One Monday afternoon a few weeks ago, we needed to be out of the house for awhile because our landlady was showing a potential buyer through the house. We decided to go out to Port Robinson; a few weeks before that date, Gayle had taken Mr. Diligence out for a picnic and fun time together, and they discovered the trail leading down to the old harbor. The rest of us wanted to see it, too, so we went there on that beautiful, sunny afternoon.
The path down to the beach parallels the old slipway for awhile. It’s pretty overgrown.
Gore Bay from the trail.
Port Robinson
This is what’s left of the bottom of the slipway. Approximately 120 years ago, the way I understand, this was about the only way to get goods in and out of Cheviot. They had a surfboat which they lowered down the slipway from the top of the cliff and out into the bay to where ships would anchor, to ship wool out. Supplies were brought back up in the surfboat with a winch.
Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Sweetie
That red blob is a sea anemone.
I was intrigued by the swirls in some of the rocks.
When we saw this flock of seagulls feeding just offshore, we wished we had brought our fishing poles! There would have been big fish there, too, feeding on a school of small ones.
There are two paua, known in California as abalone, in this picture. Can you find them?
We enjoyed finding these two large starfish!
Mr. Diligence was fascinated by the way the starfish held on to him.
Mr. Sweetie
Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Sweetie, with Mr. Imagination in the foreground.
We even got to see a jellyfish!
Another starfish!
When it was flipped over, we discovered that it was feeding! A couple of the children were able to see its stomach being sucked back inside after it let go of the snail.
This was a very fun afternoon—don’t tell the children it was a field trip! We ended our time with a stop at Gore Bay to play in the water for 15 minutes. I’m so glad I didn’t twist my ankle until after this trip and the one to Hurunui Mouth several days later.
