Kaikoura-Day 14
We finally reach Route 1 North, headed towards Kaikoura on the East Coast, with the clouds doing their best to follow us. Fingers of solid rock would block the coastal road if not for all the single lane tunnels they have built. Update: On November 14, 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake wiped out much of this road.
It looks like the weather is going to break enough for us to go out on a Whale Watch boat. We had our doubts with all the rain in the mountains yet.
When we get to the launch site, the water has turned a turquoise blue and we are warned that the sea is a little rough today, but still safe to take the boat out.
We will be going out pretty far into open water and will have to stay inside the cabin until we get to the whales. I usually ride standing in the bow of a boat when it is rough to avoid getting seasick, so this makes me somewhat apprehensive. The tour costs $145 NZ each and takes about two and a half hours.
The boat has nice padded, car type seats and the guide is a Maori woman who entertains us with stories and slides while we motor out on the water. There for awhile the waves are crashing over the boat and we are slamming down into the troughs and it is all I can do to not lose my breakfast. I manage to wait until we are allowed outside before I finally spew over the side, just missing a guy downwind. After that I feel a little better and can concentrate on the one whale we finally spot.
This is a Sperm Whale about 40 feet long. Individuals are identified by the shape and markings of their tails. They come up for air and to rest about once per hour for 10-15 minutes .
This one is a male named Tutu. The females stay in warmer waters because they do not have as much blubber to keep them warm. The males who reside near here dive to 1000 meters into the cold Kaikoura trench to eat large fish and giant squid.
Coming back in, the light on the water raced ahead of the clouds. The next place we stopped, as we headed north, was at Oahou Point, near Halfmoon Bay, to see a bunch of Fur seals. They were all over the rocks.
The seals like to hike up a freshwater creek to a waterfall and hangout there, napping. It seems like it would be a hard trek on flippers.
It is very strange for us to see Seals in the woods.
One seal had just given birth to a pup.
The seals don’t seem too bothered by people watching them and mostly nap the day away. We leave them to it and continue our trip North towards Blenheim.
I am impressed by an organic Winery along the way. Growing grapes organically is a hard thing to pull off in the states with all the diseases and pests we have. I hope it is easier here.
We are heading inland again and the hills are looking dry.
This mountain has that volcanic blow-out shape. The house has the typical metal roof and low profile we have noticed just about everywhere.
I don’t know how they manage to keep the mountains from sliding down when they clear cut such steep hills. I am also glad I am not the one planting it back or operating the equipment on these slopes.
We skirt around Picton, where we will be catching the ferry in a couple of days, and head towards Nelson, which turns out to be a major seaport town. The weather has turned cold and rainy again and it is getting dark fast. We were thinking this would be a good place to eat fresh fish for a dinner out but it was a weekend night and everything was booked. We finally found a little place right on the water as we left town. It turned out to be quite expensive, but the food was delicious, and we went all out and had wine and desert too. The fish we had was called John Dory, and there was fresh asparagus, a scalloped potato side, and fresh greens, with a lemon curd and raspberry tart.
Restaurant on the Water’s Edge
Mapua
We left the restaurant very full and finally found a camp for the night at Mapua. I think we found the camp listed on our GPS. We drove across a private causeway and stopped at the office, but no one was there. They had left a note to call their cell phone as they were at a party nearby. When we called we were told to just park somewhere near the kitchen block and catch up in the morning.
There were signs in the showers telling us that no togs were allowed in the showers, and that during February and March, clothing was optional in camp.
In the morning we met the resident Yellow Crested Cockatoo, Joey. His one phrase was “Hello Joey” and he loved to have his head scratched. So far, it was not raining and soon we were on the road again, headed towards Abel Tasman Park. The farmland we passed on the way was neatly lined with wind breaks.
Riwaka Spring
We have a thing about springs and waterfalls, so we stopped at the Riwaka resurgence, a sacred Maori Spring coming out of the base of Takaka Mountain. No one is allowed to touch the water where it first emerges but there were some kids further down stream taking a quick dip in the really cold and clean water.
As we continued our journey up the mountain, fog was starting to flow downwards. It got darker and darker towards the top.
It was like driving in the middle of the night, except our headlights hardly made a dent in the dense fog. And the road was a windy mountain road. We even came across a poor guy on a bike.
We finally came down out of the clouds, drove through the little town of Takaka and then stopped at Waikoropupu Springs. it was raining hard as we walked the pathways around to the huge springs there.
These giant springs flow at an average 11.5 cubic meters per second and are considered some of the cleanest springs in the world.
Our goal today is to get to the sea caves on Wharariki Beach and then the Cape Farewell spit, at the northern tip of the South Island. As we drive through the more level land on this side of the mountain there are huge pipes irrigating alfalfa fields in the rain, which seems like a waste. There are also acres of red and white bird netting installed over the Kiwi and grape vines and cherries. Flocks of birds are really bad for eating fruit.
Wharariki Beach
When we arrive at the Puponga Farm car park for our hike to Wharariki Beach, we are greeted by a peacock from the tiny Holiday Park there. This would have been a great place to camp if the timing had worked for us. The guy who runs it is very creative, and has built a magical outdoor bar with hammocks and tree tables.
As we step over the stile, we meet a welcoming committee of sheep,
Our narrow track runs right through the middle of this gorgeously green and picturesque sheep meadow on the way to the beach.
More sheep wonder why we are passing through.
We wind through dunes covered in wind blown looking coastal trees, through sandy tunnels,
over a small creek, and eventually emerge on top of the last dune for a view of the beach.
The sand has been blown undisturbed with very few signs of people out here.
Some of the stacks are surrounded by water.
Others have slots you can get into.
There are seals laying about, tucked into sheltered corners.
There was one one big male seal perched way up on a huge rock, overlooking his domain.
An obviously younger male seal, tried very hard to climb up the steep rock face to him, which looked extremely difficult using flippers. When he finally got to where he could peer upwards, the old Alpha male just shot him a disgusted look- daring him to take one more step. The young one slowly slid back down the rock, slumping exhausted onto the sand, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.
Some of the rocks had fantastic colors and layers of fossils.
There were sea caves all over the place.
It is wonderful how so many dunes are wild and intact in New Zealand.
The wind blows the sand into patterns, wildflowers grow…roadside horses say howdy on the way out …
We could stay here a long time but need to start back. We have to get as close as we can to Picton and the ferry tonight so we can catch a ride to the North Island tomorrow. Good bye Wharariki Beach.
Wendy Lee, writing at Edgewise Woods, Gardens and Critters
Finally we got back out on the main road and ended up getting to a camp in tiny Makaroa as night fell.
We learned that the Maori arrived in the banks area in the 1300’s and the European settlers not until 1850. The first Maori tribes were quite fierce, and they fought and killed each other, and some settlers as well, before finally settling down. They have since managed to assimilate quite well, while retaining their native language and some parts of their culture . The Maori did manage to kill off quite a few of the native birds, such as the 12 foot tall Moa, and the colonial settlers were responsible for bringing in all kinds of invasive plants and animals, which has destroyed many of the native populations. The only native mammals New Zealand originally had were three species of bats and several marine mammals, such as seals, sea lion, whales and dolphins. The country is currently attempting to protect what they have left with marine reserves and eradication efforts aimed at predators but it seems to be a losing battle.
