Last year, when we went to Charleston for our anniversary getaway, we went to Cape Foulwind to walk to the lighthouse. It was raining, though, so after we sat in the car for awhile waiting for the shower to stop, we went on to where it wasn’t raining. This year, when we got there, the weather was dry and lovely, so we walked to the lighthouse and on beyond.
Most of the trees around the Cape are stunted from the constant wind and salt spray, but this larger one stands out.
The Cape Foulwind lighthouse.
Looking down from the base of the lighthouse. That concrete structure is apparently the base of an older lighthouse.
We walked along the top of the cliffs on a very nice, well-maintained track for a quarter of an hour or so. Then, my adventurous husband decided he wanted to get down to sea level and find the old railway bed that a sign had mentioned! So, he found a track down the cliff and we scrambled down. In most places, we couldn’t see where the railway had been, but we got to see this seal, who headed out to sea at sight of us.
We walked along the beach until our way was blocked by these huge boulders. I stayed on the ground, but Gayle climbed up to have a look at what lay beyond. Guess what? More sandy beach! The railway bed is visible just to the left, at the top of the rocks.
This rock, with its few brave bushes clinging on, is just offshore.
When we walked back toward the beginning of the track, we saw this place, where the railroad went through a cut. There was a quarry somewhere around here. We aren’t sure, but we’re guessing it was a granite quarry, because of the huge amounts of broken granite that line the shore.
This area seemed to be a dumping ground for rocks and dirt.
When we arrived back at the car, this cheeky weka wanted to get in with us, or mooch something.
We went on to Westport, and after turning around and backtracking, found our way to the south side of the mouth of the Buller River. This is the view looking south from there, and the lighthouse on the south breakwall.
New Zealand looks like a beautiful place to explore!
It is! There is so much variety. The sea, mountains, rivers–all in close proximity. Just from where I milk our cows, I can look across a river valley to a range of low mountains, and up another valley to another range of higher mountains that often have snow on them in the winter. At the coast, the mountains often meet the sea. What a beautiful scene!