Tuesday, January 29 Cape Palliser to Wellington

     We packed up camp and headed out to the Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of land on the North Island. The shoreline has a nice mix of sand, birds, and seals, and out in the water we could see lobster trap buoys floating a few hundred meters offshore.

Our campsite was in a valley with badlands formations

This being New Zealand, we did pass a few sheep along the way.

The drive along Cape Palliser

Looking southwest we could see South Island

We'll be crossing Cook Strait in a couple days ...

... but for now, let's see if we can spot any seals.

There's one sunning himself on the rocks

"If you're not going to throw me some fish,
just leave me alone."

After pestering the seals for awhile, we drove to the tiny town of Ngawi.
The residents set traps for lobsters in the waters off the coast, launching
their boats right from the beach.  There are plenty of old bulldozers here
whose only job is to back the boat trailers into the water, then retrieve them
when they return.

After years of hard work on roads, mines and other contructions sites,
the old Caterpillars, Cases,  Komatsus, and Mitsubishis,  only have to make the
 50 meter journey along the beach twice a day.  Not a bad retirement ...

... although a few seem none to happy with their new paint jobs.

Then, up the stairs to look at the lighthouse.

There are 252 steps to the top

No, the wind wasn't blowing all that hard,
it's just a goofy pose.

Remind anyone of a Salvador Dali painting?

It was a nice day at the cape.  Now back to town to get the van repaired.

     We drove back to the same campground we'd been staying at for the past week or so, I made lamb stew for dinner, and we went to bed.