No more noises from the plumbing nor an appearance from the ghost. Possessor of an open scientific and relatively sound mind I still amaze myself at how I can be perturbed at the possibility that when I look round there'll be someone there. There again I'm a great sucker for the scary moments in films even when I know they're coming. That said there might actually be someone there, nicking our stuff...
The Corolla's glove box clasp has died a death and the boot has shifted in its mounting (twice I released the boot and the wind caught it -- oops) but sadly the local Toyota garage's service department is on holiday. The glove box is declared open for the duration (much to Helen's disgust).
First stop is a little way up the coast at Shag Point. Not noted for its cormorants but yellow-eyed penguin and NZ fur seal colonies. The penguins are, of course, fishing on the continental shelf up to 150m down. The fur seals laze around in the sun, as ever. We rolled up the road and despite no enthusiasm on my part we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders. We actually stopped for lunch at the cafe and took on the boulders afterwards.
The boulders achieve worldwide geological reknown by their construction. Their spherical shape on the beach is caused not by weathering but crystalline deposits over a few million years. The wily scientists guess that having reached however big (up to 2.2m diameter) the conditions for their creation lessen and the centre chemically dries out leaving veins which are filled by calcites. All this happened in what is now the soft earth (or mudstone?) by the beach. Weathering of the beach reveals and [then] "gives birth" to the boulders which roll down the slope onto the beach. Much weathering by the sea breaks the boulders down to reveal honeycomb calcite veins surrounded [filled?] by the original crytalline deposits.
Our next point of interest (to me anyway) was a latitude marker. No one with a GPS can resist such a beast. A large boulder was placed in 1929 to mark 45 degrees South, halfway from the Equator (4990km) to South Pole (5110km). My trusty planet locator claimed it to be 45.00055 degress South. Hmm. I strode off up the road to find the true position S45 E171.05307 Elev. -65m! (surely I must be doing something wrong -- it's a windy day but it can't have that much effect, can it?). The boulder is 69m away. Hmm, but wait, 1939 is 63 years ago. It's reasonable that NZ is shifting south at 1m per year and here's some pretty solid eveidence. How exciting!
Not so the next two stops. Firstly, Elephant Rocks. Having driven up through some weathered limestone rocks in pastureland we weren't bothered enough to tramp across fields to see some more. "Earthquakes" was an odd thing. Marked on our map as [a] geological anomaly, we nearly missed it as the only signpost was an angled "Earthquakes Rd." Following it up for several km over gravel tracks lead to a strange unheralded or described cleft in the rocks. Two 10-15m high 200m long walls of sandstone with a 20m gap in bewteen appearing to be soil a shubbery covered granite [that doesn't make sense, does it?]. Without any helpful advice my theory is that the earth pushed up but the central vein of granite was heavier and [was] pushed up less than the surrounding walls. I guess the quoted name Eathquakes was to make you feel as though it was land rent assunder by an earthquake but cheekily the scientists know better. Whatever, don't waste you're time going unless you carry a geologist's pick.
Our run up to Otematata is via a couple of dams. All of which are suitably impressive engineering feats with large man made lakes behind them but what you really want is for them to open the floodgates and let it rip. Which of course they never do as it will just screw up everything downstream. The last few towns have been quite deserted -- maybe every soul is watching the cricket? -- but one lakeside is teeming with caravans and tents, though not many people. They must be somewhere.
Otematata, population 363, has a hotel and at least three hostels. All the hostels are full and we're in the hotel which appears to be the only place open after 6pm. That said, the restaurant closed at 8.30pm. Mind you the bottle shop remains open between 7am and 3am although "the management reserve the right to close early." Of a population of 363, how many people come out at 3am for a bottle of beer? Things are different in rural NZ.
Otematata Lakes Hotel, Otematata S44.60288 E170.19492 Elev. 192m.
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.