Seals Snoozing in Kaikoura, Marlboro Marvels

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After my first week of work in Timaru, I had a 5 day break, so Randy and I headed north towards Kaikoura, about 2 hours north of Christchurch on the eastern shore of the South Island. En route, we stopped at the Cookie Time factory, on the recommendation of the ER nurses. Good decision!!Very good chocolate chip cookies found there. We arrived in Kaikoura and our first short walk took us to see an elephant seal, which is apparently quite unusual for this area. Later on we would see many fur seals. We decided to try out a "hostel" (notice they are not called "youth hostels") named the "Lazy Shag" (OK, a shag is a kind of bird) and we got a room for $60 NZ (about ($42 US) which is a double room with a private bath. There is a shared kitchen and living room area, and it was quite nice. The following morning we were up before sunrise to make the early Whale Watch cruise, during which time we were fortunate to see 2 sperm whales resting on the surface of the ocean and then diving, flipping their tails as they go. Most of the 3 hr cruise was devoted to sightseeing (looking towards the shore was beautiful) and learning about the whales. After lunch we took a long walk along the Peninsula where we got up close and personal with hundreds of seals and sea birds. The rocky coastline is gorgeous, and if I were a seal, I'd want to live here, too!!We walked along the shore (which included scaling some rocks that I wasn't too thrilled about!) and then we ascended to a path that ran along the clifftop, to look down on the shoreline and get a different view. The mountains are so close to the sea that it looks like their snowy tops come very close to the beach. After we returned to the road, we stopped off and had a crayfish snack (they harvest them here) and then continued on another 2 hours north to the "top" of the South Island, Picton. This is the town where the inter-island ferry docks, but we were there to explore some of the Marlborough Sounds, a labyrinth of islands and sounds which comprise 1/3 of the total shoreline of New Zealand!!
We stayed at another hostel, Sequioa Lodge. This one offered a hot tub and free breakfast and wireless internet for $75 per night. We took advantage of the hot tub since our legs were pretty tired from climbing over rocks all afternoon!!The next morning we explored the picturesque town of Picton and embarked on a 3 hr "tramp" entitled "The Snout". It started Picton Harbor and followed the shoreline out to a point entitled "the Snout" and although we didn't quite make it to the end, the views were breathtaking. Of course, most of the time the trail seemed to go UP, UP, UP!!!We started out in winter coat and gloves and by the end we were down to just a shirt and we were sweating!!The trail looked down upon the Queen Charlotte Channel. This area reminds me of the San Juan Islands that Rachel and I visited last summer. It is quite serene and beautiful, and although there are a lot of marinas, very few boats seemed to be out. It looks like a boater's paradise!!In the afternoon we took a 3 hr cruise on the "mailboat." Since it was Sunday, no mail was being delivered, but we got a good look at some other areas of the Sound. Then the weather turned cold and we were back to our winter coats!!Along the way we saw 2 groups of dusky dolphins and we also saw some blue penguins on a bird refuge island. Back to the hot tub that night to soak our aching legs!!
Monday we took a scenic and twisting drive along the Queen Charlotte Drive to the town of Havelock, which is known for "green lipped mussels" so of course we had to have them for lunch, then we continued south as the weather got colder and it started to rain as we approached Kaikoura again for the night.

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Photos

Kiwi bird
for our night shift friends!!Kiwis also sleep in the daytime!

Sheep
with their "deer in a headlight" look!

once in awhile we get a picture together
on the Peninsula Walk ridge

Comments

[Jack Hotchkiss]

Seals and Cookies....
What I want to know is do seals like cookies, and is that kiwi related to the big one (BIG Bird) of PBS fame, and secondarily to CM (Cookie Monster).