We are are now in Kaikoura which is on the east coast of the south island. We will have been here for 3 nights which is perfect because this small beach town of 5,000 people does not offer more than 3 days worth of activities. We rented bikes the other day and took a nice 8km ride (round trip) to view a seal colony. As I rounded the corner on my bike of a raised, wooden biked path I almost ran over a seal. This seal was just soaking in some clouded over sun rays on the bike path itself. The seal appeared asleep and looked rather harmless. Apparently I was too close for this seal's comfort because he did a quick snap and raised his body up toward me. I did a quick yelp myself and and moved away quickly. Ben said he was surprised I didn't get bitten. Close call I guess. We then walked around and viewed more seals. We also took a short 10 minute hike to a lighthouse. This lighthouse was quite small and unimpressive but the view from up top was spectacular. Later we road our bikes along the ocean and found a little seafood truck and ate lunch there. We weren't sure if we were so hungry after a 1.5 hour wait or if the food was really spectacular but either way we enjoyed it.
The next day (today) we rented mopeds for 4 hours. We again enjoyed scooting out to the seal colony and all throughout Kaikoura. We saw the farm lands, went to the mountains, cruised along the ocean and again had another lunch "kiwi style" from a seafood bbq truck.
Kaikoura is absolutely beautiful. I don't know if I've ever seen anything as beautiful as the Kaikoura Peninsula. The colors are always changing. The bright oranges and pinks will turn to pastel blues and purples within minutes. What might be a brilliant sunset can turn into a dulled night sky. Sometimes the colors look like a scene from a VHS tape that has been watched one too many times while other times the scenery looks too bright to be real. The sound of continuous waves and shoes stepping on the rock covered beach fill the air...that is if you can tune out the ever squawking seagulls. This place is quite remarkable.
Tomorrow we are off to Christchurch for a quick night so that we can travel to Lake Tekapo the next day. Once in Tekapo we should finally be on the right track for travelling to the places we desire on the south island.
~ The Travelling Duo
Kiwi Style Lunch
Kaikoura Peninsula
Snow covered mountains
angry seal
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