Tuesday February 19 was another warm, sunny day. We caught the 9:45 a.m. Intercity Bus from Nelson to Blenheim, arriving at about 11:45 a.m. We had about a two hour layover, as we were catching the 2:10 p.m. bus from Blenheim to Kaikoura, the next stop on our adventure. It was very hot in Blenheim- going to 31C.
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| We passed many clear cuts from Nelson to Blenheim |
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| Dried up grass and waterbeds |
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| lovely coast |
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| More sheep |
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| Very large wineries near Blenheim in Marlborough country |
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More vines
The bus depot was very near the I-Site for Blenheim, which was housed in a modern building. We were able to leave our luggage there and we wandered into town.
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| Blenheim I-Site |
We noticed a number of signs in the sidewalk detailing the history of Blenheim.
We stopped for an Atomic coffee at one restaurant; Alain had a savoury scone at another; and I had a lovely egg sandwich with home made mayo on very good bread at Herb + Olive. We had time to stop at a fish store and green grocer and buy some fish, corn and zucchini for dinner.
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| Herb + Olive |
More signage as we wandered back to the bus station.
Our bus was about 20 minutes late as it was coming from Picton and had to wait for the ferry from Wellington. Our trip to Kaikoura was just over two hours and we arrived at around 4:40 p.m. We passed more vineyards on the other side of Blenheim.
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| More vines |
We then went through a stretch of deserted and very dry hills.
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| Dry as a bone |
We then started to follow the coast and about 30 minutes outside of Kaikoura we saw 100s of fur seals playing in the water. It was totally awesome. Luckily traffic was a bit backed up due to construction, so I was able to take pictures from the bus.
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| Seals, glorious seals |
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| So many seals |
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| Up close from the bus |
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| More |
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| Amazing |
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| Tons in the water near these rocks |
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| Railtracks near the water |
We arrived in Kaikoura and stopped at the I-Site to get a map and some information. We were only a five minute walk up a hill to Dolphin Lodge hostel, a small hostel with a great view of the water. We have a room with a shared bath, but are only staying two nights. Kaikoura has a permanent population estimated at around 3500 people.
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| View from the deck of the hostel |
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| Hostel-- our room is in the small side section on the right. |
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| Very quiet location with only seven rooms |
After unpacking a few things, we decided to explore. We walked down the main street in one direction and then headed out to the Peninsula in the other direction to check out a restaurant that had. been recommended in The Pier Hotel. The woman who checked us in at the Hostel said it was only a 20 minute walk--- it was more like a 50 minute walk.
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| Alain walking down from the hostel |
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| Lovely Kaikoura Library and Museum that we may visit |
We saw posters for an Arts Festival called Shared Lines: Kaikōura that is on in town. A number of stores have art in their windows and there was a symposium this evening at the Museum.
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| Poster for Shared Lines. SL:K |
It reminded me a bit of the TO DO festival on Dundas Street.
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| Textile artist displaying in one window |
We passed a restaurant where a couple was sampling a flight of beers. Craft beer is huge in New Zealand.
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| Sampling a flight of beer |
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| Colourful public toilets |
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| We checked out Bee Box--- the owner serves Allpress coffee and his parents own a restaurant a few minutes away |
Kaikoura was hit was a 7.8 earthquake on November 4, 2016. The earthquake killed two people and caused damage to roads and infrastructure. Most attractions and businesses have since reopened but there are still buildings with "Earthquake unsound" signs and some businesses still remain closed.
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| Poster about the November 4, 2016 earthquake |
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| Community Restoration project to restore Lyell Creek |
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| The creek with a swan |
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| Swandiving for some food |
It was nice to walk along the shore en route to The Pier Hotel.
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| Facing one way |
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| Then the other |
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| Alain contemplating |
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| The Conservation and Protection of the Mountains to the Sea-- signage along the way |
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| The beach |
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| Alain in front of the Norfolk Pines - first planted in 1900 by Mr. W Cooke, a shop owner on the Esplanade. Some of a group of six pines planted in 1912 are still standing. |
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| Sculpture along the way |
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| Looking back on the water and mountains |
We finally got the Pier Hotel after about a 50 minute walk.
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| The Pier Hotel- since 1885 |
We inquired about dinner since we had walked all that way. They were booked, but they do have a shuttle and we made a reservation for the following night. We were able to sit outside and share a couple of local beers along with some fries.
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| Local beers at sunset |
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| We shared some fries in beer batter |
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| Alain at dusk |
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| People having drinks outside |
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| Bird seemed content |
We walked back to the Hostel-- definitely took less time that going out.
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| Great light |
It was a beautiful sunset over the Kaikoura hills.
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Alain in pink
We had our fish dinner and salad at the Hostel along with a glass of the Richmond Plains chardonnay we had bought on our wine tour on Monday. On Wednesday we will further explore Kaikoura.
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