Daily Photo – Orepuki

I was heading for Tuatapere, the “Sausage Capital of New Zealand.” A bold claim really – especially in a country where around 400 million sausages are eaten every year. 

On the way, just outside a place called Orepuki, the weather started to turn. The drive had been long and winding, twisting its way out of rolling farmland and into something altogether more coastal. The paddocks gave way to rugged beaches that looked quiet and pristine in the afternoon light. Out on the horizon, across the bay, dark clouds were gathering with all the pleasantry of a grumpy bus driver. Things were starting to look ominous.

A little further on, I passed a sign that read “Gemstone Beach.” I’d read about this place before. Apparently, all sorts of rare and colourful pebbles are washed from Fiordland via the Waiau River, eventually ending up on the shoreline. It’s a fossicker’s paradise. For a fleeting moment, I considered pulling over for a poke around. But the afternoon was ticking on and I wanted to see our nation’s sausage capital. Priorities.