A big disappointment

On 21.01., a Saturday, we got out of bed at 8 o'clock and went straight to the car after breakfast. Today, on the second to last day with our campervan, we had another long drive ahead of us. From our campsite, we first went to Christchurch, where we arrived at the airport at 12 o'clock. There was a free shower there that we used, and then we went shopping in the supermarket next door. The airport in Christchurch is really small and we were there even before our departure on Wednesday.

After a small lunch, we continued north in the afternoon. Kaikoura was our destination, a small town known for the whales, seals and dolphins off the coast. A perfect spot for a whale watching tour. Our tour was scheduled to start the next day at 9:15 am. On this day, we wanted to do some small walks around Kaikoura and find a nice place to spend the night.

The drive to Kaikoura was a bit tedious, as long stretches of road were heavily damaged by the earthquake 2 months ago and repairs were still being made. We had to detour in some areas, in others there was only one lane open and we had to wait at traffic lights. Especially the section of the road that runs directly along the rocky coast and is normally a popular scenic drive for tourists was heavily affected. It was really crazy to see how debris still lay at the edge of the road and how dented and perforated the railings and asphalt were from the falling rocks. It gave a good idea of the force that nature develops in an earthquake!

We finally arrived in Kaikoura around half past 4 and went straight to the Visitor Centre again. The woman there recommended a short walk along the coast and we did it. The landscape looked really cool, once again something completely different, and we saw many seals on the rocks. Unfortunately, it was very windy, so we didn't stay out as long as we might have without the wind.

Our next stop was our free campsite, right on the beach. The landscape here was also very beautiful, but it was also very windy. I'm glad I managed to cook our chicken legs with vegetable rice outside and the gas didn't keep blowing out or blowing our cooking gear away. We ate as usual in the car, you really couldn't sit outside.

During the night, the strong wind turned into a real storm and our car swayed back and forth. It was really intense, we were really afraid of being blown away! But a Google search for the wind speeds needed to blow over a car calmed us down a bit. Although I don't really know why, as we had no idea what wind speed was currently prevailing. Anyway, the night was still very restless and we didn't sleep very well. It wasn't bad that the alarm went off so early again, so we could get to our whale watching tour on time.

Unfortunately, the wind hadn't subsided in the morning and I already had a bad feeling about our tour. When we arrived at the hut by the sea where you check in, the feeling was confirmed: our tour was cancelled. Due to too stormy weather conditions. I mean, it was logical, the sea was so incredibly agitated as I have rarely seen it and the wind was very strong, but we were still disappointed of course. We had driven another 200km to Kaikoura the day before just for the whale watching, and now it wasn't happening and we had to drive the whole way back. Plus, we had never seen whales before and were really looking forward to it. Pretty stupid and very unfortunate.

In the end, we couldn't change anything, immediately contacted Peter Pans to get our money back, and then made our way back to Christchurch. After a drive of almost 3 hours, we arrived in the city and looked for our Air BnB. The weather was terrible again and it was raining the whole time. Checking in was delayed a bit because we couldn't reach our host, but in the end everything worked out and we brought all our stuff upstairs. The apartment was actually quite nice and our room was ok too. The house was an old villa and the walls were very thin and probably not insulated. Thank goodness we had a small electric heater, because our duvet was also only a thin cuddly blanket.

So after we had emptied the car, we made ourselves some lunch and then drove the car again for the last few days of shopping. Then it was time to say goodbye to Rafiki. We refueled, vacuumed, and then drove to Spaceships, where everything was fine and we could leave after 10 minutes. Unfortunately, we had just missed a bus to the city and now had to wait half an hour. But luckily it was only drizzling slightly. We were in the middle of an industrial area and didn't really have any cover.

When the bus finally came, we still had an hour-long ride ahead of us, as we couldn't drive directly to our apartment, of course. With the car, the drive only took 17 minutes. But on the bus, we were able to get an impression of the city and admire the many construction sites that are spreading throughout the city. A lot has to be rebuilt because of the earthquake.

When we were back in our room, we had some free time until it was time for dinner again. We had pasta with salmon cream sauce. We hadn't had that in ages and it was sooooo delicious!! In the evening, we had planned to spend a cozy evening watching a movie, but a spontaneous activity came up: Jaci and Alina from tomato picking in Bowen were staying in a hostel in Christchurch just 300m from our Air BnB, so we went over to see them around 9:30 pm. It was really cool to see the two of them again and we had a lot to talk about. The other hostel guests were funny too and we had a nice evening. One thing I found particularly funny was that Jaci and Alina bought a car to travel around New Zealand and instead of building a bed in it, they simply put an old hostel bed in it. It fit perfectly and they only had to cut off the metal parts on the short sides of the bed. How funny is that! :D

Around 11 o'clock we were back home and in bed, we were quite tired. It was a long and exciting day with ups and downs. But now we're looking forward to the last few days in New Zealand and to Christchurch :)