Picturebook Kaikoura

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We stumbled upon something about Kaikoura in a book long before coming to New Zealand and we thought, "We have to go there someday!"  It just seemed to us the ultimate destination for small town, majestic coastline, and amazing wildlife.  And Kaikoura did not let us down.
 
About 30 minutes outside of town, we stopped to take in an incredible view of a bay of surfers.  It reminded me of someplace along the PCH, near Big Sur.  We asked one of the surfers who was kicking back with his girlfriend at a picnic table, wetsuit hanging outside of his VW bus to dry, to take a picture of us.  It turned into an hour long conversation about life, travels, and New Zealand.  Rens is a Dutchman who has been on a one year trip for six years now!  He is a carpenter by trade and so has made his way around the world working for a month or two here or there, then moving on when he had enough money saved to resume traveling. He made the comment that by traveling you just end up with a longer list of places you want to visit, not a shorter one! We wholeheartedly agree.

Coming into Kaikoura we did not have a place to stay booked, and reminiscent of Rotorua, each place we passed on the way into town had a "No Vacancy" sign out front. We rushed to the I-Site, but it was already closed. There were phone numbers posted out front for after hours hotel information so we jotted them down and went in search of a phone. There happened to be a dive shop across the street so we walked over to check it out. Turns out they run a snorkel with the seals that sounded fabulous so we signed up for Sunday! The folks there were kind enough to let us use the phone. The B&B hotline knew of one vacancy in town and one only - so we hurried over to secure a room! We were invited into a nice home where we were told the last room had just been taken for the night. Now quite dejected we were unsure of where to go. The lady there had a friend with a place outside of town who might have a vacancy; she called over while we played with her dogs. Sure enough, the friend had a room for us! It was a 10 minute drive from the center of town, on a picturesque farm nestled at the foot of the mountains with a view of the bay.

Our hosts were retired cattle farmers. They still kept some chickens and emu on the property, along with their four terriers. They also kept a wonderful garden with the largest head of lettuce I had ever seen! The husband was a fisherman and when we asked about fishing regulations in the area he said, "You're supposed to throw 'em back when you hit the limit. We throw 'em back alright, can't help it if they land in the back of the boat!" We ended up staying there for two nights.

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Comments

[angela]

kaikoura
oh, now i'm dying to go there!!!