(David) The night was quite cold and the wind blew under our tent. I felt it blowing right onto an exposed patch of my body; one where the sleeping bag appeared to have no effective covering.  Adjustments to clothing mostly sorted this and eventually we both slept well – or fairly well at least.  We woke, ambled into the hut and were greeted by tea, coffee and breakfast!  We could get used to being catered for.

After breakfast we packed up and ambled down the mountain.  I have been resistant to out and back walks in the past but we have done quite a few this holiday and my resistance is crumbling.  The views are different going the other way, the weather is different and we see the mountains at a different time of the day.  It was a delightful hour plod down the hill, with great views of the lake and then back to the minibus.

We had a bit of free time at Lake Rotoiti again. We and saw again the long finned eels around the jetty and read about their incredible lifecycle.  The eels can live up to 100 years of age and only spawn once in their lifetime. Before spawning they leave the lake and head to the Pacific and swim 1000s of miles to near to Tonga where they mate, spawn and die.  The baby eels spend 7-10 months drifting back to New Zealand on the ocean currents and as they develop, swim upstream to the lake.

Leaving the lake we had  another (tedious) drive of a few hours, heading to the west coast, where we reached the wonderfully named “Cape Foulwind”.  We were booked into mini-cabins at this seaside resort.  The area was a former quarrying centre where granite was discovered as part of the cliffs, and so these were blasted away to make roads and the like during the C19 and early C20. 

The stone was used in a concrete plant which operated here as late as 2016, but there is no evidence of the plant now.  Instead, there is a coastal area with some modern (expensive looking) houses probably being second homes for Christchurch’s elite.  We walked along the road and then joined a cliff walk at a lighthouse.  It was a great walk for a couple of hours to see a seal colony.  In typical DOC style, the path was well marked with barriers and signs preventing anyone being tempted to go too close to the cliffs. 

This was the Tasman Sea, with waves rolling in every few seconds.  It was a peaceful, sunny afternoon but the storms here must be impressive. 

The seals were New Zealand fur seals (known as kekeno in maori).  They were lolloping about on the rocks, having an occasional spat and then gliding into the sea. 

We ambled back to the accommodation feeling we had had a good day.