Not Much to See in Blenheim

In Kaikōura, I met up with Shuan, my new travel buddy. Together, we made our way to Blenheim—but the town seemed rather uneventful, so we headed straight to our campsite.

While setting up the tent, we noticed that mold had formed on it. So, we drove back into Blenheim to buy a new one. Lucky us—we managed to get the last four-person tent they had!

Back at the campsite, we got to work. Only… something seemed off. The tent was much smaller than expected—about half the size of a proper four-person tent. Somehow, the tents must have gotten mixed up. For us, that meant cozying up uncomfortably close and getting splashed in the face by condensation from the tent walls every time the wind blew.

Before we could sleep, however, two other guys at the campsite needed our help—or rather, our phones.

It took us a moment to understand the situation. Apparently, a man had just reached the beach with his kayak—it was pitch black outside, and the sun had set more than an hour and a half ago. He had been kayaking with his wife but had decided to paddle off alone to fish and explore, thinking it wouldn’t take long. Then dusk fell, and darkness caught him off guard. Realizing he was in trouble, he paddled to the nearest beach—about an hour away from where his wife and young child were waiting.

The two guys at our campsite had encountered him, but for some reason, their phones weren’t able to make a call. Eventually, we found a way to contact his wife, who was already scouting nearby beaches, looking for him. Fortunately, she was only 20 minutes away and was able to pick him up.

Once he was safely reunited with his family, we all headed back to our tents—but not before making sure he knew never to pull a stunt like that again.Read more