Exploring Along Gillespie’s Beach
Monday 28 September
After the best sunset, a rather dull sunrise - followed by a cloudy, rainy morning. Blue light around dawn - and misty spray off the pounding waves - but this soon turned monochrome. However this didn't put off our neighbouring moho’s family who were out having fun on the beach regardless.
We got on with admin and blogging until lunchtime when we had expected the weather to improve according to our forecasts, but it took its time! At 2ish we wrapped up in raincoats and set off in search of finer weather and the miners tunnel which was a kilometre or so beyond where we’d walked to yesterday.
We’d found the sun and by 2.30 were walking in T-shirts and were muttering about how we should have worn shorts! We’d followed the path to the bucket dredge, detoured along the beach and turned inland at the creek estuary. DOC have erected a very cool bridge to cross the meeting of the creeks just inland from the end of the beach. We crossed this bridge northwards - looking up from the bridge - that headland in the middle looks like it had slipped away from the rest of the cliffs during the tectonic uplift way way back - quite fascinating.
We started climbing a gentle slope behind the sea cliffs for around a kilometre until we came abruptly to the miners tunnel - and the light at the end of it!
Back in the day, there was no road access and the creeks often flooded, so they cut a tunnel through the cliff to access the next bay and head north on the coast to Whataroa. Today you’d need to abseil down to that bay, but the tunnel and a view point remain. Very cool!
Back at the creek estuary we watched the push & pull of the waters - the tide had just turned, but was battling to flow upstream against the tannin rich creek waters flowing out to sea - it was a fun battle to watch as waves buffeted each other! In the photo montage above, the creek is pushing through to the right, but the sea is fighting back on the left; in the lower image of the montage, the force of the waters is causing arrowhead shaped waves as the sea tries to beat its way up the inlet.
The wind did its best to prevent us returning to Banjo (again), and caused a lot of windspray waves to buffet the sand, but we made it back and settled in for an early dinner before popping out (a tad late) to watch sunset… blink, and we almost missed it!
I had rummaged in the freezer last night and pulled out the biggest chook breast EVER - it was massive! Bigger than my handspan! Concocted a big pesto chicken dish for dinner and it filled the whole frying pan!
Louis tried to capture the sunset on time lapse but got around 5 seconds worth of film before the clouds swallowed the golden sun! Better luck next time!
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