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Sunday, February 07, 2010

Road Trip

We're off on a road trip in a few days. My daughter has a visitor from the UK, and we thought it would be good to show here some of the South Island besides Christchurch. So we are heading for the West Coast in hopes of seeing some of the spectacular scenery (glaciers, rainforest etc) through the famed West Coast rain. It seems that it doesn't matter which country you are in - New Zealand, Scotland, the US - it rains on the west coast.

In the meantime it seemed fitting that Carmi's topic for Thematic Photographic this week is On the Road. Obviously I have no photos of the west coast yet, so here is one from our last road trip in the far north of the country. And yes, this is a legal road. The remains of a car buried by sand show what happens if you don't check the tides before setting out.



For those not in the know, the beach is Ninety Mile Beach, which is actually 55 miles long.

6 comments:

Pip said...

Catherine, there was an item on the news a few nights back about how the current weather pattern has led to a larger than usual number of rain-free days, so you might be in luck. I love that part of the country so I'm totally envious!

carmilevy said...

I love beaches that don't follow the overbuilt North American norm, that remind us that nature decides how the seashore will play out.

I'm so pleased you're getting some time to experience the coast in all its diverse glory (glaciers AND rain forest? Cool!) and can't wait to see what you come home with. Your camera's memory cards are lucky indeed!

Peg Cherre said...

Great shot. I'm glad you told me what it was, 'cuz I couldn't have interpreted it correctly. In fact, I can't really identify where the road ends and the roadside begins.

We don't have anything like that in my area - we're dominated by hills & trees. No sand, and very small stretches of open area.

Enjoy your vaca!

Catherine said...

Peg, the beach *is* the official road. It begins at the sea and ends at the dunes where it is too rough to drive.

Glennis said...

Oh, my. That's a car?

We used to go to Long Beach Peninsula in Southwest Washington State where you can drive on the hard-packed sand, but the signs always caution you not to drive too close to the waves and the wet sand, or you'll get stuck. When we went and my husband drove along the sand, I'd be terrified we'd get into a bad patch - even though he was very very cautious, it was my fear.

This makes me laugh, because its like a cartoon confirmation of my old fears!

thanks for posting it.

Jan said...

Great snap.
And I wonder WHO called it 90 mile beach? Did they get very tired while walking along it, do you think?!