Gnarly bushes and trees from the fierce Antarctic winds:
The sign signaled that the annual Anzac Day would be celebrated in a week's time. It honors the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), which served at Gallipoli and in subsequent conflicts.
As we neared the Waipapā Lighthouse at the point of the same name, we understood how this bleak stretch of coastline challenges all living things. We read that the Māori continue to greatly cherish this area for its food-gathering sites, historical value as an occupation and landing place, and as a source of other natural resources. Waipapā Point also became known to European sealers, whalers, and seafarers who followed, sometimes at their own peril.
As the delivery of fresh supplies was uncertain, lighthouse keepers were expected to graze stock and grow vegetables on the lighthouse reserve. Though growing produce on the exposed, rabbit-infested headland was challenging, barrow loads of manure, bull kelp or seaweed, and shelter planting provided bountiful crops of lettuce, carrots, potatoes, etc.
Though the Marine Department made a sustained effort to modernize living conditions after World War II, incorporating recommendations from keepers' wives, most improvements didn't occur until the mid-1960s. A washhouse was only proved after one woman complained that it was "most trying to a woman's health to have to wash outside at such a bleak, cold place as this..."
We love seeing rainbows when we travel, but this was a very odd one.
Directions to the keeper's cottage led me to a forest glade where I spotted only a few foundation stones.
As we left the lighthouse, Steven remarked that he had driven pretty far out of the way so we could visit it!
Further east was the beachy settlement of Curio Bay, world-famous for its 180-million-year-old Jurassic fossil forest and rare marine wildlife.
As we knew from our experience at Queenstown's Kiwi Birdlife Park and the exhibit earlier in the day at Invercargill's Queens Park, the uniquely New Zealand tuatara was one of the few living relics to have survived from the Jurassic era when the forest formed.
On our way down to the petrified forest, we were again on the lookout for the yellow-eyed penguins. But, once again, we weren't lucky enough to see any. When hoihos molt from March until May, their old feathers are replaced by new glossy feathers, which make the penguins not waterproof. That renders them unable to forage, so they must stay on land to survive off their fat stores.
Photos of hoihos courtesy of the Department of Conservation:
Fewer than 300 pairs of the fourth-largest penguin species remain on mainland New Zealand. The rarest penguin in the world stands around 65cm and weighs about 5kg.
Before birds and flowering plants existed, a lush forest grew here 180 million years ago. Steady, heavy rain fell on nearby ash-covered volcanoes, creating rivers of mud, ash, and rocks. Scientists have been able to determine their rough age from the position and type of wood, the fossilized leaves, and by digging up nearby farmland where more fossil wood lay. They also found fossilized leaves that were related to the Norfolk pine. How fascinating it must have been to work like forensic investigators and create a scene that nobody has ever witnessed!
Years of pounding by the sea wore away the soil to reveal the fossilized tree stumps, all that remained of the Jurassic forest, that were fossilized by silica in the ash-filled floodwaters.
Unlike animal fossils, petrified wood is incredibly rare. They were preserved because silicification occurred within weeks or months after the flood, before decay had set in. Growth rings suggest a seasonal climate when the forest was standing. We peered closely to see the wood grain but still had difficulty, as we weren't sure exactly what to look for.
Scientists determined from stumps halfway up the cliff that there had been more than one flood here and that the forest had grown back between events.
Even if we didn't fully appreciate the petrified forest from the Jurassic era, seeing anything that old and rare was extremely special and humbling. Plus, the Golden Hour was a perfect time to take pictures.
Another path took us on a Penguin Walk. We were still holding out hope ...
A sign indicated we keep an eye out for a kororā or little blue penguin, the world’s smallest penguin, which is just over 25 cm and weighs about 1 kg.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Conservation:
We stared through the penguin blinds in the hope of seeing any type of penguin, but we saw none in the deep undergrowth, unfortunately.
The upside, however, was more lovely waterfront views.
There were no penguins for us that day, but at least we did see a New Zealand bellbird, also known as the korimako. The medium-sized honeyeater was endemic to New Zealand and known for its chiming, bell-like song.
We figured this was a trap for invasive species that cause harm to the penguins.
A short distance further east was the small settlement of Waikawa, where we were staying for the night. It was named by the Māori who frequented the area in search of food. The sea provided the only access until roads were formed through the heavy bush. Its earliest European settlers arrived in 1858 and built and operated a sawmill.
The first thing we noticed as we drove into the village was the former Waikawa St. Mary's Anglican Church, whose foundation stone was laid in 1930. The church was closed in 1994, likely because it required substantial repairs.
Across the street was the Waikawa Museum and Information Centre, which was originally a school before being converted into a museum. It featured a mural painted by local artist "Deow."
Out front, we found much clearer examples of a petrified forest, complete with tree rings that we'd looked for in vain at Curio Bay!
On a hill two minutes away from the museum and church was our rental accommodation for the night, Waikawa House, a three-bedroom home we had all to ourselves for just $125. Too bad, we hadn't planned on staying a few extra days to take advantage of the immense space, lovely garden, and surroundings.
No comments:
Post a Comment