Curio Bay promised a lot, spectacular scenery, an awe-inspiring petrified forest, rare penguins and dolphins - it delivered on two out of four.
At this point in our journey I was slowly losing hope in seeing the ever elusive yellow-eyed penguins. It wasn't for the lack of trying. We spent one sunset staring over the rocky beach below waiting patiently for just one to waddle its way from the sea but no penguins were to be found. The next morning at sunrise we tried again, this time wandering down to the underwhelming petrified forest, standing shivering in the cold morning air waiting for the penguins to head out to sea to start their day. Ten minutes, twenty, after twenty-five minutes of nothing we gave up. Maybe we’re just not patient enough but there's only so much time I can spend looking at nothing on a small hope.
The non-existence of penguins aside, Curio Bay was stunning. The campground we stayed at, on the headland between Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay, had a path leading down to a curved white sanded bay on one side and views over a dramatic rocky seascape on the other. While Ben was fishing in Porpoise Bay a pod of Hectors dolphins came to visit, and although this made fishing pretty much impossible for Ben it was amazing to see how close they swam to the shore, swimming to and fro before leaping playfully in the surf. One man was brave enough to wade into the cold waters, where he was rewarded by the dolphins coming over to investigate. Happy to stay warmish and admire from afar I was content sitting on the beach watching.
Whilst driving from Curio Bay to our next campsite, we stopped at Cathedral Caves; a Maori owned site with a forest walk down to a private beach. It cost us ten dollars per person entry, and we only had a hour and half at the site before it closed to explore - it wasn’t that we arrived late, it’s that the caves themselves are tidal and it’s dangerous to go in once the tide was on the rise. It was a gentle thirty minute walk down a winding forest track to get to the wide open beach where the caves can be found. Off in the distance sat tall cliffs of towering jurassic sandstone, which over tens of thousands of years, the sea has carved dramatic thirty meter high caves into. Thirty meters doesn’t sound tall in theory, but after we walked across the blustery beach to stand at the entrance, the gouge into the rock seemed mammoth.
We entered the cave hopping around puddles of seawater that were already starting to form as the tide slowly made its way back in. The walls inside were jagged, layers and layers of rock, all stacked on top of each other showing the passing of years. The ceiling at the back of the cave seemed closer, not by much, but either the sea hadn’t carved out as much here or the sand had slowly accumulate over the years, making the area seem much more claustrophobic. After we passed the darkest part of the cave, light started to flood back in as we rounded a corner to the caves second, more impressive exit. With time running out we quickly marched our way back up through the forest, hoping to get back to the carpark before time ran out and our van was locked in.
From here, down a winding, juddering unpaved road, we came to one of my favourite camps in New Zealand, Purakaunui Bay Campsite. The “camp” itself wasn’t anything special, being a D.O.C campsite it was the bare essentials - a drop toilet and running water we couldn’t drink without boiling - but the location was simply beautiful.
From our small grassy hillock we had unimpeded views over the wide secluded bay, but shelter from the wind by the nearby bushes. In the afternoon the beach was visited by two impressively chunky sea lions, they waddled their way to shore for a nap before heading back to sea before the day ended. In the evening as pastel pinks and blues filled the horizon over the sea, we sat in the chill autumn air warmed by our roaring camp fire, eating the fat wrasse that Ben had caught for dinner and soaking in the view. It was idyllic and special and we would have stayed far longer than the two days we did, if only we weren’t slowly running out of food and water. The nearest shop was a forty minute drive away, it was sadly time to leave.
We didn’t really have plans to stay at Kaka Point campsite but as we drove past the strange, isolated and empty campsite we did choose we didn’t get the best vibe - I don’t know what it was, but we were thankful we hadn’t pre-booked. Kaka Point was near by to our activity of the day and had an amusing (yes, we really are that childish) name so it would have to do. The real reason we’d headed to this area was for another chance at spotting the yellow-eyed penguins, but sunset was hours away so we headed further up the peninsular towards Nugget-point lighthouse.
A narrow, cliff hugging gravel walkway led down to a small isolated lighthouse almost entirely surrounded by water, the sea beyond was scattered with rocks that thrust picturesquely out of the crystal blue waters. It was a breathtaking walk, and the views only got better as we neared the lighthouse with its panoramic views.
Roaring Bay penguin and seal observatory was barely a one minute drive from the carpark for Nugget point. The hide itself which looks over the bay was a five minute walk meandering down the hillside towards the beach. It was popular spot and the hide quickly filled up and once all the spaces at the viewing window were full people decided to go and sit on the hillside surrounding the hide… which defeated the whole point in my opinion.
As it was our last chance to see yellowed eyed penguins in the wild we waited an entire hour and a half and in that time not a single penguin appeared. There was an exiting moment when a sea lion decided to arrive, but that wasn’t what we were there for. I couldn’t help but be annoyed at everyone who decided to sit outside, I’m not saying they were the reason for a penguin no-show but there were plenty of signs inside that stated that these rare and shy animals don’t normally appear when they can see people, so they probably didn’t help.
So we didn’t get to tick these penguins off our list, but in the hunt for them we did see some of the most spectacular views and visit some really special places.
Trip date : April 2023
Next up : Dunedin
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