Thirteenth and Fourteenth Stop: Kaikoura and Picton

To be honest, we had to get back into traveling! Due to work, we were in the same place for a month and you somehow 'forget' how to travel, sounds strange but that's how it was.

From Christchurch we went to Kaikoura. Kaikoura is supposed to be known for seeing whales and seals. We didn't want to do a guided tour where you can see whales and seals for various reasons. But there was a 'Coastal Walkway' where you should also be able to see whales and seals, so we saw our chance there. Only 13km long was the 'Coastal Walkway'. And it was really beautiful!

Along the coast, abandoned villages, and pristine nature, we walked to the easternmost point of Kaikoura. We climbed a small hill and were at the 'Point Kean Viewpoint'. It didn't take long and we actually saw seals. Not on land, but swimming in the water.

In the photo I tried to capture it, but unfortunately they were too far away.

'Now whales, that would be the highlight for us,' we said to each other. Our gaze followed the tour boat. The boat continued to the left, but we stayed with our gaze on the spot. And actually, we saw whales! It was so nice to see the fins coming out of the water 😍

After our highlight in Kaikoura, we continued north after two nights: to Picton!

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Picton is really a cute little harbor town. Unfortunately, there is not much to do there and museums about shipping are not so interesting to me. But there was a track called 'Tirohanga Track'. This is supposed to give you a beautiful overview of Picton. It was definitely worth walking up the mountain for 1.5 hours. I rarely had such a beautiful overview of a harbor.

The following day we had a beach day! The weather was so beautiful. And after a short struggle, the sea was good for swimming too.

What was really funny was the moment when we were lying on the beach with our eyes closed and suddenly I heard a goat bleating. Shortly afterwards, a herd of bagpipers came along the coast.

In the afternoon we planned our further route. Planning the route is really exhausting, you always underestimate that. But we also managed that.

All the best and we'll hear from each other :)