Kayaking in Kaikoura

So, friends of the sun, I know it has been a long time, but there has been a lot to experience and especially a lot to learn and organize. My first week of work is behind me and I really enjoy my job as a tour guide and I also receive really good feedback from my colleagues and the visitors. The days before work and the first days after the introduction were filled with studying the trivia and all the facts that I should know for my job. Let me tell you, learning facts that I find super interesting myself is something completely different.

I have received some hints that my posts are quite behind, and you are absolutely right, and within the next few weeks I will gradually update my posts, as I won't have much to tell during work.

So let's go back in time and also back to the South Island. After spending a few more days in Christchurch and taking care of some new tires and other things for Fridolin-Christopher, Anna, Sophia, Josef, and I went kayaking in Kaikoura. After several attempts to find the right weather, we set off super early in Christchurch and drove the 3 hours to Kaikoura.

The route mostly follows the coast, and here we could see a really beautiful sunrise. We booked the tour for 9 o'clock in the morning, as this is the time with the highest probability of seeing the animals in their natural environment.

After a short safety briefing, the 4.5-hour tour started and we paddled slowly out to the open sea.

And while paddling out, we oriented ourselves on some rocks, and here we also visited a seal colony, and some of us on the tour were particularly lucky as they saw a little blue penguin in the water. Unfortunately, I was not one of them, but after a few minutes on the open water, some Dusky Dolphins also passed by to take a closer look at our boats.

It was incredibly cool to see the family swimming around us, and with the background, it was just dreamlike! Sophia and I were in one kayak, and I took over the steering as I was sitting in the back. In return, Sophia took these super cool photos of all the animals. Just a dream this excursion, and the weather also played along perfectly!!!

After 4 hours on the water, we were all pretty exhausted, as paddling is not our natural movement. And since we all did great work and put in a lot of effort while paddling, we treated ourselves to a super delicious lunch in Kaikoura. We also walked through the small town and simply enjoyed a peaceful rest of the day.

The café where we ate had an incredibly delicious wild sandwich that almost melted me. I definitely want to cook it again! And since every city tour must be sealed with an ice cream, I also treated myself to one as a dessert.

And suddenly, a sperm whale came along and tried to steal my ice cream.

But I managed to defend it just in time and then enjoyed the rest of the day alone on the beach and at the campsite, as the others went back to Christchurch. During our café visit, I also booked a whale watching trip for the next day and I was incredibly excited to pay a little visit to the sperm whales living nearby.

But I'll tell you more about that in the next post. It's coming in the next few days.

I promise!

Yours, Britta