Saturday was a stay inside away from the howling wind and constant damp kind of day. We got some baking done and a few other things around the house but didn’t really get any fresh air. Thankfully Sunday was calm and dry so we headed out mid-morning to the Wellington South Coast for a walk to Red Rocks.
There were lots of people out along the coast walking or cycling and with a slight breeze and high cloud it was perfect walking conditions. Alayna loved her first view of the rugged coastline and spent a lot of time checking out the tall cliffs and crashing surf. The sun burnt through the cloud as we wandered the coastline leaving us warm but not too warm.
We found some birdlife to check out; three pied shags resting on a rocky outcrop, oystercatchers flying and walking along the shoreline and constant seagulls passing back and forth in search of food. We also heard our first cicadas since last summer, a sure sign of a beautiful and sunny day.
Alayna was getting tired by the time we got to the volcanic russet stone of Red Rocks so we turned around rather than see if there were any seals further up the coast (there wouldn’t be many as the season had finished).
The trip back was good with many more people seen, kids climbing up talk rock stacks and lots more mountain bikers passing in both directions. There was also the regular buzz of a helicopter flying past taking punters on short flights from the nearby Owhero Bay School Fair. I stopped a few times to get some shots of the textures and colour found around the path. This wild coastline may have been timid on this mild day but it was still spectacular in scale, all we were missing was dolphins or even a whale or two to make it a perfect little walk.
