Kaikoura and Closing the Loop

It was the moment I had been bracing for… my first solo drive on the left side of the road. I eased into the day, getting into the right headspace. I had my now-usual breakfast of avocado toast and an Avalanche instant latte. I checked out of the AirBNB and ran a few quick errands in town. The first leg of the drive was a short one, just to get out of Christchurch and its roundabouts. There wasn’t much traffic on a quiet Saturday morning, and with plenty of advance research, it went smoothly. I stopped for another coffee and a pastry at the Old School Collective, a popular but relaxed café on the outskirts of town.

The second leg was an hour long, a comfortable stretch of Highway 1 with only one one-lane bridge. There was a convenient rest stop in the small town of Cheviot. The stop was just a block from a Four Square grocery store where I could buy ingredients for lunch and dinner. The third leg was a bit trickier, with a curvy mountain road and a few short tunnels. I ended up in a caravan with a slow lead driver and a slow truck pulling a boat, so I didn’t have to worry too much about passing or giving way. The final stretch of this last leg was right along the coast and was extremely scenic. There was no indication of the road damage from the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, apart from one giant net shielding the road from falling rocks, which might have been there anyways.
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In Kaikoura, I stayed in an AirBNB that was a bedroom in a house. The hosts, Frances and Tony, were originally from Christchurch and retired to Kaikoura, right next to the golf course. Their love of golf was evident from the décor, including a “chance of golf” indicator on the fridge. At first, they struck me as introverted and not really “into” hosting. The check-in orientation was laughably brief – no key was given, and I had to ask how to get in/out of the house. (It turned out there was a spare key in a combo box, with the password “golf.”)

The ice finally broke over dinner. I had cooked myself an Asian stir fry and was finishing off a Tui beer when Frances and Tony joined me at the table with their own dinner. I learned that Frances was from a farming family and had an impressive backyard garden. They were in tune with their mini ecosystem, describing the lives of the resident birds in impressive detail and maintaining their own stoat traps. I also learned that golf courses, especially country clubs, are surprisingly cheap in New Zealand and in some cases, are naturally maintained with grazing sheep!
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At their recommendation, I hiked up the hill to catch the sunset over the Southern Alps. It was so pretty, with the ocean and mountains both visible, the pink clouds, and an incredible variety of birdsong. The neighborhood itself was a bit eclectic, as it was only partially developed. It contained lots of grassy, empty lots. Frances and Tony had owned their land for 20 years and built their house 4 years ago. Most of the other houses were less than 4 years old. But it sounded like a tight-knit community, with neighborly exchanges of excess vegetables and seafood.

​It was a 5 minute drive to a public parking lot by the beach in Kaikoura. The main street showcased Kaikoura’s fame for everything aquatic – whale watching cruises, crayfish, sea lion colonies, etc. I continued along a black sand beach, spotting a small group of dolphins from the shore. Wildflowers dotted the edges of the coastal pathway, different species than I’d seen earlier in the trip. The Kaikoura Ranges were becoming more visible as the clouds shifted, and still had a bit of snow.

​I hiked around the entire Kaikoura Peninsula, an 8 mile piecewise route consisting of a paved road, a bluff trail, and a forest trail back into town. Along the paved stretch, I spotted layered rock formations, jutting at sharp angles, and the occasional seal carcass, ribs visible through gaps of dried skin. Though I kept an eye out for a whale tail, I saw only birds – herons, cormorants, oystercatchers, and seagulls.

​About a third of the way through the hike, I reached a Seafood BBQ food truck that ran a thriving business despite its odd location. I wanted a little taste of crayfish, despite my historical objection, as it was a local specialty. The name of the town, Kaikoura, literally means “eat crayfish” in Maori. So I opted for the entry level dish – a crayfish fritter. The crayfish wasn’t very discernable from the fritter, which was a little disappointing. In my peripheral vision, I watched in amazement and horror as an Asian couple posed with their crayfish, holding them in the air and taking photos for several minutes. I was suddenly glad I went with the fritter.

​One of the corners of the peninsula was Point Kane. I followed the path up to the top of the bluff for views overlooking the wide, low-lying shelf of rock. As the trail continued along the bluff, I could see the enormous fur seal colony, spread out over this rocky shelf right by the water’s edge. The seals fumbled across the rocks like giant caterpillars and swam in mini lakes between the rocks.

​The trail continued through a cattle grazing area and to the south side of the peninsula. A scientific display explained that the Kaikoura area has a deep ocean trench that creates an abundance of marine life, making it attractive to all seafood lovers (including the whales!) I ate a sandwich while watching kayak tours launch into the shallows.

After completing the loop, I went back to settle in for the evening. An Australian couple arrived and checked into the second guest room. They were just starting their New Zealand trip, so I gave them my leftover cooking ingredients and guide book.

Day 39 of Survivor: New Zealand. I drove from Kaikoura to Picton, crossing back into the Marlborough wine country, and closing the loop around the South Island. The rental car return was much smoother than the pickup 26 days earlier. I gave the keys back to the same Scottish lady, dragged my bag across town to the ferry terminal, and finally could relax.
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The ferry ride from Picton to Wellington was just as beautiful as the first time. I sat on the observation deck the whole time, enjoying the scenery on the way out of the Marlborough Sounds. A friendly Kiwi couple struck up a conversation, and we talked for the last hour of the journey. They were from New Plymouth, a more industrial city on the North Island, and had been biking around the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive. They had a car on the ferry and a 5 hour drive in store that evening.

​In Wellington, I found a bus that would take me to Cuba Street and rode across town. The hostel I picked, called the Marion, was one of the better hostels I had encountered. It had several large common areas, including one with a guitar that I played, interesting lighting and artwork, and leaned into the aesthetic of its original brick building by leaving some of the walls and rafters exposed. I only had a few hours between the ferry and my flight, so I grabbed Thai food on Cuba St and took a shower.

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​The Air New Zealand checkin counter didn’t open until 4:00am, two hours before my flight. I waited in the bag drop line in front of a giant sculpture of Smaug the Dragon. The main waiting area of the airport had another Lord of the Rings sculpture, of Gandalf riding a giant eagle – presumably the handiwork of Weta Workshop. My first flight, from Wellington to Auckland, was a very quick 1 hour. In the flight safety video, a takahe named “Mr. T” was taken around New Zealand, eventually matching with a bird sanctuary through the “Nester” app – a final dose of cheeky Kiwi humor. I had a window seat overlooking the North Island’s mountains and was delighted to see the enormous Mt. Ruapehu rising above the clouds. The elusive Mt. Tongariro stayed out of sight, but its outline was faintly visible as a bump in the clouds.

​In Auckland, I changed from the domestic to the international terminal, and browsed the gift shops. From manuka honey and Dunedin craft spirits to kea and penguin puppets, it brought back memories from the previous weeks. I ate the PB&J that I had made at 3:00am in the deserted hostel kitchen.
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In hindsight, it was very unusual to enter Australia through a flight from Auckland to Hobart, as it only runs a few times a week. However, it was a nice geographic progression – crossing the Tasman Sea to Tasmania, staying at a similar latitude. Both Australia and New Zealand take their biosecurity seriously, so I discarded my NZ bird feather collection to avoid questions at customs. I was expecting immigration to look at my working holiday visa, but they let me through without a question nor a passport stamp. A bronze statue of Tasmanian devils on a luggage cart was a sign that I had officially made it into Australia!