NZ Tour Last day on the Otago Rail Trail, woke to early morning mist again and headed for the highway. For some reason the hilly highway seemed more like I remember Otago being - perhaps because it's farmland rather than the river valley that the rail trail ended on. Dry hilly country is more "real Otago". Then it was out to the coast and on to Shag Point, home of the penguins. Dogs are banned near the beach, so cf course getting to the beach means biking past a nasty dog that chases bikes. grr. The penguin sighting was cool and there were other things to look at. I chatted to a few locals who were fishing railway lines out of the sea - there was a coal mine here so all sorts of stuff got dumped over the years. Plus a guy working on a house truck for added local colour. The I biked back to the main road and camped in the trees in a picnic area. Not brilliant but this area seems to have a narrow costal strip next to the road then grassy hills, so no good options. Late-ish night, early morning, traffic noise all night. No visitors though, so at least that bit worked.
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 | Another foggy morning on the rail trail. |
 | Typical Otago country. |
 | That vicious expression is cow for "I wonder what that is". |
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 | Dead Horse Pinch today. |
 | At the Shag Point - Matakaea car park. Yet another informative DOC sign. Here there be penguins and fur seals. And birds. And tourists. etc. |
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 | Penguin beach. |
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 | Tarakara! Penguins! |
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 | Note the plastic strapping around its neck - it's unlikely the seal can get that off so it will either weather and fall off or slowly strangle the seal. Who thinks littering shouldn't be punishable? |
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 | Lazy! |
 | Interesting mudstone. |
 | On the road in there was a guy working on these house trucks. I vaguely like the idea of travelling around in one, but mostly I'd like to build one. I think actually living in one would wear thin after a while, they're either ridiculously expensive bought ones or they tend to be a bit ramshackle and inclined to break down. I'm not sure I want to be a diesel mechanic when I grow up. But the idea is very cool. |
 | On the road in there was a guy working on these house trucks. I vaguely like the idea of travelling around in one, but mostly I'd like to build one. I think actually living in one would wear thin after a while, they're either ridiculously expensive bought ones or they tend to be a bit ramshackle and inclined to break down. I'm not sure I want to be a diesel mechanic when I grow up. But the idea is very cool. |
 | These birds seem smart enough to know they're a protected species. |
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