The weather is considerably cooler in the South Island and wet. But according to the weather reports all of New Zealand is in a band of low pressure so the weather is probably little better in North Island. Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island started out as a sleepy fishing village famed for crayfish but an abundance of whales, dolphins, seals, penguins, albatross as well as some stunning scenery has put it firmly on the tourist map. It retains the air of a fishing village, but with a proliferation of wildlife tour operators, motels, holiday parks and shops that are aimed more at the tourist than the locals, as well as numerous seafood cafes selling, amongst other things, crayfish at export prices – no local prices here. A charming place nonetheless. The view of what should be the snow-capped Seaward Kaikoura mountains, unfortunately shrouded in cloud today, greet us when we emerge from our tent. Despite forecasts of rain we set off in the sunshine to do the two-hour circular peninsular walk, part of which is along the cliff tops. We make our way along the dark grey pebble beach which is littered with driftwood but soon decide to revert to the pavement to make easier and quicker progress. We can see the rain coming across the hills on the far side of the bay and soon we are donning our capes. The rain combined with the blustery wind and the fact that we left the map behind, make a cliff -top walk less appealing and we retreat to the car. So changeable is the weather that by the time we reach the car the sun is out again and blue skies have made and appearance. So we decide to drive round to point on the peninsular where the walk ascends the cliff top. Here there is another seal colony and we brave the winds to walk out across the rocks exposed by the receding tide. We can make out a handful of seals through the binoculars but this is a poor show compared to colony we stumbled on yesterday.
We are making our way south ultimately aiming to get to Milford Sound on the west coast and our next stop is Hanmer Springs. We might have spent longer in Kaikoura had the weather been better but the forecast is more of the same and swimming with dolphins in the cold Pacific is not proving much of a draw. The scenery between Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs is majestic – huge swathes of countryside with no visible signs of habitation and empty roads. Deep ravines, massive dried up riverbeds carrying shrunken rivers, sheer escarpments, plateaus, towering hills, rising up in folds created in an earlier age, milky rivers, mountainous backdrops, the peaks lost in the clouds. Shades of greens, browns and gold. Welcome to Middle Earth!
The approach to Hanmer Springs is dramatic as we descend into the valley of the Clarence River. A enormously wide and meandering river bed with a much-reduced milky blue river occupying only a fraction of it’s grey stony bed We treat ourselves to a kitchen cabin. It’s chilly and for the first time in our trip we turn on the heater!.