Day 30: Farewell Spit and Wharungi Beach Part 1

We've been staying with Wendy and Carol a few days now, and I think they like us.  They decided that, because the weather was nice, we'd go for a tour of the Golden Bay.  Specifically, they wanted to show us the Farewell Spit, a massive sandbar that forms a sickle shaped barrier on the north side of the bay, and protects it from the typically wild West Coast weather.

We are just outside of Collingwood, a tiny burb of maybe 200 people that at one time was going to be the capital of New Zealand.  I don't know where they would build such a place, since Collingwood is just a sliver of land on the beach.  Pretty, though.

The chocolates looked amazing, but were expensive, and no one was there to take our money, anyway.

Here we are, at the Farewell Spit Cafe, looking out at the beginning of the spit.  Carol is standing, and Wendy is in front.

Here's a better picture of them.

We then drove to a trail head that led to Wharariki Beach.  It's known for wildlife watching, and we weren't disappointed.  When we got there, a peacock was just hanging out right by the start of the walk.  It even put on a show for us.

The rolling hills of New Zealand.  We've been seeing lots of cows recently, but this landscape was mainly sheep pastures.  Hence the perfectly manicured green grass.

There they are!

They're pretty cute, even up close.  I want a pet lamb, now.

I haven't seen them again, but these flowers look somewhat lupine like.

After a half hour walk, we made it to the beach.  The dunes were all at least 20 ft. tall, and the sand was pretty soft.  But amazing.  I've got more pictures, so I'll post them tomorrow in part 2.