A weekend on the east coast

We were fortunate enough to be invited by friends to Moeraki on the weekend.

I've been craving the coast since I left Australia and haven't seen the beach in 4 months. This may not feel a lot for some but since I would be at the beach almost every month even during winter it's been a while.

Moeraki, Hampden and Omarau are all above Dunedin and sit in the Waitaki District in Northern Otago. It's about a 3-4 hour drive from Queenstown, depending where you drive, and the trip takes you through some very quaint historic towns. We stayed in Hampden, a 5 minute drive from Moeraki.

The drawcard for Moeraki is the Moeraki Boulders which are found on the Koekohe beach between Moeraki and Hampden. The boulders are perfectly round and at low tide you can appreciate how strange they these formations are.

I thought that these would just be some gimmick but the boulders are actually really cool. It's insane to think these giant perfect rocks have just landed on the beach. There is a fair bit of erosion on the surrounding cliffs and every now and then one falls onto the beach. I wonder how many are in the ground still waiting to be uncovered.

The beach is free if you park in the DOC carpark but if you go to the visitor centre you may get charged to use their stairs down to the beach ($2), it was a weird sting we accidentally managed to avoid.

I'd suggest low tide to see them, so you can climb on them if you are so inclined, sometimes there are sea lions on the beach so that may be a cool addition to your photos.

If you go into Moeraki itself it's a quaint town, the main feature being the jetty and "the fishwife" which serves the freshest fish and chips. It's just had a revamp and looks really cool. Currently Fleurs, the highly rated restaurant in Moeraki, has been closed until further notice, another victim of COVID-19. Driving out to the end of the point you can walk the "Millennial Walk" which will take you out to the beach.

I didn't realise but Moeraki has a huge seal and sea lion population, we accidentally got too close to one not realising it wasn't a rock which scared the living daylights out of me. They also stink, terribly, but hey, we all have flaws.

The ones on the rocks are cuter and less aggressive. You should always give them a wide berth. There was some babies around hiding in the rocks, was worth climbing around for a look.

The one pictured on the beach is the fiend that scared me. The first photo is a cheeky baby.

You can dive in this area for Paua however there is a 3 catch limit and you have to contend with seals and weed. Dave managed to cut his finger open and Amber lost a flipper, between the three of them only managed to collect 5 over sized Paua. It wasn't a winning day (however they were DELICIOUS, Amber has a great recipe) but it's better than nothing. People also fish for blue cod off the rocks, again you're competing with the seals in the water.

I want to return some time and see the penguins come in at night which can be viewed near the lighthouse. All along this section of the coast is the yellow eyed penguins homes which return at night to their nests similar to Phillip Islands little penguins in Australia.

It's not a big town, it hasn't got a raging nightlife and you'd have to like long walks on the beach and sea food. I loved it because we were with good friends and I've missed the beach, if you're looking for a relaxing weekend enjoying the simple things it was worth every minute.