The East Coast

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I sleep fantastically in a proper and very comfy bed, until 2am when the first person gets up and goes out, and again at 4am and at 5am, and I am the fourth person at 6am….the poor two people left in the room!

Walk to the city with my life on my back, nearly losing my jumper on the way but luckily realising I had dropped it fairly sharpish, and am at the bus stop at 6.55am. We are soon zooming off through the city as it wakes up and before long heading along the coast. As we approach Kaikoura there is a massive pod of around 200 dolphins jumping and playing in the water – such an amazing sight.

We arrive at Kaikoura around 10am, and I discover it is a fair 30min trek to my hostel, and when I arrive, I can’t check in until later, so I dump my big bag, take all my valuables in my small pack and go off in search of some food! I treat myself to a lovely smoked salmon and poached egg breakfast, and the salmon turned out in great chunks, possible the best salmon yet! The town is fairly small but quite spread out round the bay, but had a lovely relaxed and slightly surfer vibe. I have a wonder round the town and shops, organise so activities for the next few days and enjoy watching the sea.

This afternoon I go for surf at the ‘Graveyard’ break, going with a company so I can a) get a lift there as everything is too far from the town, and b) so I can hire the equipment. The swell is small, but it’s sunny, the surrounding scenery is beautiful, and it’s great fun just getting the practise of catching lots of waves – it feels great to be back in the water, compared to walking in the mountains…the coast is more me I think.

Nice chilled evening, checking into my room, sort out etc, and go for a lovely stroll around the bay in the evening, enjoying the sunset then marvelling at the stars and the milky way.

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