In and around Kaikoura

On the plane ride home, Mary-Ellen and I both agreed that if we could live and work in any place in New Zealand, Kaikoura was it. This was of course before the big earthquake, but none-the less, Kaikoura is definitely one of the most beautiful places on this planet. The rugged shores around town are a combination of cobble and pebble beaches as well as solid bedrock and rocky outcrops. They certainly are not always the easiest to walk but I do so love the sound when the waves recede and the pebbles settle out.

The backdrop to this little tourist town is, as I have said abundantly, the mountains. However between the mountains and the sea lie acres of agricultural land, filled with wood post fencing, livestock, and a whole host of bird life, including Thomas's favourite, the ducks.

With such wide open spaces and huge topographical features, it made for a great place to watch the sun rise, which Thomas and I did every morning. Watching the morning haze dissipate as the warmth of the sun filled the sky.

The best place to watch the sunrises was also at one of the towns little treasures; a New Zealand fur seal colony. We visited it a few times as it was a great opportunity for all of us to get up close with these agile swimmers. Agility however, is not one of their strong suits when on land and it was very amusing to watch them waddle around going to and from the water, looking for nice places to bask on shore. The morning we watched the sunrise from the colony, we were also harassed by a gang of seal pups who were not particularly happy where we parked our car. They waddled up to the sea wall, looked at us and grunted before waddling down into the water. This behaviour was of course accompanied with bickering, staring around, and yawning.

The whole shore, parking lot, and boardwalk are the fur seals' domain, and frequently blocked visitors paths. This gave us plenty of opportunity to get Thomas up close to see them.

Up the path, even more seal pups played as their mothers presumably slept close by. Some were clearly from the last litter and so small one could be tempted to pick them up. They are of course wild animals and their space should be respected.

The adults mostly just laid around, everywhere. A few were actually on the beach, laying in the beach cast algae and soaking up the sun.

Aside from the seals, whales, and dolphins, Kaikoura is also known for its birds and they too were in great abundance, with ducks and white faced herons searching the algae for food.

The seal colony is located on the northern side of the peninsula. The southern side also has some good bird watching as well as some rock pools for exploring. Thomas and I went for several walks here, watching the shags and oyster catchers from the shoreline. We also wandered into the limestone intertidal, checking out the salt tolerant plants and air tolerant limpets that live where the sea meets the land.

There is a wonderful peninsula walk as well bet at Thomas's age, we decided it would be a bit much for him so we left it as another excuse to go back. The shops downtown are full of little hidden gems and we popped in and out of a few, however, the other big attraction to Kaikoura is the seafood, specifically the crayfish or spiny lobster. Not wanting to sit down to an extravagant seafood dinner, we opted for the highly recommended seafood stand. She got to try a crayfish cake.

Although there was so much more to Kaikoura that we did not get to experience, it was clearly our favourite place. It reminded me very much of BC, well, the whole south island does, except no bears. It is a nature experience and has a little of everything for everyone. For anyone visiting New Zealand, this is definitely a place you need to put on your list.