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February 2004: Catlins and the Taeri Gorge
In middle February Nadine Stoffels, Lisa's German host sister, arrived for her two–month stay with us. The next trip was the four girls, Leta, Leila, Lisa and Nadine, exploring the Catlins area. This was great — not even the never–ending drizzling rain could dampen our enthusiasm. Armed with coats and umbrellas we walked many tracks to view the wonders of nature so plentiful in the Catlins area along the coast south from Dunedin. We spent two nights at the very comfortable Owaka Motor Lodge and planned our trips from there.
First there was the stake–out at Roaring Bay near Owaka, waiting for the penguins to come home after a day at sea. Then on to Purakaunui Falls, McLean Falls, and the Cathedral Caves at Waipati Beach.
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On the way back from Owaka to Dunedin we stopped at the Nugget Point light house and spent a delightful hour there looking at the seals frolicking on the rocky shore below. After getting us faithfully about the remote roads of the Catlins for two days, the car chose this moment to start over–heating in a most spectacular fashion. We limped along the 2 kilometers to the nearest telephone, and managed to get hold of the AA. The upshot of that episode was that we had to leave the car in Balclutha, the next major town, and Willem had to hire a car in Dunedin and drive the 80 kilometers down to Balclutha to fetch us home.
Then the car had to be transported to Dunedin for repairs. This meant that we were without a car for about two weeks. Walking to work or school and home again every day made us quite fit! These walks were not unpleasant at all, since one can choose a different route each day if you wish, and there are some really lovely views as one descends the hills towards town. Nadine became fond of these walks and preferred walking even after we had the car back again.
Next it was Willem's turn to take the girls on a jaunt. This turned out to be an afternoon trip on the train from Dunedin, up the Taeri Gorge and back again. The Taeri Gorge stretches inland from the coast to near Middlemarch, and is one of the historic gold–digging sites. Much of the wealth of the old Otago families came from the gold rush era. People still speak of the "old gold money" that was used to set up community trusts in the area.
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