Deb's birthday today, would be rude to say how old she is though, so I'll keep that one to myself! Well too date the weather had been great and then just when Deb wanted the sun, we got rain, lots and lots of rain! Until mid-day that is and then it cleared a little. Consequently, as we had been travelling and from the bad weather we decided to re-schedule Deb's birthday for tomorrow instead! The weather should clear and we're of to see the Blue penguins at Oamaru, the smallest penguins in the world. Deb was hoping we would have time to stop by the beach where we saw the yellow eyed penguin last year, I said not to hold her hopes high, it had probably been eaten by a great white shark!#!There is one benefit to all the rain, it tops the rivers up and makes the waterfalls look good! Selfish sod I am, Deb was having a miserable birthday from the rain, I was having a great one at the thought of the photo opportunities. They do say every cloud has a silver lining and today these clouds were going to be a silver halide opportunity - well not strictly true as I'm using digital equipment!!!The area we were going through today, The Catlins, has a large number of waterfalls all within easy walking distance from the roadside. So the plan was to take a steady drive along the Southern Scenic Route from Invercargill up to Dunedin stopping off to check out the waterfalls as we passed. We had to take a pass on a couple as they would have added too much time to the journey. The Catlins are a beautiful area, even in the rain, you could easily spend a lifetime exploring and photographing this area alone.Where the rain was too heavy Deb elected to stay put in the car, the thought of her hair curling from the moisture gave her goose pimples! Rain or not I headed off into the forests to see what I could find and was pleased to find the recent rain had swollen the rivers enough to make the waterfalls look good. We must look a funny pair to other people, I don't mean the height difference! Whenever we turn up somewhere photogenic, there's me with all my gear taking ages to line everything up, then there's Deb who pulls out her camera from the handbag and rattles of a few shots before I've even started - then ribs me as to why I'm taking so long ;o)We found a nice little cafe tucked away in the middle of nowhere for lunch and then headed up to Dunedin. We're staying in the motel we used last year, Deb liked the creature comforts it had, so we rebooked. Arrived at the motel, settled in within 2 minutes, quick run to the supermarket and wash and scrub up to head out for a meal. We've got this down to a tee now! After the meal I fired up the laptop and set Deb up with a MSN video call back home to her Mum & Dad.Agenda for tomorrow is to have a lay in, stroll down to the art gallery via a few shops no doubt, coffee and lunch then to take a drive up the coast to see the penguins. We'll head past the Moeraki boulders on the way up the coast, which we saw last year but again the weather was miserable as well then so I didn't get any decent shots. Although I won't get the atmosphere of dawn or dusk, all being well there should at least be a fluffy cloud or two bobbing around in the sky to liven things up a bit....P.S. Deb says a big thanks to everyone who gave her cards and the luggage friendly gifts for her birthday. She'll thank you personally when she gets back.Photo: Lower section of McLean Falls, Catlins, NZ (Joe)
No comments:
Post a Comment