Cape Palliser

Okay folks... stick with me here.  On the very most southern tip of the North Island is Cape Palliser which is little more than lighthouse and a set up steps.  But on the plus side it is one of the permanent seal colonies on the island.  These are bachelor colonies so there's no female seals to fight over and no pups to protect.  These seals are lazy, fat, and sleepy.

The drive out to the cape is about 2.5 hours from my house.  The most challenging bit is the hop over the Rimutaka's.  This zig-zaggy pass over the mountains is always sure to induce at least one car-sick casualty.  If  you were to compare the distance from my house to the cape you might be beguiled by the mere 60 mile journey.  But the slow mountain pass and general lack of direct routes to anything make short distances still take a good while.

At one point we had to drive over an area signed as "Active Slip Area" where the road had obviously washed out.  The road on the right side disappeared in to the rocky surf and the road on the left was a steep wall of gravel and silt.  Nothing about it was confidence inspiring.

I got a few pictures of the lighthouse, stairs and the seals.  I didn't stop to take pictures of the road--although on retrospect I should have.

The point is quite isolated.  This sensation is increasingly becoming part of my image of New Zealand.  It is very easy to round a few bends and then feel like you're at the end of the world--and I guess you sort of are.  I just forget that I live here.  A big surprise was that my oldest son, Chandler, who had a tendency to not be a joiner, decided to climb the steps with me and Gabe.  I actually wasn't going to tackle the steps but I went along.  My legs are still complaining about this decision.  However, the view was pretty awesome.