Daily Photo – Moeraki Village

So on to Moeraki, the village rather than the boulders, that is. Moeraki Village is a small, quaint settlement at the end of a big bay on the South Island’s east coast, about 30 minutes south of Oamaru, give or take depending on traffic. And, may I say, a lot nicer than some round boulders sticking out of the sand that people climb all over. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m not really a fan of the Moeraki Boulders, unless I’m photographing them at sunrise when the tide is right – they just don’t hold that much appeal to me. The village, on the other hand, I do very much like. It’s quiet, slow, and everything moves at its own pace in a relaxed, unhurried sort of way. You can eat fish ’n’ chips by the bay, stroll along the beach, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can wander up to the lookout on the point like I did, which is situated on a Māori pā site, and look out across the expanse. It is quite a sight, I can tell you. In fact, the view is so good, people have built houses right in front of some of the viewing platforms, meaning you can happily gaze down onto the beach, across the bay, inspect people’s back gardens, or see if their guttering needs a clean.

On the occasion I was there, the whole village was being buffeted by an enthusiastic wind that had gathered momentum somewhere far out to sea and was making a spirited attempt to relocate the entire place inland and blow the local sea-gull population into low orbit. By the time I reached the lookout, the wind was howling so loudly I clung to the railing, half convinced I might take flight at any moment, and looked out across the vast Pacific, which, I have to admit, is rather impressive. Much like Moeraki in its own unique way.