The three-hour ferry ride from the North Island to the South gave Ellen and I time to ponder our schedule. We had only a week and a half left with our campervan and hitting all the hot spots on the South just wasn't possible. We'd originally planned to cover the entire country top to bottom (and then some), and for days had been ticking off 500 km drives between sites trying to make sure we hit all the "must sees." This, however, was getting tiresome.
So we devised a new plan: We'd travel down the east coast of the South, missing Abel Tasman and setting our first stop at the ocean-side town of Kiakoura. (I know, I know, Abel Tasman is great and we're missing out. But (a) we're more "high alpine" folks than beach-goers and (b) we'd only have a day to see the region, and we're told the gems are found mostly on multi-day trips. Plus, they have nice postcards!)
Neither of us were expecting much from Kiakoura. All we knew about the place was that it was en route to Mt. Cook National Park and if we stopped we'd get to see seals (and, given my hatred for seals after the great Cape Cod disaster, this was not a selling point).
As it turned out it's been a highlight of the trip.
View from the peninsula.
Kiakoura is quaint and scenic and has an active downtown core. Whale watching, dolphin sighting, and albatross riding trips abound! But the real highlight is the short walk along the cape and around the peninsula, where we found seals lying within arm's reach and views to rival an Abel Tasman postcard.
Seals!
The best part of the walk is the short section on top of the cliffs that leads you through a herd of cows (literally) and into a farmer's field that overlooks the bay:
Finally, as an added bonus, the Kiwi Holiday Park boasts "the best showers in town" -- which, in reality, were the best since I left home. The view from our campsite wasn't bad either:
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