Bruce Bay & Haast

30th December 

I was feeling sleepy after leaving Fox & stopped off at Bruce Bay for a sleep

After a nap I had some lunch & a walk along the beach. I treated myself to an ice cream. There was a family sat on the rocks, with a little boy of around 2-3 years old, chubby, with ginger hair, & he reminded me of Archie at that age, toddling & running along the beach.

They call people with red hair 'Rangas' in Australia & New Zealand, from Orangutans.

it was interesting, this valley is being pulled & pushed by two continental plates, with Mountains continuing to be pushed up on the east side, increasing  the southern alps & the hills on the coast side sliding North.

This is displayed at Lake Paringa, where I had a brief stop.

This shows the alpine fault line

I drove on towards Haast & stopped at a  nature reserve. This area is protected & has Unesco status. It is very nice 

The beach here us stunning, with layers of vegetation & swamp that has formed over years

In the early 20th century,  farmers used to herd their cattle along the beach 

It was once under a glacier too

I thought this was interesting , about the Tasman Sea:

 

After a short walk it started raining so I went on.......more spectacular scenery appeared,  even through the rain.

I stopped at a large roadside layby that Wiki camps said was a place to stay. 

It was by the river which was very pretty

There was nothing & no-one there. I tucked myself into a corner, hidden from the road & stayed the night.