2 Nights in Kaikoura

After leaving Lake Tekapo in the freezing cold the next morning we headed North towards Christchurch and then on to Kaikoura. The Magic Bus used to have an over night stop in Christchurch but not since the earth quake. The quake took out most of the hostels so accomodation is limited and the whole CBD is sectioned off, no one is allowed in or out. The workers are still cleaning up and dismantling buildings and it is far too dangerous for civilians so that leaves limited activities too, hence the reason they just pick up or drop off and then head on through to Kaikoura. This also means instead of a one night stop we stay two nights in Kaikoura.

Kaikoura is a small little seaside town on the East coast. It is pretty small but really beautiful and full of wildlife. The reason we stop in Kaikoura is the wildlife. You can sign up to swim with wild dolphins, go whale watching, go fishing or take a hike to 2 nearby seal colonies. Since it is nearing the end of my trip and I am running tight on the ol cash-o-la I didn't sign up for any of the paid activities. Plus, I will be going back to the South Island so that can be another thing on my list of reasons to go back. The first night we were there it was pretty low key. A very few of us headed into town for a few drinks with the bus driver, Jack, and then came home around 11 to head to bed. There isn't much of a whoopin night life in Kaikoura, not unless you want to be whooping it with the local fishermen! Kaikoura is also known for all things under the sea and a special focus on crayfish. All the restaurants and stuff have seafood and all things fishy. They even have an award winning fish and chips shop called Coopers Catch. I had some, and it was delish! I can see why they won the award!

The next day in Kaikoura some people were doing a dolphin swim and some were going whale watching, but Claire, Kirsten and myself decided the very free, very scenic 3 hour walk around the coast and check out these seal colonies. The walk was very nice, and covered a great deal of the coast with breath taking views over the sea. The crashing waves and jagged coastline was stunning and the clear blue water was gorgeous. The only thing was it was so windy that I think we expended twice as much energy as we needed to walking the track. It is a moderate track to begin with and the wind was so strong a few times it almost blew me over. I was just thankful it was blowing towards the cliffs, otherwise I would have ended up over the side at one point. The first seal colony we saw was from a top the cliffs looking down. There was quite a few of them, but we were pretty far away. There was

another part of the trail that took you closer to them, but we had missed the turn off and would have to back track a ways so we decided to just leave it and look at them from above. Not far off from that colony we ended up at another point with a second group. Only this time they were so close, in fact one was even taking a little siesta on the boardwalk. You could get really close to them, but it was safe to stay back a ways, after all they are still wild animals. Most of them were just lazing about and having naps in the grass. That was very cool and it was neat we could get so close. After a bit with the seals we walked back into town, got some fish and chips and then retired to the hostel for the night.

The next day, Jack, our driver said we would be stopping at a seal colony like no other and if we saw the one yesterday it would be 100 times cooler then that. So off we went! Just outside of Kaikoura we stopped on the side of the road and there was a large number of seals on the beach below us. It was very cool because they had some babies with them and they were very active. We took a couple of snaps and away we went to the next stop. The next stop was supposed to be the best ever! He didn't disappoint, it was the best ever! We pulled over and he told us to walk through the path and follow it to the top for something amazing. I was the first on the path so I was leading the group to this spot, that even I didn't know where it was. The path went along a river up hill through the bush, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The further up the hill we got we saw a few baby seals splashing about in the river. I thought that was it, until we reached the top! We came out to a waterfall emptying into a deep pool at the top of the river. In the pool were so many baby seals! I know you guys might be getting tired of hearing me say it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen, but there is so much! This was truly amazing! Here I was standing less than a foot away from hundreds of baby seals! They were all diving and jumping and flipping around and some were up in the bush, others were down river a bit, it was incredible! Apparently they babies come up from the sea to the pool to learn how to swim and interact and stuff and then head back to their moms in the evening to feed. Once they get a certain size they can't make it up the river so it is only ever filled with babies. It was just remarkable! We stayed for a while gawking in awe of all the seals before heading back to the bus. Those are one of those sights that is once in a lifetime I am sure!

The drive from Kaikoura to Picton was short and we were pulling into Picton right around noon. This was a sad moment for me because for the past few weeks I have been travelling with the Magic Bus in the South Island and you develop a sort of family type feeling with the others on the bus. Well at this point everyone split ways. Some were headed North, some were going to Nelson and I was staying in Picton for a few nights. I said my farewells and headed to my hostel, starting over on my own.