Thursday 01/03 (2/2)
Vlog by Isabelle: see below
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By me:
After this amazing flight, we drive to Point Kean viewpoint, east of the town, from where the Peninsula walkway starts. Kaikoura is famous for its whale (and dolphin) watching, but we can also find local wildlife much closer to the shore than anywhere else in NZ. As soon as we walk out of the carpark area of Point Kean, we stumble upon the town’s furry residents, the seals.
The loop track follows along a clifftop high above the reefs and tidal platforms below. We return along the coastline, where the track meanders amongst fascinating limestone formations, and several NZ fur seal and seabird colonies. It’s really incredible to see the seals from so closely. It’s an amazing seal-spotting walk. We saw many seals before (in Australia) but nothing compares to here, where we can observe them while walking past them and approach them at less than 5m. They mainly laze on the rocks. The weather is nice. We also see many pups, some of them playing in the shallow waters (we observe 3 of them playing for at least 10’, 1 to 2 metres from us!). I love it. I regret so much my camera (even more than this morning with the whale flight).
It’s already past 6pm when we come back to the camper. What a great walk! I loved it!
We stop at the ‘Seafood BBQ’, a roadside barbecue where we order nice local seafood: salmon, grilled fish, abalone, mussels and even a grayfish. They grill the whole thing in front of us and in less than 5’ our meal is ready. It’s delicious. The kids love everything. We eat on a table along the road, benefiting from the last rays of sun.
What another amazing day!
Back to the camping, we take our shower and chillax a bit.
I speak to my parents, via WhatsApp.
