that New Zealand sits on the far edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, there are signs posted here and anon as reminders.

This is the crest you look down from, onto the bay. So far, I've either been driving or too transfixed to snap a decent pic from above.

Continuing down the road just about 5 minutes or so is Monkey Island Beach. I swear on all that is Holy, this is an un-altered photo. When the skies are clear, it's just blue, and bleeds blue onto everything. When you look across at the Fiordlands, they're blue too. Even the bits of snow left on the peaks are blue.

Where the Monkey comes from, I don't know. But there is a tiny Island, well outcropping really, that you can only walk to at lowest tide and climb the stairs to the top to a lookout. These mussel covered rocks completely disappear when the tide rolls in. There is some pretty sweet surfing here too.

Down the road just another little bit is Gemstone Beach. I love this beach. It's my favorite walking and stone-gathering beach. They call it Gemstone, because gemstones actually wash up on the beach. Again, tumultuous volcanic island.

There are 5 or 6 little (and not so little...see above) streams that cross over the sand to join up with the ocean. We were just there earlier today, and there were several gold prospectors working a couple of the streams. It looked like they actually even found enough to make it worth their while. The beach is mostly inaccessible at high tide.

The waters here are chilly. Not un-doable, but chilly. Wetsuits definitely make surf frolicking a good deal more pleasant for extended water time.

 She's trying to coax the dog in. It was a no go.

She's mischievous, that one. Just look at that grin.

Little caves and nooks peek out from the sandstone cliffs.

Completely camouflaged until you come right upon them. 

Let me just pause to say how incredibly grateful I am to have met wonderful people who hook us up with other wonderful people.

Especially when one of those wonderful people happens to be a national champion surfer who is mentoring my daughter. Girl power!

Peace out friends. 

Chasing Frodo: The River Anduin

Running between Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri,

There is a river. The Waiau.

The Takitimu mountains rise up on one side,

While the mountains of the Fiordlands rise up on the other.

This river is known to the world as the River Anduin.

Oh look! Another bridge!

The Waiau is crystal clear and very swiftly flowing.

The water is actually this color. It is incredible.

This is the river that carried Frodo and the Fellowship away from Lothlorien.

There is actually conflicting info on the web about which scenes were filmed where, but this is the official stance that NZ tourism lists. Though I think any number of rivers would do!

From the Southern Scenic Highway, there are several access points to reach the river.

We used the one at Rainbow Reach that hooks into the Keplar Track and did a wee bit of tramping. We have not done any of the overnight portions of the track. Yet.

Again with the ferns. They are spectacular.

Seas of them.

Does anyone remember the moss scene in Creepshow (The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill)? Meteor...(poop)! Minus the horror component, this might be the stuff. It grows on anything that hits the forest floor. When you step on it, you literally sink an inch or two, then it bounces right back.

While there may or may not be hobbits around, there are definitely trout. This is apparently a great fishing river. And birds, singing constantly, even if you may not see them.

There are kiwi here. And kakapo. And the elusive takahe. All flightless, ground dwelling birds, their numbers have been decimated by stoats and dogs. There are very clear signs everywhere, NO DOGS ALLOWED.

Sorry pooch.

Chasing Frodo: The Valley of the Ents- The Real Fanghorn

I knew long before we came to New Zealand, that when we got here, there were several places I would attempt to seek out. 

As a LOTR fan, how could I not? It's way too easily accessible not to.

So when we headed out for the day to the lake community of Te Anau, I wheedled my family into taking a couple of side trips to nowhere.

Several of these peaks were shown in the movies as the rough country beyond Rivendell. But that was not my target this day.

 This part happens to be directly on our path.

Though these outcroppings were not used in the movies, they are remarkably similar to the ones that were. 

This is the darling little town of Manapouri that is just before the town of Te Anau, with the mountains of the Fiordlands as a backdrop.

Past Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau is gorgeous farmland resting in the shadows of the mountains. Down a modest gravel road, you come upon a bit of forest. It is not on any tramping maps, and there are no trails.

Just across from the edge of the forest is exquisite rolling grazing land. 

Perfect place for a herd of red deer to graze.

Standing as sentinel to the edge of the forest, this poi whenua marks the territorial boundary and declares this a significant place. 

The forest itself is not so different from other forests that we have been in. They are all lush and thriving. 

And they are all technicolor green. But this is Fanghorn.

Wildflowers grow right up to the edge of the wood.

Once you step inside, you can actually feel the green.

This was a younger part of the forest. It goes on and on and on. And it's only about an hour and a half from our house.