20.11.18 Akaroa - Kaikoura

In the morning, Patrick wakes up early and takes a long walk on the beach, while I am still deep in dreams. We have plenty of space in the camper and slept well the first night. For breakfast, we find a spot with a direct view of the beach. It is chilly, 5 degrees, but dry. The coffee and tea warm us up. We continue north towards Kaikoura, taking a scenic route through the hinterland instead of the direct route. Lush green landscapes, vineyards, and thousands of sheep and cows are our companions along the way. Patrick safely drives us through the landscape. In Kaikoura, everything revolves around whale watching. We took a 3-hour round trip hike around the peninsula. We were able to observe seals up close (keep a distance of 10m), and from above, we saw the whole extent, with numerous seals inhabiting the coastline. Very impressive. Along the way, we treated ourselves to delicious, fresh fish sandwiches. But the highlight was the weather - it was so beautiful at the end that we could hike in t-shirts. Now we had to decide on our destination for the day. We chose a very simple campsite, as we are self-sufficient with our camper, and drove another 1.5 hours north. Along the way, we could once again observe entire colonies of seals. The campsite is unbeatable, right on the beach. And so we inaugurate our grill today, we have seen enough cows, now it's on the menu....