Exploring coastal Otago

Friday 23 June
The Butterfly House has always been something we have wanted to see so we decided this would be what we would see in Dunedin before having lunch with Michael and Sharon. What an amazing place this is. Even for just adults though seeing it through the eyes of a child would be even more amazing. More information can be found at this link: http://www.otagomuseum.govt.nz/discovery_world_tropical_forest.html

It was great to meet up with Mike and Sharon for lunch and even better that Mike had an account at the cafe, which was just along from his office.
We headed out of Dunedin and travelled over the motorway and turned at Evansdale to follow the coastal route around to Karitane.  There we found the perfect spot to pull over, boil the billy and have a cuppa while looking out over the estuary and its  picture perfect view. The coastal trip is definitely a road trip to take if you ever have time though I wouldn't mind a $1 for every time we crossed a railway crossing.
Next stop was Goodwood where we were stopping over with family. Stephen's cousin Sheryl and her husband Mark, live there on their 200 acre property. It was a lovely evening reconnecting with family and we left with promises of returning again in the not too distant future.

The late afternoon sun across the estuary at Karitane.

 Saturday 24 June
Kakanui was our next destination but with a detour or two. We turned at Palmerston and travelled through Trotters Gorge. A little bit of homework for future reference saw us do a short walk into a DOC camp site. It looked good but was definitely a summer camping spot. Something to mark in the book for another time.  Moeraki Boulders is another place we frequently sail passed so we pulled in and did a walk out onto the beach to have a look at these remarkable geological features. I couldn't resist climbing onto one of them.
Hampton seemed like a good spot for a bite of lunch and the day was unbelieveable for a late June day. We found a picnic spot on the foreshore and were able to sit outside at a picnic table to enjoy our lunch.
Kakanui is a place I remember from my childhood and I was keen to return. We found a campsite run by the ratepayers and parked in their park high above the beach. A foraging trip along the beach yeilded enough firewood to keep the fire going for the evening.