Daily Photo – The Magnificent Boulder Beach

Boulder Beach, the place is magnificent. A rugged, windswept slice of South Island coastline that looks as though it hasn’t seen a nice promenade in its entire geological existence. No neat boardwalks, no conveniently placed benches. Just raw, elemental beauty and a sense that the wind has been in charge here for quite some time. The beach itself is a glorious jumble of colossal volcanic stones and dark boulders that clearly took a fair bit of tectonic enthusiasm to create. Between them are carefully placed pockets of fine sand, that arrived on wind and next waves. It’s beautiful, but let’s be honest, you wouldn’t want to jog on it.

More importantly, this wild stretch of coast is a vital sanctuary for the yellow-eyed penguin, or Hoiho, a bird so rare it seems perpetually startled by its own continued existence. The Department of Conservation, bless their cotton socks, does a sterling job protecting them, closing off parts of the area for months at a time while the penguins get on with the serious business of breeding. If you’re lucky enough to visit outside of those times, it’s a wonderful reminder of how nature can still write its own rules. You might spot a Hoiho making its slightly awkward way up the sand, or perhaps find yourself the subject of a disapproving glare from a resident sea lion. Best advice: keep your distance, there’s nothing quite like being told off by a several-hundred-kilo local to remind you who really owns the beach.

It’s a place that feels defiantly untamed, as if it’s politely declined every human attempt to tidy it up. And thank goodness for that. Because every so often, it’s good to stand somewhere that reminds you that nature, even here at the far edge of the world, remains profoundly and beautifully unmanageable.