No map today since we stuck around Kaikoura. Last night we bought breakfast stuff so we had breakfast and lunch in. We realized we only have today and tomorrow to finish off any food we have left. The AirBnB is another small casita type arrangement owned by a woman named Fiona who moved here from Auckland several years ago because real estate is so high on the north island. It's very comfy and in good shape. The shower is a tankless on demand type so she came over and explained how it works. A bit tricky but we figured it out. Aside from the shower, there's no hot water or kitchen sink so she is set up for short stays. We just put dirty dishes in a container instead of washing them. But, as with all places in NZ, there is a kettle and a fridge so good to go on instant oatmeal, coffee and tea.
Today we walked the nice 2 mile path out to the seal colony. The path is part road walk, part boardwalk and part gravel path. It is great to walk all that way with the ocean by your side. It was not however sunny today, but it didn't rain either. Instead it was as if the clouds had just dropped down to just above the water so we could see out to sea, but we couldn't see the mountains beyond. We had good sun yesterday so fair enough. This last month I think we have done above average on the bad weather front given that we are not in Arizona. We ran into a man from Quebec (he could not hide the accent) and he had just finished the 4 mile round trip and he pointed out the only seal he had seen, which was right in front of us. He saw nothing at the sea colony. Now keep in mind that these seals don't move around a lot so if you see something on a rock that looks like a burlap bag filled with smelly fish carcasses, that is either a bag of smelly fish carcasses or a seal. So keep your eyes peeled.
There were not too many people walking and a few riding bikes but it felt like this is kind of the off season. There are a ton of camper vans parked all over and it seems there are limited stay free camping sites. We passed a $20 NZD site and several other paid camping sites, so there seem to be lots of places to sleep in your camper van. Lots of Jucy vans, which seem like the choice for young hip (or old hip I suppose) travelers. Then there are lots of other bigger, fancier vans. It's a big thing here.
When we got to the seal colony I walked right by two big seals on the beach, Deb had to point out how close I was to them, closer I suppose than the signs warning that they bite thought one should go (I must have mistook them for bags of smelly fish carcasses..). So we saw 3 seals today which felt like enough. The walk was the best part. So we walked back to the ranch and had a light lunch of the usual cheese, crackers, salami, yogurt, which put a small dent in our stocks. Then off to the city museum.
The museum is pretty nice with a sort of chronological run through prehistory, Maori history, whaling history, fishing history, and then the English invasion when the modern world showed up in the late 1800's. The crisp museum timeline kind of fell apart at this stage and they loaded up the other end of the museum with all the old junk that had accumulated in the last 100 years.
There was another whole section that had to do with the 2016 earthquake, with three short documentaries, art, diaries, etc about the 7.8 earthquake. What a mess. All the shops had everything knocked all over, some houses were reduced to piles of rubble, the roads down the coast was blown out by landslides (or slips as they're called here) and the train track was all torn up. One of the graphics shows why this area is in for more of this, since this is where a couple of plates are rubbing against each other. More is coming some day for sure.
After the museum Deb took me for our mid afternoon tea (chai latte & flat white) and then back to the ranch for an hour or two rest before we went to dinner at The Pier Restaurant, which was recommended by Fiona.
The Pier was hopping with what looked like local folks gathering on Sunday night for a pint and maybe supper. Deb scored us a window seat looking out on the ocean. A big bus pulled up but they went to a big back room somewhere so it was just us and the locals. A life well lived is getting together with friends for a pint and a few laughs. I have to start drinking more!!
Then we drove around to find a post office box to mail a post card and back to the cottage.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment