Irrigation rigs like this one keep the pasture lush for the cattle, although in this case a crop is being watered.
Every now and then you come across interesting phenomena such as these peculiar weathered sandstone rocks known as the 'Elephant Rocks.'
Or these perfectly spherical boulders at Moeraki, which have not been formed by erosion in the sea but have grown like an oyster with lime deposits from the water building around a seed. This seed is often a dead turtle or piece of wood which will be found fossilised in the middle of the boulder.
The lighthouse at Nugget Point.
And the 'Nuggets' below which it ensures shipping stays clear of.
Curio Bay is an interesting place with a petrified forest on the beach and home to the rare Yellow Eyed penguin.
A petrified tree trunk. (Take my word for it)
We spent a while exploring the beach but the Yellow Eyed penguin was nowhere to be seen. Then Fran caught a brief glimpse of one in the bushes at the top of the beach so we decided to sit quietly in a hollow in a rock and wait for it to re-appear. There were very clear signs around the beach instructing people never to go nearer to a penguin than 2 metres so we had ensured we kept our distance from the bushes.
We waited and waited but nothing happened and I was reminded of a documentary I had seen about the incredible patience of the wildlife film crews who work on David Attenborough's programs. While we were sitting there focused on the bushes with our backs to the sea we became aware of a person waiving to us. We politely waved back but their waving seemed to intensify with the addition of some pointing. We were a little bemused and casually looked round only to see a Yellow Eyed penguin standing about a metre behind us. He seemed quite calm but it gave us a start, and we were very aware we had broken the 2 metre rule. We hastily retreated out of his way and he continued up the beach and into the bushes. It is unlikely David Attenborough will be requiring our services in the near future.
Returning home to his wife.
We stayed the night in a Department of Conservation (DOC) camp site just above the beach and looking out over the bay you could see Hector's Dolphins darting gracefully in and out of the water quite close to the beach. There were also warning signs about Sea Lions which we did not take too seriously.
We decided to go for a walk in the evening and as I was locking the van door I heard a shout from Fran, who had gone ahead, and she came running back round the corner in quite an agitated state. Before I could enquire what on earth was going on an enormous, snorting sea lion came lurching round the corner in hot pursuit. I reckon I had the door unlocked and we were both back in the van in about a tenth of a second.
This was what came round the corner at high speed and snorting in a most aggressive manner.
He is beginning to calm down.
Quite a little crowd gathered around our van as he began to calm down, lead by a dishvelled and shaken young german tourist who had been confronted by the sea lion as he came out of the shower.
. 
Much calmer now.
Something had obviously spooked him, being confronted by a german tourist coming out of the shower would probably do it, but when he had calmed down he made his way slowly across the camp site and back to the sea. His progress was followed by a man from the DOC with a portable warning sign which he kept picking up and placing down again in order to inform our little crowd, who were also following, that this animal could be dangerous! Hilarious but true.
The man from the DOC has done his duty!
The excitement is over and the sun sets serenely over the bay.
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