Cape Palliser

I experienced my first New Zealand traffic jam on the way to Cape Palliser. New Zealand traffic jams are rather dissimilar from ones in the United State. Less honking, more pooping. You could tell which paddock the sheep had come from based on the poo trail.

As we came over the hill, the first sight of the ocean was quite magical. The sun lit up the water into a magical blue.

Most of our journey was through farm land, but after many a bend, we saw a small fishing village, Ngawi. (Pronounced: Na-we)

There is no dock in Ngawi. In order to get a boat into the ocean, each boat has it's own trailer and bulldozer. The bulldozer backs the trailer into and out of the ocean.

Our favorite was Tinky Winky.

It was quite windy in Ngawi. Chris and I had to help each other keep our hats on.

A bit further down the road, Chris told us there was a place the fur seals liked to hang out. Two bits of advise shared were:

1. Don't step on a seal, they don't like it.

2. Never stand between a seal and the ocean.

After the seals, we reached Cape Palliser. Cape Palliser is the most southern tip of the North Island. There happens to be a lighthouse on the cliff.

Which you can visit if you enjoy climbing 250 steps.

The lighthouse is quite impressive to see up close. It is still in use, although it is manned remotely.

The view is wonderful as well. Although you should be prepared for ungodly wind speeds. I speculated that the fence that was built around the area was useful for keeping people from being swept off of the cliff.

I could have spent all day by the beach. At least until we all got hungry.

We drove back an hour to get to Martinborough to get a little something to nibble on.

And a nice warm Mocha.