We just spent the last three days in the Catlins at the bottom of the South Island. Our accommodation was this beach house in the remote town of Papatowai.
Just down the street was this beautiful beach where the coastal rain forest meets the sea.
Yesterday we put on our gumboots and spent the day at a 1,400-acre farm which has llamas, guanacos, cows, sheep and even yaks. Thickthorne Llamas owner Janette Buckingham gave us a tour of the property and showed us some of the clothing she creates with her animals fiber.
Janette first got a small herd of guanacos almost 20 years ago to spin their fiber and make clothing out of it. She soon found, however, there wasn't much variation in the guanacos brown coat. Hence llamas.
About five years ago Janette and her daughter, who lives in Australia, started a clothing line called The Valley Beyond (www.thevalleybeyond.com). They sell most of their handmade clothing to customers visiting the farm, but they've recently been contacted by a woman in Rome about potentially selling their products in Italy.
We took a break from the farm to drive down to Slope Point at the very bottom of the South Island. It was there, within the windswept trees and rough seas, Amber found this baby polar bear that had washed to shore.
To get to Slope Point we drove down a long gravel road as the sun was setting, arriving just in time to have the whole place to ourselves.
Today we took a scenic drive up to Queenstown, a touristy spot that bills itself as the adventure capital of the world. As we checked into our hotel there were people falling above us in parachutes.
But who needs to bungee jump or skydive when you have Ediza Rose? Try eating out at a restaurant with her, as we did this evening -- that's a true adventure.
1 comment:
That's the cutest polar bear ever anywhere! Amber~how's the Polar bear adjusting to New Zealand life?
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