Km driven: 3700
We leave Motueka for Kaikoura with sore arms and shoulders from paddling in the azure waters of the Abel Tasman National Park to head to our next destination...Kaikoura (I love the sound of that name, it just rolls off the tongue! It sounds more Aussie than Kiwi). Another sunny day greets us and we pack all our stuff (that is 1 suitcase per adult plus 1 carry-on per adult, a cooler for our food, camera bags, surf gear bag, surfboard, computer bag for the occaisional bout of work, and of course 4 adult bodies and a toddler in a car seat...all crammed into our 1996 Honda Odyssey nicknamed Chewbacca!) and head down the road through the NE portion of the South Island of NZ.
Kaikoura (Kai = food, koura = crayfish) is a four hour drive from Motueka. We drove through Nelson (known for mild weather, nice buildings, and good food) and stopped just outside of town for lunch. I had picked an organic brewery pub located in a small heritage park for lunch. The guidebook said it does not cost to go into the park if you are just going to the pub, but the woman at the front desk said the book was wrong. We got in for free anyway. The food was good and the beer was not half bad. The drive along the edge of Nelson gave us some nice views across to the southern tip of the South Island. We then went through Blenheim, known for wine and food, which was just gearing up for a food and wine festival. We had seen a number of vineyards in the Abel Tasman area but as we came down into this valley it was solid with vineyards and signs advertising them. Along the coast south from there we were hugging the bluffs looking out on rocky shores most of the way. Much to George’s disappointment, there was not any significant swell to be seen. We did see more shags (like cormorants a little), seals, and other sealife during the drive. We did not spot any of the whales that are very common here. Kaikoura has fur seals, dolphins, whales, and other animals galore. The reason is that the seabed goes from 90meters to more than 800meters just offshore a ways - creating an upwelling current of cold to warm - which makes a “feeding zone”. Kaikoura is also in Maori legend as the seat of the demigod Maui who came between mother earth and father sky to fish up the islands from the sea. This peninsula is the seat where he sat to fish up the north island. It was a heavily fortified pa (fortified village) area for the Ngai Tahu iwi (tribe) until the 1800s and before that it was a site for moa hunting as well.
So we settled into our bach (again, pronounced “batch”) which was probably the poshest one yet, and then went into town for supper. The next day after breakfast we did a little bit of shopping as my Mom had not really had time for much of that yet. She found a nice wool sweater made with both Merino wool and possum fur. It turns out that possum fur is hollow – which both makes it warm and keeps the Merino from pilling up when you wear it. Maia was not much into the shopping so she and Monte sat outside after a bit and counted (and named colors) cars that went by. She seemed to really enjoy this as she sat quite happily in his lap. We went to a paua (abalone) shell jewelry store. Much of it is made in Asia – so you really have to ask and look around if you want a more authentic souvenir. The same goes for jade. Back in Hokitika (known for a type of jade that has white in some bits and soft and that comes from the west Coast of the South Island) a jeweler I met explained to me that these days a lot of the jade is imported from British Columbia for use in making tourist items. They also import from China (black jade mostly), and Russia (very green). Alaskan jade is similar to B.C. jade, but he had not seen much of it. So I was looking for NZ jade specifically. It is not that the other items are not beautiful or well crafted, but they are not exactly bona fide. He told me the jade is similar, but that the fine stone from the South Island is a little more luminescent in his mind. What is really funny is that I saw small bears with salmon in their mouths carved out of the B.C. jade being made for sale in the shop where I met that jeweler…odd twist!
After the earlier activities we stopped in a cute little cafe and had lunch and then afterwards we stopped in a small farm that was giving "shearing demonstrations". You can imagine that this was a MUST SEE event. Think about it, a toddler (Maia) fascinated by animals and a grandmother (Carolyn) thrilled to share in that fascination...an alignment of the stars like no other!So, we get into the shearing shed and we are introduced to a working dog named Jake who is a registered "Huntaway"...never heard of that breed before. Amazing set of commands he responded to and friendly to boot. Then they brought out THE Ram...big critter who gets to spend 2 months a year with the rest of the flock.
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| Ram's name is Ram-Man...wonder why?! |
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| Aw...look at the pretty sheep, she's so cute and fuzzy:) |
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| Hey! What the heck are you doing to me? Oh, wait a minute...my submissive side is kicking in, I'm OK now. |
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| Anybody feel a draft in here? Wait, I get FOOD for that?...YIPPEE! |
Maia: We are leaving?!!! WHY?!
Mommy or Daddy: Because, the show is over.
Maia: WHY?!
Mommy or Daddy: Because we need to leave now
Maia: WHY?!!!!!!
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| WHY?! |
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| One last look |
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| How many sheep can you cram into a Mini? Last time we were in NZ, somebody tried to steal a cow in one! Yep, you read right...A COW! |
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| KISS campervan by a company called "Wicked Campervans". All their vans are uniquely painted with a different theme. I'm guessing this renter has a certain bent in mind for their trip...or maybe an unlucky pair of 80 year olds got this one! |
The sheep show was followed by a walk at low tide at the point where the fur seals pull out. It was pretty windy, but quite beautiful. Back when this was a whaling town (first settled for this purpose by a Scotsman in 1842) this point was where they would do much of the looking for whales that came by the peninsula. There were a couple of seals that were sunning and resting on the flat shelf of rocks. Maia enjoyed learning to navigate the irregular rocks and walk over the fingers of the tidal pools. She got her hands and arms good and wet during her explorations with us. We did take one picture of a seal from a respectful distance – but were sad to see people who did not seem to understand that harassment of a wild animal includes getting too close, taking pictures while posing in front of them (just dumb to turn your back to a large wild mammal), etc. One of the seals had finally had enough and took the next wave back out to sea. When Maia’s shoes, feet, and arms were wet enough that she actually seemed both a little tired and hungry we went to one of the numerous seafood shacks for a shared plate of paua patties (odd, mushy, blue), grilled scallops (yum!), grilled fish (also yum!), and the like. After all the excitement, Maia had a decent nap back at the bach.
Saturday we had to take Carolyn and Monte back to the airport in Christchurch. It is only a 2 hour drive or so. We stopped at the Mudhouse winery for a late lunch. They normally stop serving food around 3pm, but took us anyway – which was so lucky for us because although we could have found food a little further down the road, there is no way we would have found such an amazing meal so easily! Carolyn had a Tahr pie. (Tahr is like a mountain goat, imported however many years ago from the Himalayas and now hunted) It was fantastic. George had wild boar pie. Monte and I had platters of cheese, fruit, salad, and bread. Maia shared the fruit and bread. Maia also had a marvelous time running around in the field by the winery with a group of children whose parents were trying to have a quiet lunch! They eventually all had their shoes off and were swinging their feet in the fountain at the center of the outdoor courtyard. It says something about Kiwis that nobody thought this to be unusual and the staff did not chastise or even express any concern about this behavior! Maia thought it quite wonderful and when it was time to leave she did not argue, but did say “goodbye friends” to the kids…then slept in the car.
Getting them off at the airport was uneventful except for a small rearrangement of souvenirs in the luggage to keep the weight okay. Maia waved “bye bye” and we went off for supper. Now she talks about how Monte and Nana went to the gate (an important part of her understanding of airports) and took the airplane home to go take care of the doggies and the chickens. We continue to be amazed that she gets all of this so easily:)
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