63 and free

A ‘c’ means it hangs from the ceiling, a ‘g’ means it grows up from the ground. When they join up it is the very imaginative “pillar” or “column”.

And that is your geological lesson of the day, with illustrations from the Ngarua cave, sitting at the apex of the Takaka pass between Nelson and Takaka.

Prior to the arrival of the first humans in Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand) about 600 years ago, there was a huge Ostrich-like bird called a “Moa”. Standing up to 10′ tall and weighing 550 lbs, it was flightless and easy to hunt.

Remains of this bird have been found in caves, where they broke through the thin ceilings. Poor things…

I ended up driving the pass four times. Gotta say it was a wee bit uncomfortable in places! My grip on the steering wheel was rather firm at times. 😳 Kudos to Bernie for handling it well, especially when she was on the outside edge and there was no railing! 🏆