Goat Island

The island you see out off the coast in this view is called Goat Island. Actually, in by-gone days there were many islands that were labeled as “goat islands.” These were small islands that sailors populated with goats so they could have fresh meat available on future voyages. This was one of those islands.


We were there on a beautiful day. It was a bit breezy and a bit cool, but just enough to make it enjoyable.

The sand at Goat Island is different than much of the beaches we’ve been to. It was very coarse and pebbly. The uneven sizes of the granules make the sand impossible to pack, and so it remains very soft even when wet.

The source of the rocks and pebbles are the layers of sedimentary rocks that make up the area. They appear to be very hard, but the constant wave action has worn them away into rounded tuffs.

We took a cruise around the island in a glass bottom boat. It was really enjoyable and we had a lot of under-sea life pointed out to us. We were there at low tide, so I’m not certain what we would have seen differently at another time. But the water was crystal clean and 8 – 10 feet of water sometimes looked like only a few inches.

The back side of Goat Island is a honey-comb of caves and channels. They were intriguing to see and fun to imagine the experiences of the first-time explorers.

Following our boat ride and a picnic lunch (shared with the seagulls), Diane and I hiked to the top of a nearby hill where we were treated with a nice overview of the entire area.

We’ve been here all this time and I don’t think we have mentioned the pampas grass. During our wanderings we came across many acres of wild pampas grasses, a common feature of New Zealand landscapes. But more interesting were the unique colors. Lime greens, lemon yellows, browns, lavenders and white; we’ve really grown to love them all.