The Catlins...

So two weekends ago (March 5th-7th) I got to explore a coastal, rainforest-like area called the Catlins. Basically, the Catlins is a bunch of nature-awesomeness that is all conveniently concentrated in the southeasternmost corner of the South Island. And since we love nature, we (Paul, Tim, Mackenzie, Liz, Alan, Mike, Jenny, and I) departed North Dunedin Friday morning in Serena and headed off to the Catlins. (It took longer to get there because we got lost slash ended up in Gore slash took a more scenic route because we were not in any rush, yay for seeing more of New Zealand!)

And what did we do during our weekend in the Catlins? Well...

When we arrived Friday afternoon in the general region, we checked out Waipapa Point which was SWELL because Waipapa Point = lighthouse, ocean waves, tidepools, seaweed, seashells, sea creatures. Also, good story... Paul was sitting on a rock on the oceanside-edge of the tidepool when he got totally decked by this huge wave. Like you saw Paul on the rock. You saw the wave hit the rock. And then Paul just DISAPPEARS. Yeah, just like that... He landed on some smaller rocks that make up the tidepools so he got cut up a bit but, no worries, other than that he's totally fine (meaning that it's pretty hilarious/ridiculous/amusing).

After Waipapa Point, we made some lunch and then headed over to Slope Point... which is the southernmost point of the South Island. (Some parts of the South Island are referred to as the "Deep South." This is amusing because New Zealand is not Alabama/Texas/Georgia/etc.) Honestly, Slope Point was pretty rad... probably just because cliffs/being high up + the Pacific Ocean is just a really really REALLY GREAT combination of things.

After Slope Point, I was getting really tired (I was really sleepy and tired all weekend - I think it's because we were driving around so much...) and so was everyone else. So we found a spot at Curio Bay to camp for the night. (P.S. falling asleep + listening to the ocean is another Really Great combination) After dinner, we watched to moon rise over the ocean and Tim played the guitar for everyone. This was So Good and the moon was really cool... it was all red at first and then it rose higher and higher over the horizon and it lightened up to orange, and then yellow, and then white. I had never seen the moon rise over the ocean before. It Was Super Neat. It was as if the moon was slowly wiping out all the stars in the sky.

Got up for the sunrise the next morning (Saturday morning), ate some breakfast, packed up Serena, and headed over to McLean Falls... which we preceded to climb up. Essentially, we were hanging over a 72 foot waterfall. It was HUGE. After that, we went to Cathedral Caves... these were really really really neat. To get to the actual cave-area, you have to hike through the rainforest and then you walk along the beach until the caves appear. Going through the different caves was all pretty nuts (plus only two of us had flashlights) and then, penguins appear Out Of Nowhere. They were really little and super scared of us, but seeing them was so UNEXPECTED and it just blew my mind and they were really cute. After exploring the caves, we just messed around on the beach for a bit and eventually headed back into the rainforest... and back to the car... and then to another little rainforest... where we checked out another waterfall. I was SuperSuper Tired at this point, but Alan/Tim taught me/us a cool little trick to use when photographing waterfalls, etc. so That Was Neat.

After that... we found a place to camp for the night, made some pasta for dinner, played some catchphrase, and then everyone just chilled hardcore until it was bedtime. The next morning everyone - except for Paul - missed the sunrise, but we got to look at his pictures that he took by the water and they looked marvelous. After breakfast and such, we went to check out Jack's Blowhole. Pretty nuts to be honest. Because there's the ocean. And then there are the cliffs by the ocean. AND THEN there's a gigantic hole in the middle of these cliffs. And inside this gigantic hole is the ocean. The Ocean is the coolest. Yay for nature. And tides. And erosion.

After Jack's Blowhole, we went to Nugget Point. It was awesome. We were so high up -- like walking along the side of a mountain with the ocean (and sea lions) down below. When you stand at the tip of Nugget Point, it's as if you're standing on the very edge of the world (...I dunno, I think you'd have to be there to fully understand what I'm talking about... but that's the best way I can describe it right now).

So after seeing all these cool sights, we had some lunch on the beach nearby and I found some real pretty seashells :) And after that little break, we all headed back to our homes in Dunedin.

Good times/good weekend. After I got home and showered, etc... I went over to Tim's because it was his birthday. Ate some delicious tacos/guacamole/fries and was just hanging out.... So for some randomness: Tim's Kiwihost is Tamati. The first time I met Tamati, he asked if I was Indian. And I was like No, Sorry. I'm half Filipino.... The second time I saw Tamati, he asked if I was Indian. And I was like No, I'm just half Filipino... So on Tim's Birthday, I saw Tamati for THE THIRD TIME and he asked if I could speak "Filipinese." SO RIDICULOUS. So I kinda laughed and told him didn't know much Filipino/Tagalog... so yeahhh... but DUDE, Filipinese???? ....Seriously?

Anyway, the rest of last week was pretty much just schoolwork and sleep-deprivation (and some hanging out with friends). And then I left for Hamilton/Hunua Ranges/my volunteer weekend on Friday (March 12th) and I just got back tonight/Monday (March 15th). But its late and I have class tomorrow... so even though Hunua Ranges was Quite The Adventure, it will have to wait until next time.