After Nugget Point, we continued south with our eye on a camground in the Catlins Forest Park, situated in the middle of thick beech forest and next to a big river. We left the highway and frove about 10 kilometers on a windy dirt rad before reaching the bridge over the river right before the camp. We were dismayed to find that the bridge was under construction (blocked by about 25 ft high pile of dirt and gravel) and that there was no other way to reach our destination. Feeling bummed, we backtracked out to the main road and ecided to camp at a nearby DOC site on the coast.
It seems that fate was on our side, at the beach turned out to be gorgeous and we ended up staying for a week, enjoying good weather and making great friends.
Sunset at Purakaunui Bay where we camped
Mammoth fur seal napping on the beach. Look at that face! :)When we first arrived at Purakaunui, the sun was shining so we at a picnic lunch and then went exploring...
At low tide there were amazing tidal pools and cool kelp to check out
Lots of life in the little pools
Big waves and kelp at the point we walked to at low tideWhen we started to walk back to camp after exploring the point (in the photo above), we were suddenly alterted to the presence of a large fur seal nearby. He was napping and gave us a loud bark to let us know that we had come too close.
The seal on whose territory we accidentally trespassed
The seal on whose territory we accidentally trespassedWe, of course, were so absorbed in watching the scenery that we hadn't noticed the animals that blended in so well with the rocks. Backing off quickly, we realized that there were two more seals sleeping nearby. Needless to say, we swiftly moved out of their way and back into safer, seal-free territory.
Our day turned out to be full of adventure, when shortly after the seal encounter we managed to lock our keys in the van. Now, under normal circumstances, locking your keys in the car is not actually a big deal -- you just call a locksmith from your handy cell phone, or get your spare key at your house, or find a friendly policeman with a slimjim. However, when your car is your home and the nearest town is 15 miles away on dirt roads, we did not have any of those options to choose from. Naturally, we were feeling quite anxious as we tried all the door handles for the fifth time before giving up and staring forlornly at the keys hanging from the curtain inside the van.
Soon, noticing our distress, a very nice American woman called Chrislyn came over to see if she could help. Though she didn't have any tools we could use, she recruited the young German couple she had befriended, who (like us) are traveling/living in a big Toyota van. Luckily, Nils and Michaela had exactly what we needed: a plastic hanger, electrical tape and a screwdriver. Now armed, Nils and Sean set to work right away. I won't give any of the details of how they managed to use these items to break into Murple, but suffice it to say that nothing was broken and after a few minutes of breathless anticipation and Macgyver-worthy manipulations, the door was opened and we were re-admitted to our home, sweet home.
This turned out to be quite the bonding experience and we spent the next several days hanging out with Nils, Michaela, Chrislyn and her two great kids, Nora and Rory. We ate some good meals together and went for a nice hike (on a rather wet day) on a forest and coastal track nearby.
Our day turned out to be full of adventure, when shortly after the seal encounter we managed to lock our keys in the van. Now, under normal circumstances, locking your keys in the car is not actually a big deal -- you just call a locksmith from your handy cell phone, or get your spare key at your house, or find a friendly policeman with a slimjim. However, when your car is your home and the nearest town is 15 miles away on dirt roads, we did not have any of those options to choose from. Naturally, we were feeling quite anxious as we tried all the door handles for the fifth time before giving up and staring forlornly at the keys hanging from the curtain inside the van.
Soon, noticing our distress, a very nice American woman called Chrislyn came over to see if she could help. Though she didn't have any tools we could use, she recruited the young German couple she had befriended, who (like us) are traveling/living in a big Toyota van. Luckily, Nils and Michaela had exactly what we needed: a plastic hanger, electrical tape and a screwdriver. Now armed, Nils and Sean set to work right away. I won't give any of the details of how they managed to use these items to break into Murple, but suffice it to say that nothing was broken and after a few minutes of breathless anticipation and Macgyver-worthy manipulations, the door was opened and we were re-admitted to our home, sweet home.
This turned out to be quite the bonding experience and we spent the next several days hanging out with Nils, Michaela, Chrislyn and her two great kids, Nora and Rory. We ate some good meals together and went for a nice hike (on a rather wet day) on a forest and coastal track nearby.
We did a short hike to Purakaunui falls at well...lovely as usual
Our new friends, at the camp in PurakaunuiWe parted with our friends at the end of the week and made plans to meet up with Chrislyn and the kids again in Kaikoura in the north for whale watching!
Oystercatchers on the beach
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