Kaikoura

We travelled south to meet Gina Paul and Ellie, who came north from Christchurch to meet us at this east coast town renowned for sea activities, whale watching etc..
The sea-scape here was altered dramatically two years ago by a massive earthquake which lifted the sea floor by up to 5 metres. The town is a hot spot for tourists, and is full of hostels and hotels etc, although some are closed pending structural repairs or demolition.
G and P brought their caravan which dwarfed our little camper van and we had adjacent pitches on a beach side campsite. The campsite we had booked was next to the sea and we had booked seaside view pitches, which was perfect. Gina thought she had spotted a whale out at sea, but as it didn't move for hours on end we decided it was a rock!!!! No sealife spotted other than dusky dolphins pointed out to us by fellow campers. They were far away and other than a slight movement in the sea not really discernible.
Our journey down took us through a rich fruit growing area - apples, peaches, pears, apricots etc then into Marlborough - famous as NZ's premier wine growing area. At Blenheim we passed vineyards with names well known to us - Brancott, Wither Hills, Cloudy Bay etc. We then followed the coastal road down to Kaikoura . Tom Tom our trusty navigation guide informed us that we would encounter a Terrific Gym due to road works on this section, this is because major sections of the road are being reconstructed after the earthquake. Just north of Kaikuora we stopped to view the many mother and baby seals which were cavorting in the rock pools in the sea by the road way.
Our weekend with Gina Paul and Ellie was great fun, and a celebratory weekend for Karen's birthday. The odd bottle of beer and wine was consumed along with great food cooked on the bbq.
The weather on Saturday was a little cool and cloudy - we had a look around the town and took a walk along the esplanade.
The sun was shining again on Sunday so after seeing P, G and E depart for home we did the peninsular walk - a 3 hour walk around the headland where we stopped at the renowned seafood bbq for a spot of lunch. The walk gave us fabulous views of the coast and we could get up close to some of the male seals which inhabit this part of the coastal area when we dropped to low level. A great weekend with old friends!Read more