A real “seal” of approval

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It feels like we just got to the South Island and now we’re headed back up north again. We left Christchurch in the early morning hours and were cursing the scenic coastline by lunch. We had decided to take two different routes to and from the central South Island in order to see as much of the varied landscapes as possible. The alpine roads took us to Christchurch and the coastal roads brought us back. So much of the shoreline along the way was undeveloped with miles of nothing but road, train track, and sea. The rural landscape consisting of three distinct layers, the snowcapped mountains in the far distance, rolling green hills to our left, and wide open ocean to our right.

We pulled over to the side of the road after passing a sign for seals. I jumped out of the car, camera in hand, and scrabbled over the rocks to try to find them. It wasn’t long before we spotted the slippery wet seals sunbathing on the shoals. I walked a little further along the rocks to see if I could get closer. As I stood balanced on a tall, flat rock-face I looked down and to my great surprise found a huge seal lying right beneath me. I jumped back at first wondering how much distance was a safe distance between me and this very large wild animal. But the seal just blinked its doughy eyes at me and yawned so I stayed right where I was. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of an aggressive seal, anyways.

We got all the way up to Picton (right at the top of the South Island) where we’d take the fiery back to the North Island in the morning and stayed at the Sequoya Lodge Hostel. We chose this lodge solely based on the fact that they offered free hot homemade chocolate pudding and ice cream every night. Good thing too because not only did we get heaps of free dessert, but we got free internet too and that is a very rare thing when hostelling. The town was beautiful and the people were so friendly I felt like I was walking around the pages of a children’s book. A few boys on skateboards rolled passed on their way to the skate park and actually said “good ‘ay mate!” to us as they passed. Fern smiled and replied with “kia ora bro!” (kia ora is a greeting in Maori)

The hostel was run by an older couple and was warmly painted and decorated. The kitchen was very neat, organized and even came equip with oil and herbs for us to cook with. Two colorful hammocks hung outside under the deck by a giant sized chess board. (Wizard’s Chess, if you will.) With music playing in the background the atmosphere was so wonderful that I think it may have bumped its way into my new favorite. Do I say that about every place we stay?

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