Kaikoura - Where the mountains meet the sea.

We have just got back from a glorious weekend away in Kaikoura. A couple of hours drive north from Christchurch and a totally different landscape. We stayed in a house that we shared with the Ralph family! Close to the beach (and the railway line) but handy for all the fab things to do in and around Kaikoura.
There were different highlights for each of us. Matt and Joe headed off whale watching for the afternoon (Ben was too small to make the trip). We had all got up at 6.30 am as the trip was due to leave at 7.15. However, the fog was thick and they were re-scheduled at 1.15pm (by which time it was blazing hot with a nice calm sea - perfect.



Matt took hundreds of photos (and a little video)
of the 3 sperm whales that they encountered. As well as seeing the whales, Joe was thrilled to be given a seat next to the Captain of the boat. He spent an hour there chatting to her and even got to 'drive' the boat!

Meanwhile Ben and I headed up the coast to explore some of the other coves and bays. It really is stunning!

We saw lots of New Zealand fur seals in the colonies that live along that stretch of coast. A really special experience was seeing 3 young seals that make their way up a rocky river to a waterfall and plunge pool. They rolled around and played in the water for ages - it was gorgeous. The new pups will be born in the next couple of months and their mothers take them up to this waterfall - perhaps we shall have to go back in the new year?

We also visited limestone caves, had some lovely meals out including the locally caught crayfish (Kaikoura means 'to eat (or eating) crayfish') and had a good time catching up. As a bonus, Matt and Chris amazed Anna and I by their thorough knowledge of ABBA lyrics as we watched Mamma Mia one evening!!

On our way home we all stopped for a few hours at Gore Bay. We had a picnic, basked in the sunshine and braved the chilly water. We are sorry it's Monday tomorrow!