After two nights in Marlborough wine country, I was on the road again.
But this time, I was in the car of another stranger couple.
Meet the Germans.
I met the wife of the couple the night before after I cycled drunkenly back to my guesthouse from my one-day wine trail and we got to know each other through a glass of wine or two (from my stash which I bought that day).
Next thing I know, they offered me a ride down to Christchurch the following day.
Yay~!
It's amazing how many nice people one can meet on a single trip.
What's even more amazing was that they were going to pass by Kaikoura for a day trip on the 6-hr drive down to Christchurch. YAY!!!
Kaikoura is famous for their wildlife observations and more often than not, you're able to spot many creatures like whales at sea, dolphins near the shore and fur seals along the coastal lines. It's a wonderland for animal lovers.
Will talk about Kaikoura in a sec.
On the way, they stopped by a restaurant for a cuppa (where I had my breakfast) which was very famously known among the locals.
Introduce "The Store".
Apparently most people who do the drive down to Christchurch would purposely stop by this place (place in fact is Kekerengu) for an eat out.
Reasons being the obvious upon entrance.
After breakfast (coffee for them), we walked out to the parking lot where fog was already collecting.
Not a good sign. But they drove on cautiously and made it through anyway.
While half asleep at the backseat of the car, I was suddenly jerked awake by the sudden stall in momentum. The car was parked at the side of the road.
I followed them out of the car and found myself facing the splendid eastern coastal line of New Zealand South Island.
Then I saw the couple speaking to each other in their native tongue and pointing towards the stone-filled beach, I followed gaze and was surprised with the cutest thing!!
Fur Seal!!!
Or seals rather.
The whole colony of them!!!
They were sooooo cute! Especially the baby seals.
It was a clear sign that we were very near Kaikoura already.
Here's a video of the cute mammals.
Here are some facts about fur seals.
Test to your eye sights. Don't squint too much, you can almost make out the words if you focus hard enough.
After 20 mins or so, we finally arrived at Kaikoura!
It was still pretty cold so we brought our thickest jumper and walked the beach.
I realized that the beaches here were pebbles instead of sand.
And the wave quite aggressive.
Spotted a guy challenging the wave next to us, which was pretty funny.
He was running even before the wave hit the shore. Haha... Cute.
Here are a few more random photos in Kaikoura.
a white among the grey
scouting for pebbles
sperm whale speed bump, lol!
bought two postcards as a remembrance of the cute baby seal I saw earlier.
an empty known popular seal colony area
Last photo was a reminder to all tourists to leave the seals alone in their colony.
I saw more seals at the beach along the drive than 10 people can spot in this colony.
By evening, we arrived at Christchurch where my next host was already there waiting to pick me up.... ;)
(to be continued)
