South Island water

Wellington harbour at the start of our trip down to the South Island - our ferry backing in to the 'parking spot'.

About an hour out of Nelson there is a tiny little holiday spot - plenty of fishing boats and leisure launches - all of which need to be towed out to the sea! By a tractor no less! First time we've ever seen anything like it!

The inland lakes and fjords of the South Island are spectacular - not just for the surrounding mountains and countryside, but for the incredible colour of the water.

On a grey day, mist wafts over the bay while the surf washes in relentlessly.

These just demanded to be placed in the folder titled "photographs for painting"!

The beach at Timaru has white (well almost white) sand! Being on the other side of the island, the sand is not black, volcanic sand like in our part of the world.

From the mountain pass road, this 'extension of the sea' is really pretty.

It really does all look so idyllic.

This photograph was taken just before we were refused entry to the road to Nelson from Linkwater because the roads in the area had been closed overnight due to extremely heavy rain, resulting in 'slips' (landslides - usually down the mountainside and onto the road) and flooding. There were also a couple of huge trees down, making the road impassable. We travelled the road on the return trip and they were still busy with the clearing up operations.

If you scroll down on this blog, you will eventually come to a photograph of one of my paintings - a seascape of mountains and surf near Kaikoura.

This photograph is of that same beach
but taken from a different angle.

I really wanted to see if we could find that beach and so was delighted when we did, since it's not really signposted at all, being somewhat off the beaten track for beachgoers!

Dis al!