Visiting Kaikoura

When you say Kaikoura most New Zealanders immediately think of whales. The little town is famous for the whale watching tours that go out on a daily basis. But if you stop there for just a little bit longer it is easy to find so much more to fill a day with. The Kaikoura coastline is nothing short of breathtaking, rocky, rugged and so very full of life. Since we had based ourselves in Kaikoura for our visit to Mt Lyford we decided to make the most of our time on the Sunday and do a bit of exploring before heading back to Blenheim. We left our spot in the morning with no firm plan and our first stop was to empty our grey water tanks and refill them with fresh water all ready for the week ahead. Quite often dump stations are tucked away in not so glamorous settings, Kaikoura on the other hand has beach front views from their dump station. As luck would have it, it was also at one end of the Kaikoura coastal walkway and we very quickly decided this is what we would fill our day with.

The track climbs quite steeply up to the top of the hills at first but it’s a short, sharp climb and from then on the walk is mostly flat following along the edge of the cliffs so you don’t know which way you would rather look. Down at the beautiful coastline below or up at the stunning snow-capped mountains and the glorious colours of the sun reflecting off them. It took us around an hour of easy walking to make it to a spot called Point Kean where you have a good view of the seal colony below and plenty of spots to choose from to enjoy a picnic in the sun. The sea was so flat and calm on the day we were there that we regretted not bringing our binoculars to gaze out at the ocean with and see what else we could spy.

It is really starting to feel like the worst of winter is behind us now and days like this you can feel summer is starting to head your way again. I try my hardest to enjoy every season for what it offers and not wish my life away waiting for the nicer weather, but I can’t help but be excited for our first full summer living in the bus and all that will have to offer. And in the meantime this type of weather is really the best for walking in, between work and rain we have been a bit restricted with what we have done lately so days like this are such a good reminder of what this life style is all about. I love hanging back a bit on our walks sometimes, letting Wayne and Oliver have a bit of time to themselves and simply appreciating how much their relationship has grown now that they have had all this time together. This above everything else is what I am so grateful we have found in our bus life. Not more love because I think we already had plenty of that. Just a greater understanding of each other, perhaps more appreciation for each other and definitely a whole lot more patience with each other. We headed away from Kaikoura feeling completely content and already planning the next adventure.