Days 13 to 17 - Seal of approval

Our departure for Wellington on Tuesday heralded a long drive, with little opportunity for scenic detours, as had been the case in the Coromandel. We were able to pause on the ‘desert highway’ to absorb the view of snow-capped mountains of the Tongariro National Park through the drizzle.

Our lunch break was at the Brown Sugar Café in Taihape with tasty food and a cosy atmosphere. Afterwards, another brief stop was in order to photograph a tremendous view looking down on the sheer cliffs along a river valley below.

Paul at the Brown Sugar Cafe - lovely little place!

Rangitikei river valley

Two things became apparent as we approached Wellington: blue sky appearing and number of vehicles on the road increasing. The latter was a forewarning of the rush hour city centre traffic that awaited us. We had to complete an entire lap of the one-way system to locate our hotel and then having unloaded the Sunny, another repeat lap to access the free parking opposite. We pondered how many kilometres we would have covered on the open roads in the hour or so it took us to complete this arduous process!

Once we’d unpacked, we came to the conclusion that the apartment was worth the effort, an excellent central location, with a great view of the harbour.

View from our balcony!

A meal at a local pizzeria with a mural on the side wall representing a Naples street scene reminded us of one we used to go to in Richmond. From there, we crossed the road for drinks at The Library, a quirky bar with a reception and table service. As the name suggests it was set out like gentleman’s library with stacks of books everywhere, a large globe and the unusual addition of a (non-functioning) bath in front of our cosy armchairs.

Spot the bath!

Hot chocolate with rum - don't mind if I do!

A slower start to the following morning was in order with more blogging/washing. It was only a short hop to Te Papa museum, situated right alongside the waterfront. Spending the entire afternoon there, including a late lunch, we only looked at a fraction of the exhibitions, which were totally absorbing and free. 

Te Papa entrance

Mountains to Sea exhibit

The colossal squid

Messing about on the 'Wall' at 'OurSpace'

Wellington waterfront - spot the 'Solace in the Wind' sculpture by Max Patte

We followed this with the opportunity to stretch our legs with a stroll along waterfront and were amazed by the hordes of city dwellers participating in one form of outdoor pursuit from jogging through to aerobics, team sports and skateboarding. We chose to dine at ‘Two Souls’ restaurant, enjoying a delicious main course there followed by a trip to an ice cream parlour for what was set to be our last meal on the North Island.

We needed a very early start to catch our ferry to the South Island. Fortuitously, the morning rush hour had not reached full throttle so the short run to the terminal was uneventful. It was another fine morning in Wellington and this enabled us to enjoy the spectacular coastline at the tips of both islands, not to mention the beautiful journey across the Cook Strait and through the Queen Charlotte Sound. We had booked ourselves into a lounge that provided us with inclusive breakfast, snacks and drinks to keep us fuelled. Internet access was also part of the deal, but this proved to be erratic, so the planned blogging had to be abandoned!

The Interislander

Campers on the car deck

Journeying through Queen Charlotte Sound

Upon docking at Picton, it became apparent from the outset that the roads were noticeably quieter. However, it was only a matter of time before an irritant pitched up. Rather than enjoy the scenery, roger displayed the worst driving we’d seen yet - overtaking us on a blind bend then braking abruptly. Undeterred, roger followed this up with a repeat manoeuvre in front of oncoming vehicles!  

We soon arrived at Blenheim, set amongst fields of vine, but vineyards were not our target - instead we sought out a WWI aircraft museum. The replica aircraft, striking memorabilia and poignant accounts were very moving, cumulating in another afternoon well spent with lunch also taken care of. The sat nav decided to have a wobbly, taking us on an extended tour of the town before we eventually progressed southwards!

Etrich Taube - looks like a bird!

Fokker Dr.I Triplane as flown by the Red Baron 

As we approached Kaikoura, a tremendous mountain backdrop merged with the coastline. It was probably no coincidence that the weather began to close in too, but we stopped off at Ohau beach to catch a first glimpse of the New Zealand Fur Seals. 

Coastline north of Kaikoura

Ominous mountain backdrop

Seals squaring up

Ohau breeding colony

They were resting on their mating grounds, so our observations took place at a safe distance from a viewing platform, as they are aggressively territorial when out of water, particularly during the breeding season. We left them to squabble, as we had a motel to check into with a sea and mountain view and a filling meal at a local restaurant called Tuti’s. A good night’s sleep was interrupted (only for Paul!) by a freight train shuddering past on the adjacent railway line.

Our motel room

Space age shower pod complete with sauna, foot massager,  radio etc - never needed instructions for a shower before!

View from our balcony at sunrise

Friday began with a quick breakfast followed by a short drive to the town centre, where we were kitted out in tight wetsuits, flippers, goggles /snorkel for a seal swimming trip. One felt more like the old Russ Abbott sketch character Basildon Bond than James Bond waddling up the main road! We had been pre-warned that the start to the season had not been good with not much seal activity and lots of cancellations. However, the ocean was calm as our party of two pairs of UK/USA honeymooners and a Spanish backpacker headed off along the coast on our small boat and as soon as we were in the water, seals were popping up a short distance away. The snorkel and flippers took some getting used to, but it wasn’t long before we experienced some enthralling very close encounters with a couple of seals. We felt very safe, so our tour guide, Graeme was able to direct us towards the closest seals from his vantage point on the nearby boat.

Out of the water, we realised how tiring the morning had been, so decided to treat ourselves to the local delicacy of a Crayfish for lunch at Nin’s Bin, a structure resembling a small portable building (Alt Ed - Commonly known as a caravan!!) on the coast road. The crayfish is actually a lobster and we found it quite tasty and intriguing to eat, but on the expensive side and not especially filling. Nevertheless, the seagulls weren’t choosy as they instantly muscled in on the scraps!

A hungry customer!

We proceeded a couple of bays further along the coast to Ohau waterfall where seal pups climb from the shore along a mountain stream to an inland freshwater pool to play and develop life skills. This mainly happens in autumn and winter when there are lots of youngsters around so we were not expecting much, but were pleasantly surprised to see at least half a dozen of last summer’s pups playing in the water and resting on land. The noticeboards were at pains to emphasise the ‘do’s and don’ts’ (do give the seals space, don’t stray from the path etc), but roger seemed read these in reverse by clambering over rocks and generally getting far too close, which spoiled it for us somewhat. Gratefully, karma was on hand and I had to laugh when roger slipped into the stream!

Ohau Falls

A too-cute seal pup fast asleep on the rocks - completely oblivious to the humans nearby!

Although it was only late afternoon, a stroll around the town centre back in Kaikoura left us feeling hungry, so an early take-away dinner of fish ’n’ chips, ice cream and crate of cider was in order back to apartment. It wasn’t long before the day’s exertions had caught up with us in the form of another early night.

Our final stop at Kaikoura before heading south to Christchurch offered the most panoramic view of our trip so far – the pictures below speak for themselves. Yellow coated hills were otherwise the highlight of our journey.

A bright start to the day had turned to rain by the time we reached the city and had found our hotel. 

Once the unpacking and settling in process was complete, the bad weather had cleared and so by mid-afternoon we were able to conduct our planned trip to Christchurch Botanic Gardens in Hagley Park. As we were hoping, this proved to be a very relaxing walk along the banks of the River Avon, admiring the various native and foreign plants and with the mature trees lending us ample shade from the warm sun.

Scarecrow (L); Paul (R)

The River Avon

In the 'New Zealand' garden

It so happened that a highly recommended Japanese restaurant was located within a short walk of the park in the city centre. Following a map on TripAdvisor, we set off only to discover that they had relocated to the suburbs due to the earthquake damage. By now, storm clouds were gathering and so the walk back to the car was an anxious one with the wind picking up thunder and lightning approaching (this sounds familiar! –Ed) we only just got back to the car as the heavens opened. The plan was to drive to the actual location of the restaurant, but the extreme weather conditions scuppered the satellite signal to the sat nav and the premises was further out than our town centre map. An hour and a half after setting off to find the place, we finally arrived. Paul came back from the restaurant roaring with laughter at the following:

It might be a chain restaurant, but the food at Nandos was delicious and the service excellent, proving to be the ideal tonic for our wasted efforts and settling us down for another evening before our departure to Lake Tekapo in the morning.