The garden BnB proved to have most comfortable bed and terrific water pressure in the shower. Breakfast was tasty and ample. Bill had fruit, yogurt, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and home grown tomatoes while I had fruit, yogurt, and bacon and eggs and tomato. Such a beautiful day, blue skies, and warm. Through the Waipara Valley we cruised, admiring the vineyards and recognising many of the names. At morning tea time we stopped in the cute little village of Cheviot. The two rivers Gallery and cafe provided us with excellent coffee and some great wooden and marble sculptures to admire. The road then headed into the hills for a change of scenery, before dropping down to run right beside the coast. Our route was now very picturesque with the heavily forested hills coming right to waters edge with the road cut into the hills with the railway line running along on the inside. Several tunnels had to be passed through. Scenery to more than rival the Great Ocean Road, especially as it was such a perfect day.
Arrived in Kaikoura at 12.15pm and went immediately to book a boat trip at 1pm to see Albatrosses and other sea birds. Raced down the street and had a quick sandwich at a bakery before the boat trip. Unfortunately, although it was a glorious day there was still quite a swell and I soon began to feel somewhat queasy. The birds were great, mostly Albatrosses(wandering and and shy)(huge wing spans as they swooped in), giant petrels and Cape petrels as well as many others spied during the trip. Sadly, I ended up making good use of the bucket! The skipper also took us past islands smothered in guano with colonies of baby NZ fur seals and terns etc.
Shy Albatross and Cape Petrel below
Once we returned to shore and booked into our BnB I rested on the bed to recover while Bill went for a walk. The Pier hotel, which is along the coast a bit, was recommended for dinner. I had lamb shank (nice and tender) and Bill ate a whitebait omelette. After dinner we continued along to Cape Kean to see the seal colony. No seals in residence but a beautiful sunset and truly lovely scenery. Kaikoura is a place with a lovely flavour, nestled between mountains at the back, sea in front. Stunning. Had a small homemade ice cream on the way back. Bill watched the end of the cricket between Sri Lanka and NZ before bed.
Brook House, our accommodation for tonight, is homely but comfortable, friendly and clean, and very quiet.
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