Kaikoura

I just read Terry's entry into the blog (note to self: change the password when this entry is finished).

We had an uneventful week in Christchurch, with Mike being busy with some meetings and teaching and Terry doing her yoga and BAT (Butt, Abs and  Thighs) workouts at the university.  The weather remained sub-par for this time of year, but we avoided any more 100-year events, so that was good.

We were visited on Thursday by Pam Kulinna, a professional colleague/friend of Mike's, who is on sabbatical from Arizona State University, doing some research and teaching at the University of Auckland on the North Island.  Given the still-crummy weather forecast in CC for the weekend, we decided to take a road trip up the coast to Kaikoura, an old fishing and whaling town.  "Kaikoura" in Maori means "eating crayfish [lobster]" but at over $60 a pop in restaurants, there wasn't going to be any Kaikoura-ing for us.

We hired a car and left CC early on Friday.  Route 1 runs the length of the  (East) Pacfiic Coast on the South Island, and then turns West at the very top.  It has an ever-changing landscape of hills, rivers, plains, farms, coast, and the Southern Alps for the 150 or so miles from Christchurch to Kaikoura.  On the way up we stopped several times to take photos.  This one is in Gore Bay, a very small fishing village:

Terry and Pam soon discovered a mutual passion for shelling, so here they are action in Gore:

Once I could convince them to get back in the car we continued North and saw more of the beautiful coast as we headed to Kaikoura.

We rented a small bungalow for one night:

The bungalow was spacious and clean, located about 50 yards from the shore of Kaikoura Bay.  From the front portch, we got the view of the Southern Alps (top of this post) on one side, and a view of the cliffs of Kaikoura Peninsula to the other side:

Not too shabby for a last-minute find the day before.  Once we got settled and had lunch we drove a short distance to a seal colony on the rocky shore of the ocean.  We saw about 20 seals, with one wanting an up-close-and-personal view of us as we took about 200 pictures of him. Her?  Pam wanted to give it a name, so Mike suggested "Christmas."  You know, "Christmas...seal"

We then drove up to the road on top of the peninsula and discovered some great views of Kairoura, and some private homes, including one with its own observatory.

There is a public observation point on the top road, where we parked and climbed up a short water tower for a full view of the peninsula and town.  From there, not too far in the distance we could not believe our eyes--four (what we thought were adult) sperm whales were slowly gliding in the water and stayed in view for about 10 minutes--until Momma sperm whale came into sight!  She was 3-4 times larger than her calves, and easy to see without the aid of our binoculars.  Wow!  We had contemplated going out on a whale watching tour, but the rough seas and high cost kept us to a shore tour.  Funny thing, when we were watching the seals earlier, a group of people were complaining to us that they had spent $150 each for a two-hour boat ride, and didn't see a single whale.

We were really excited about our tour, and our luck in seeing the whales from dry land.  We came back to the bungalow for a Happy Hour and light dinner, but discovered that clouds had moved in and the mountains were no longer in view.  Other than that, it had been a perfect day.

On the way back to CC the next day we took a detour to Hanmer Springs, a bit inland.  The town features thermal springs, some of which were used for therapy for wounded soldiers returning from WWII.  Other than that, not much too see there, but we did enjoy a sunny ride most of the way back.  We came across a small winery that was have a car show of old English Fords--Zephyrs, and Zodiacs.  Terry spotted one produced in the year she was born:

Of course, the closer we got to Christchurch, the worse the weather became.  We ended the weekend with a great dinner hosted by Ian and Ann Culpan, in their lovely home.  Ian is Mike's sponsor for the Fellowship and has been a great host in every way.

We came back from dinner tired, so it was a short night.  Mike took Pam to the airport early this morning, and now we are catching up from the weekend and Mike is preparing a short presentation at the university for this afternoon.

Next week's tour will be all the way up to the Northern coast of the south Island, to an area that produces nearly all of NZ's white wines and has a lot of beautiful beaches.  So, check back in a week...

Mike and Terry