Sounds & Whales

Hi All!


We have literally just stepped off the Whale Watch boat in Kaikoura, having seen no less than five sperm whales (unfortunately we failed to see any humpbacks or dolphins) and a fair few albatross! The whales were pretty impressive, although pretty stoic - they are deep sea whales and come up for air for about ten minutes in every hour. We were only able to see the tops of their bodies, but their dive down, with accompanying sight of tail fin was quite impressive.

We have been in Kaikoura for a couple of days - arriving in horrendous weather on Tuesday. We had planned to whale watch yesterday but high winds led to its cancellation. The weather was otherwise fine so we walked the famous Kaikoura peninsula which had an abundance of seals! Hundreds and hundreds! We were not supposed to get closer than ten metres but they were all over our path so we had no choice! This lead to a few hairy moments when they growled quite menacingly (Ruff scared them off for us though). The walk was great though and was yet another close and personal encounter to our furry friends. Kaikoura is a stunning town, set around a huge bay with snowy mountains as a backdrop and we can see it all from our hostel which is right on the waterfront! A spot that a hostel in the UK could never afford.


We left Motueka last Friday and headed back to Picton (our point of arrival on the South Island) to do the Queen Charlotte track. A 3-5 day, 71km walk that is a little different to others we have done due to the presence of B&Bs, hotels and homestays, rather than the rather spartan, chilly and dark DOC huts. Another benefit was that your main pack is transferred by water taxi from one destination to the next:



Day One: Ship Cove - Furneaux Lodge: 14km
We had an early start on Saturday to catch our 9am water taxi, and a very pleasent surprise awaited us at the harbour when a pod of dolphins swam around to the delight of the early rising Picton dwellers. It is apparently very rare to see them right in the harbour so we were very lucky. We had a very pleasent journey of an hour or so to Ship Cove, wheer we disembarked to find ourselves facing a very nasty, steep climb. It being the equivalent of mid-December we had layered up with thermals and fleeces. Ten minutes in we were stripping off! The weather was ridiculously warm (21 celcius) and the sharp climb was making us just a little sweaty! The walk soon calmed down into gentler ascents and descents. We saw the rare New Zealand Giant Pigeon and a few more Weka. With only a short walk to complete and plenty of time we found a scenic spot for lunch enjoyed a 45minute break (we even had apple cake from our packing days). We arrived at Furneaux Lodge at 3pm to some disappointment. The lodge itself was set in the most delightful surroundings and was pretty pricey (but with a backpackers area). Alas the backpackers rooms (still the most expensive yet in NZ) were pretty poor, so we spent much of the vening in the bar where we were treated to quite some humiliation by the All Blacks. Hopefully it was not a glimpse of what is to come on Saturday. At least we are winning the cricket!

Day Two: Fureneaux Lodge - Noelines homestay: 13km

With such a short day ahead of us we started with a detour to see a pretty little waterfall. The walk itself was great - through dense, almost rainforest like bush, with giant beech trees and huge canopies of ferns. Back on the main track the walking was easy with little ascent or descent. Once again we were lucky with wildlife and saw a pod of dusky dolphins feeding just offshore. The weather was unbelievable at 21degrees - the hottest June day since 1991! We were walking in t-shirts and vest tops! We arrived at Noeline's by 3pm. Noeline was 77 and owns a homestay meaning we stayed in her house. It was a very pleasant experience. We were greeted with tea and scones and the conversation was plentiful!

Day Three: Noeline's - Debretts: 24km

A much longer day ahead of us meant an early start on a slightly gloomier and chillier day. We began the walk with a 400m climb, unfortunately we were up and down all day, but the views were stunning, with Queen Charlotte Sound to our left and Keneperu Sound to our right. Abel Tasman lacked views and Queen Charlotte more than made up for it and Laura certainly preferred it as a walk, with stunning views all around us. We completed the walk in good time and made it to Debretts for 4pm. Here we had really hit gold! We had a whole apartment to ourselves for just $70! And what views the apartment had from it's balcony. We could easily have spent a week there had it been summer, alas we were just spending the night.

We had decided to finish the walk early having completed 51 of the 71km. The rest of the wlak promised to be fairly similar and with poor weather forecast we decided it was better to head to Kaikoura before dark. So, after a leisurely lay in we caught a water taxi at 12pm to arrive back in Picton, for a scenic, yet rainy drive to Kaikoura. Christchurch awaits us with its punting (a bit too close to home methinks!), Christs College (again a bit familiar) and rugby humiliation!

Bye for now

Laura, Niall & Ruff xx