We did not do any kind of group tour in Timaru. Although they had buses to take us to the city centre, we were comfortable walking from the port. I will warn you that there are several sets of stairs you have to go up to get there though! We walked along the path along the rocks by the shore. Evidently there are tiny Little Blue Penguins (or fairy penguins – the world’s smallest penguin at only 40 cm tall) who nest amongst those rocks along Caroline Bay. They are out in the water searching for food during the day, so if you see one, you are very lucky. We didn’t see any. We walked around town and visited St Mary’s Anglican Church. We lit a candle for our Joe while we were in there. We walked around shops and the open-air market filled with handicrafts. We had some pretty good Asian food where a local we met recommended. They had a left-over spiced ginger beer from Christmas time that I had to try. It was pretty good!
We were heading to the beach to see walk to the lighthouse when we saw a big crowd along the beach. Then between people, we saw horses on the beach. Curiosity piqued, we headed that direction. Evidently they were having their first ever polo match on the hard packed sand of the beach! I had never seen polo before. It was pretty interesting to watch. There was a lot of people there….mostly locals. After the polo matches were over, they then had a horse jumping contest. It was the most bizarre thing, but we stayed for all of it and loved it! What a special treat to stumble upon!
Messina Musings 