Friday March 4th
We departed Motueka after a lazy morning and took a leisurely drive to Kaikoura, stopping once at the lovely Pelorus river, and the bridge of the same name.
In Sneddon, we picked a café at random and pulled in for a nice lunch of steak sandwiches and salad. Carrying on, the road began to follow the coast with amazing rock formations and awesome surf - a few more stops to take pictures were required.
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| We were sorely tempted, but common-sense signage saved the day. |
In Sneddon, we picked a café at random and pulled in for a nice lunch of steak sandwiches and salad. Carrying on, the road began to follow the coast with amazing rock formations and awesome surf - a few more stops to take pictures were required.
Nearing the town we saw a sign telling us to beware of seals for 4km, so Dave told me to look out in case I saw one. Well I didn't see one, I saw dozens of them everywhere along the rocks between the road and the sea. We pulled over at the first lay-by and were able to get really close to them, with mums and pups lazing on the rocks, feeding and lumbering around in their typically ungainly way. Not many were in the water, but they were easier to photograph this way, and it was a very enjoyable stop.
Then there was also the added fun of 'racing' the coastal tourist train into town. We kept pace with it for some time, as it ran within yards of the road, but ultimately it cheated and stayed on the direct route when the road veered inland.
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| Don't tell him about that 'patch' on the back of his head, I don't think he's noticed it yet. |
Then there was also the added fun of 'racing' the coastal tourist train into town. We kept pace with it for some time, as it ran within yards of the road, but ultimately it cheated and stayed on the direct route when the road veered inland.
As we'd already booked our whale watching trip, once we reached Kaikoura we just checked where the base was (as we had a 6:45 start) and, with another Top10 holiday park about 300m away, checked ourselves in for two nights. Walking into town and mooching around the many shops was hot work, so ice-creams were had, before wandering back and having tea al fresco.
Saturday March 5th
After travelling most of yesterday, it was lovely to have such a wildlife-filled day today. Leaving the campervan at quarter to seven was close enough to sunrise that, as we walked along the beach towards the whale watching station, we were able to enjoy (and photograph) the stunning colours in the sky and water.
The former railway station, which had been converted into the whale watching tour base, was on what was amusingly named Whale Way Road, and was at one end of the town. We got bumped onto an earlier (and less busy) tour and after the safety briefing were transported to the other end of town to the South Bay where we boarded our catamaran.
The former railway station, which had been converted into the whale watching tour base, was on what was amusingly named Whale Way Road, and was at one end of the town. We got bumped onto an earlier (and less busy) tour and after the safety briefing were transported to the other end of town to the South Bay where we boarded our catamaran.
We had 4 crew - captain, safety officer, vice-captain/chief look-out and commentator - and with everyone seated, we headed out to sea. Using GPS, looking for spouting and employing listening devices to seek out whales' echo-locating clicks, the crew made 3-4 stops until we were joined by the 7:45 boat. The captain then announced that the whale he had been hearing, and we had been following, had ceased clicking and that this was a sign it was preparing to surface.
This was a sperm whale, and he appeared. They call it 'logging', they lie along the surface of the sea with from the blow hole at one end to the rounded fin, approximately 2/3 of the body length back, visible. The tail end third remains below the surface, angled downwards. The commentary by a Chinese guy was very good, informative and funny and continued between stops (it was also punctuated by occasional breaks, which gave the impression that the poor chap may have been suffering from a mild case of sea sickness). We were told that the sperm whale stays at the surface to gain air and digest what he's been eating, which amounts to 1-1.5 tonnes a day of mainly squid, and can't be done at the pressures found at depth.
Our whale blew regularly and stayed for about 10 minutes and then, brilliantly, curved over and dived with his great tail emerging and then disappearing below the water. With few people on board and our boat in a great position, we were able to get lovely pictures.
We thought we were returning to base, but headed towards shore. The whales come the closest to the shore of any country in the world here, as the continental shelf of New Zealand reaches out only 800m in one area and less than 3-5km round most of Kaikoura. The edge of this shelf creates a massive 1.5km deep canyon close to the shore that the whales can live and feed in; they eat mainly squid, mako sharks and fish of 1-1.5m length. They have teeth on their bottom jaw but use them only to hold their prey. They have been known to eat giant squid too.
We thought we were returning to base, but headed towards shore. The whales come the closest to the shore of any country in the world here, as the continental shelf of New Zealand reaches out only 800m in one area and less than 3-5km round most of Kaikoura. The edge of this shelf creates a massive 1.5km deep canyon close to the shore that the whales can live and feed in; they eat mainly squid, mako sharks and fish of 1-1.5m length. They have teeth on their bottom jaw but use them only to hold their prey. They have been known to eat giant squid too.
Nearer land is the shallower water, and here we were taken to a pod of dolphins. In this areas there are usually Dusky dolphins, but on this day there were also some Common dolphins; there were lots of them and they were jumping and playing all round the boat, it was wonderful to see. Again, it was hard to know whether the photos we took would do the sights justice, but it was an amazing experience and wonderful memories. We saw an albatross too, not a Royal one, but a relatively small one.
Due to the early start, we opted for a Hobbit-style second breakfast at the whale watching centre on our return, and then (after a suitable keyring was purchased) went for another explore round town.In the surf shop, while browsing for T-shirts, the manager told us about another seal colony to the south of town which was worth a visit. After a pre-noon beer (well we are on holiday!), we went back to the van and started driving south.
Round the peninsula, we saw beautiful scenery and the odd seal, and even got a tip about a few jumping dolphins from a lovely Kiwi lady - they're such a joy to watch, larking about in the ocean. On the way back towards town we spotted a sign for the seal colony, presumably the one we'd been told about, and at the end of the road reached a car-park filled with dozens of people and 7 or 8 fat lazy seals laying around on the rocks close to the road. We took some photos, including with 'Ebola Bob', but it was really hot so we didn't stick around long.
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| Kaikoura's main street and pedestrian area. |
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| When in Rome... or New Zealand |
Round the peninsula, we saw beautiful scenery and the odd seal, and even got a tip about a few jumping dolphins from a lovely Kiwi lady - they're such a joy to watch, larking about in the ocean. On the way back towards town we spotted a sign for the seal colony, presumably the one we'd been told about, and at the end of the road reached a car-park filled with dozens of people and 7 or 8 fat lazy seals laying around on the rocks close to the road. We took some photos, including with 'Ebola Bob', but it was really hot so we didn't stick around long.
Our evening was a combination of a couple of beers, back at our lunchtime haunt, and fish and chips from the self-proclaimed "Second best Fish & Chip shop in New Zealand", as well as planning the next few days of our trip. I was hoping for a visit to Rotherham, and knew we had to decide whether to stop off at Fox or Franz Josef glacier on the way to Queenstown.
Our early morning getaway from Kaikoura was hijacked by a the sight of dozens of dolphins jumping and feeding in the bay just up SH1. We pulled over and watched for ages, what a wonderful way to start the day. We figured they were probably the pod of Dusky dolphins we were intended to see on our Whale watching trip, and they were amazing - there was a whole line of animals stretching across the bay for over 200m, with the constant activity making the ocean seem to bubble.
Dragging ourselves away, we took the road through Cheviot and stopped at the Magpie's Rest for a marvellous egg, bacon and hash-brown roll for breakfast. Carrying on, we followed SH1 west passing through Oxford and Sheffield (missed out on Rotherham sadly) and onto the SH72 Scenic Route through what would have been the ski areas of Craigieburn Forest Park (in winter). We stopped for lunch at the gorgeous Arthur's pass National Park in view of the snow-capped peaks. Stunning.
The whole area was amazingly beautiful and the mountains and ravines, even without snow, were a picture. A couple of stops for photos, including 'Death's corner', just after a viaduct, and then we headed into Greymouth and all of a sudden the prevailing weather that we'd been enjoying for the previous couple of weeks changed...
We carried on down the west coast, although there was little sign of the coast and much of the mountain range was lost in mist and cloud. We decided we'd stop at Franz Josef, rather than carry on the extra 20km to Fox Glacier; both towns featured Top10 campsites, so it was only because the guide books indicated F-J also had a Wildlife park that swung it.
We cooked ourselves a lovely tea and had an early night, ready for a busy day that would include an even longer journey than today's. Back at Lake Taupo we'd overheard a conversation suggesting that the best option for visiting Milford Sound (the next place on our schedule) was to base yourself at Te Anau rather than Queenstown. It means getting a further two hours south, but takes that much off your coach trip to the Sound both ways making it a 10 hour trip rather than a 14 hour day.
We had been advised by various people that Doubtful Sound was a less touristy and more beautiful trip than Milford Sound, but for our first visit, we had decided to take the well trodden path.
Sunday March 6th
Dragging ourselves away, we took the road through Cheviot and stopped at the Magpie's Rest for a marvellous egg, bacon and hash-brown roll for breakfast. Carrying on, we followed SH1 west passing through Oxford and Sheffield (missed out on Rotherham sadly) and onto the SH72 Scenic Route through what would have been the ski areas of Craigieburn Forest Park (in winter). We stopped for lunch at the gorgeous Arthur's pass National Park in view of the snow-capped peaks. Stunning.
The whole area was amazingly beautiful and the mountains and ravines, even without snow, were a picture. A couple of stops for photos, including 'Death's corner', just after a viaduct, and then we headed into Greymouth and all of a sudden the prevailing weather that we'd been enjoying for the previous couple of weeks changed...
We carried on down the west coast, although there was little sign of the coast and much of the mountain range was lost in mist and cloud. We decided we'd stop at Franz Josef, rather than carry on the extra 20km to Fox Glacier; both towns featured Top10 campsites, so it was only because the guide books indicated F-J also had a Wildlife park that swung it.
We cooked ourselves a lovely tea and had an early night, ready for a busy day that would include an even longer journey than today's. Back at Lake Taupo we'd overheard a conversation suggesting that the best option for visiting Milford Sound (the next place on our schedule) was to base yourself at Te Anau rather than Queenstown. It means getting a further two hours south, but takes that much off your coach trip to the Sound both ways making it a 10 hour trip rather than a 14 hour day.
We had been advised by various people that Doubtful Sound was a less touristy and more beautiful trip than Milford Sound, but for our first visit, we had decided to take the well trodden path.
Monday March 7th
We found a wonderful place for breakfast this morning, the 'Full of Beans' which reminded me of the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore - odd as the owner/chef at the Scottish café is a New Zealander, so maybe there is a connection. I had delicious pancakes, and Dave opted for French toast with bacon and bananas. We walked round the corner to the West Coast Wildlife Centre and were probably a bit disappointed to find that it only had 2 animals! The fact that they were apparently 5 week old Rowi, the smallest of the Kiwi species, and very cute (running around their lovely big nocturnal enclosure, snuffling through the bark covered floor) made it almost bearable. The shop was good too, and we bought a few gifts and souvenirs, including a big selection of keyrings for the folk back at work - much better than sweets surely.
As watching the wildlife hadn't exactly taken long, we headed towards the viewing car-park for the glacier and, even though you could see it from there, decided to take one of the walks up. There was a 30 minute return walk and a 90 minute version; we ended up doing the latter (although Dave might have had to manage the last rather steep 200m by himself). It was a fabulous walk alongside a rushing river and in a steep tree-lined canyon with many wonderful waterfalls along the way.
The glacier itself was a beautiful blue and much less smooth than I had imagined; due presumably to summers of thaw/freezes and constant cracking and shifting. Up at the closest access point, you get a wider view and it's really quite impressive. We took lots of photos all the way up the track, as well as several of the gorgeous red, moss-covered rocks and the lovely alpine flowers all around. Sadly, we didn't see any of the alpine parrots, the Kea, despite constant searching of the skies.
The glacier itself was a beautiful blue and much less smooth than I had imagined; due presumably to summers of thaw/freezes and constant cracking and shifting. Up at the closest access point, you get a wider view and it's really quite impressive. We took lots of photos all the way up the track, as well as several of the gorgeous red, moss-covered rocks and the lovely alpine flowers all around. Sadly, we didn't see any of the alpine parrots, the Kea, despite constant searching of the skies.
Leaving the carpark at 12:30, our satnav indicated we'd reach Te Anau at 19:30, so we fuelled up (both diesel and pies) and drove. We restricted ourselves to a single stop at the lovely Lake Hawea, somewhere between Haast and Wanaka, so as not to arrive too much later than predicted.
I usually took lots of pictures as we drove, but on this day the long white cloud had really settled in, and there wasn't much to see. Once we arrived in Te Anau (yet another Top10), we were reliably informed that the following day would be cloudy but not raining, and that today's rain would ensure the waterfalls all round Milford Sound would be at their very best. We managed to book ourselves onto a tour with the rather civilised start time of 9.30am.
Dave must be delighted to have a day off driving too.
I usually took lots of pictures as we drove, but on this day the long white cloud had really settled in, and there wasn't much to see. Once we arrived in Te Anau (yet another Top10), we were reliably informed that the following day would be cloudy but not raining, and that today's rain would ensure the waterfalls all round Milford Sound would be at their very best. We managed to book ourselves onto a tour with the rather civilised start time of 9.30am.
Dave must be delighted to have a day off driving too.
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