Red Rocks - Part I

Wellington's South Coast is an outdoors persons playground and home to the South Coast Marine Reserve and Red Rocks Scientific Reserve. The Marine Conservation Centre gives access to both Red Rocks and the Te Kopahau Reserve, and offers the first views of the city from air or sea. It is full of wild life and costal birds as well as little blue penguins and fur seals, the fur seals congregate around Red Rocks (where the rocks are really red!) Activities out there range from walking and diving to four-wheel driving, and now .... Segway off-roading ;-)

One of the challenges of the South Coast is the ever changing landscape and weather, the track is never the same and seems to change every time you look away! This makes it a place where off-roaders, be they mountain bikes or 4x4s go for to play. And the perils are many, there is soft sand that eats wheels and sharp shards of hard rock that cut into your hands and tires, not to mention the wind! The wind that can sneak up on you starting as a gentle breeze into one that will literally blow you away.

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Map

Terrain

Satellite

Of course this makes it the ideal place to test some of the capabilities of the Segway and the x2 tires.

Known as Pariwhero (Red Rocks) to the local iwi, this was popular place for fishing, paua collection and harvesting Bull Kelp. There is a legend about how Maui stained the surrounding rocks with his blood as bait for his hook prior to catching Te Ika a Maui - the North Island. Another legend tells us that the red of the rock comes from the blood of Kupe who had wounded himself on the surrounding paua.

Looking across the entrance to Wellington to Pencarrow Head.

A view of the snowy mountains over in the South Island and Devil's Gate.

Betty re-charging.....

Bluebridge ferry passing by on its way to Picton, South Island.

Another shot of Devils Gate in the distance