The weather was wet, rough and blowing a gale during our second day at Cape Palliser, no gathering outside for us. After lunch things started to improve so we headed off to Ngawi, a small fishing village just a short way up the road. Ngawi has more bulldozers per capita than anywhere else, we read. The bulldozers are used to haul fishing boats into and out of the water as there is no wharf or other access to the ocean other than the beach, which can be notoriously rough. Ngawi is known for its exposed climate, its intense and prolonged wind and the fact that there are almost no trees nearby. The weather can be extremely hot in summer. We parked on the shingle and went to check them out, beside the shiny red bulldozer dwarfing our car.
Bulldozers and fishing boats on Ngawi Beach
It was a few kms up the road to see Cape Palliser Lighthouse, perched high on a cliff, and owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. The lighthouse was built in 1897 and was originally fueled by oil. Several changes were made over the years, the oil lamp was replaced with an electric one powered by a local diesel generator, later replaced by a connection to the mains grid in 1967, and the light was fully automated in 1986 and is now managed from a control room in Wellington.
Cape Palliser Lighthouse
The base of the lighthouse is reached by climbing a staircase with 258 steps, up a 58 metre cliff. The staircase was built in 1912, and replaced a dangerous dirt track. We decided not to climb the stairs this time, although we certainly did on our last visit here. There were a couple of brave souls climbing very slowly down the steps, we noticed, perhaps they were having knee problems too?
The steps up to the lighthouse
There is a large fur seal colony in residence at the cape with the breeding season from mid-November to mid-January. We saw seals on the rocks, and laying about, looking fat and contented, on the grassy shore.
New Zealand Fur Seals
This sign certainly piqued our interest- wonder where the house owner got it from? We are sure there is no ice on this shore, falling or otherwise!
Sign at the beach
Our trip to the end of the road to see the sights certainly blew the cobwebs away. Then it was time to head back to camp and put the kettle on and warm up with a hot drink – this area has rather bracing conditions!
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