Kaikorai Estuary, Dunedin

As everyone knows the moms are here!  They are planning on spending 3-4 weeks.  It is hard to post the excitement while it is actually happening so there will be a little delay.  We will try to keep putting up posts about their trip while I catch up on some of our old adventures.  Cole's friends have also arrived and they will be around for a couple of weeks...

In the meantime check out this awesome estuary trip we took while in Dunedin:

This was on the same trip we took to tunnel beach and visited our friends the Howells.  We had a little free time one night before meeting them for a late snack.  We didn't stay with them that weekend, but found a nice little rental we could all share.  This was the view out of the back of the house. Things we very green, and it was a little higher in the hills, so we were tucked in with the clouds...

We went for a walk down to the beach.  We followed the Kaikorai stream which emptied into the sea at the Kaikorai Estuary.  It had carved a perfect channel down the beach to the ocean.  It was shallow and you could see down to the bottom easily.  Off in the distance you can see Green Island off the coast.

Seagulls were really enjoying the estuary as the water entered the sea.  There were LOTS of them that day and they were big ones.  The ocean was pretty powerful that morning, you can see the big waves coming in.

Down the beach you could see blackhead cliff.  Apparently this used to be a nice cliff, but it is now an active quarry, you can see how much of it they have harvested so far.  Won't be long and there won't be much left.  I suppose there are worse hills to take... at least it wasn't tunnel beach!

Beautiful blue skies in the other direction... doesn't seem like we get enough of those.  The sun was beginning to set, but still very comfortable...

The beach was covered in these little guys being washed up from the sea.  Any guesses anyone?  Maybe a baby jellyfish?  We have no idea....  If you know, comment below....

The steady winds carved up the sand.  The beach sand up close almost looked like a desert's.  

On the way back to the car we saw this funny bird wandering in the stream.  I think it was a royal spoonbill.  Compare to some more images from google:  Google images of Royal Spoonbills

Goodbye for now from the three amigos!