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canoeing, kayaking and other adventures

canoeing and kayaking adventures born in the Southeastern U.S. and now centered in Scotland...

Friday, November 02, 2007

Kaikoura and Christchurch revisited – 29/10/2007

I awoke to the brightest, warmest play day in New Zealand the day I was expected to leave. Such a tease! With my flight leaving just before 7pm, I was determined to make the most of it and Kaikoura was a great place for that.

After a makeshift breakfast of fruit bars, tea and milk, I set off to harass the fur seals at the Peninsula seal colony. Given the signs that warned against annoying the lazy seals at the peninsula and especially at other Kaikoura beaches, I was surprised to see businesses like this one around.

The fur seals at the Peninsula colony were basking in the sun surrounded by tourists with cameras. Signs warned that the seals have sharp and pointy teeth and move far quicker than their appearance suggested. The seals at the colony were more interested in resting than anything else, so it was relatively safe to be near them. After a few minutes, I left them in peace with the other tourists.

I went back to the main street in Kaikoura and walked its equivalent along the waterfront. The tide was on its way out. The beach lacked sand and instead was a series of volcanic gravel shelves as the tide receded. The walk was challenging perhaps because I was walking as close as possible to the water and occasionally that shelf would collapse just as a wave crashed in. I saw some seal silhouettes in the distance, but true to the colony signs, they were on their way long before I crunched my way there. The seagulls couldn't care less if I was there or not.

The main street in Kaikoura is lined with the usual cafes, restaurants, "adventure" tourism businesses such as whale watching (by boat, plane, helicopter...) and dolphin/seal swimming, shops and a post office. I sent a postcard home to the family, did about half of my Christmas shopping inside of 20 minutes (yay for a small family!)

I left Kaikoura at 11am, guessing that it would be 2-3 hours back to Christchurch and giving myself some wiggle room in case of traffic or freak accidents that might slow me down. The drive took a little over 2 hours, including a few traffic stops where they were repaving the highway and both sides were limited to taking turns at the one open lane. I arrived in Christchurch in time for a late lunch and was very happy to discover a good Mexican takeaway. Dear LL should be excited for a taste of home so far from home, if ever she visits.

Touristy Christchurch was more interesting during the day than during the rainy evening. I enjoyed my lunch at Victoria Square and then found larger-than-average chess (Street Chess as I discovered later and apparently there's a schedule) at Cathedral Square.

Mid-afternoon arrived far too quickly and I headed for the airport. My time in New Zealand ended well too soon, but I look forward to future adventures there.

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