Happy birthday Matthias!

Glacier Country to UNESCO World Heritage Area

I was still in Glacier Country, southbound first on the World Heritage Highway, then on the Haast Pass Highway. Like two days ago, the day started dry and got wetter by the hour.

At Bruce Bay I made three major stops, the first was Moeraki, the second Knights Point, the third Ship Creek. The area has UNESCO World Heritage status, which recognises this region as harbouring New Zealand’s most spectacular mountains-to-sea landscapes, including their ancient fiords, lakes, peaks and valleys, their rocks, flora and fauna. Today I wanted to see some more of that fauna. I was in prime territory for encountering Hector’s dolphins, Fiordland Crested penguins, and Fur seals.

And sure enough, on the Dune Lake walk at Ship Creek I spotted dolphins playing, leaping, and looping near the beach. Sadly no penguins, no seals. I stuck around on the beach for as long as I could before getting too wet – yes, it had started to rain again!

To Jackson Bay

Nonetheless, I continued southward along the coast, toward Jackson Head. For the last 10km stretch, stopping on either side of the road was not allowed due to the danger of rocks falling and land sliding. So I turned around and headed for my hotel in Haast.