DAY 8 – WELLINGTON TO KAIKŌURA
Since we were leaving from Wellington around Noon, I decided to stay in bed a little longer and take it easy since I was feeling under the weather. I made sure to do Neti pot to clear my nostrils, and added DoTerra Onguard drops to fresh ginger hot tea. Which definitely helped me keep the cold at bay. Around 10am, I checked out and put my stuff in the rental lockers at YHA, and then went to Cuba Street to grab a cup of chai latte and, later, ended up doing some retail therapy by buying a t-shirt and swim shorts. Headed back to the hostel at 11:50am to make sure that I was on time to board the Haka bus.
We drove to the port to board the ferry from Wellington to Picton. It was so cool to see how you can have so many buses and cars on board the ferry. It was too cold to sit outside on the top deck, so I decided to sit inside. I was able to find a seat near the windows on the far corner, with hopes to take a nap during this 3 hours and 30 minutes ride. There were two seats near me available, so the mother and daughter duo decided to sit beside me, who made sure to keep on chit-chatting with me. After entertaining them for 30 minutes and admiring the scenic view, I had it enough. I gave up the only available seat on the top deck and went to the dining area, hoping to find something “quiet” there. I did find a table to chill but that was short lived because some of my friends decided to join me.
Scenic view from the ferry –
It ain’t the North Island –
It was nice to be back on land and as we drove from Picton towards Kaikoura, it was easily evident how the landscape changed dramatically from the North Island.
Driving through the Vineyards –
As we drove through the vineyards of Marlborough, I instantly remembered having the intense and aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from this region.
Fault Line –
We got to see the fault line and the impact of the past earthquakes which had destroyed the roads and train tracks, but things have been restored since this is the main highway. Hearing from Burto the stories about how the landscape and movement of animals have changed after the earthquake was very fascinating.
Seals relaxing on the rocks and beach –
Evening Sky –
We arrived in Kaikoura around 7:30pm and checked into our lodging. I had a basic room so there is not much I can write about this place, in fact, I didn’t even care to find the name of the place. I went to the town center to grab dinner but I didn’t know that most of the restaurants stop serving food at 8pm. I was able to find a sandwich and burger place, who would only do carry out but did notice that they were flexible with the locals. Since I didn’t have much option, I ordered a sandwich for carry-out and when I left the restaurant, it started to rain really hard. I waited outside for 10-15 minutes until it was manageable to run back to the lodging without getting soaking wet.
Had dinner at the lodge with some of my tour buddies and then hit the sack.
DAY 9 – KAIKŌURA TO CHRISTCHURCH
The bed was not super comfy but I was able to fall asleep fairly quickly. Some of my travel buddies had a hard time falling asleep because of the night chatter outside their room. Since, I was always assigned a room on the far side, which required a lot of walking but it was on the quiet side, so it was worth the effort of schleping the bags.
Had a nice breakfast while overseeing the scenic views from the dining lounge was a great way to start the morning. Some of them had left early morning to either see the whales or to swim with the dolphins. I was more interested in doing the hike so I decided to not do any acquatic activity.
We left at 9:30am and our first stop was at the Kaikoura beach.
Next, couple of us were dropped at the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway South Bay Reserve, from where we hiked all the way back to Kaikoura Center. The 3 hours hike through the mountains and rocky beaches was a lot of fun, and especially, when you are in good company of an adventurous friend, Ursula from Germany.
We saw lot of birds, seals and, even, came across a Llama but the owners were not keen of having visitors pet the adorable animal.
Along the way, I saw a swing and my inner child couldn’t resist and why should it 🤷🏽♂️
The vibrant colors of nature is what makes this part of the island so much more special.
I was craving for thai cuisine so that’s what I had for lunch before we boarded the bus.
We went to a nearby beach to do some cleanup volunteering for a non-profit, Sustainable Coastline. After spending 2 hours on the beach under the sun trying to find plastic and other man made materials, we were all pooped up and ready to embark on our 4 hour long drive to Christchurch.
We got to Christchurch around 8pm and were staying at the Haka Lodge which was a huge house converted into a lodge.
Having a fireplace in the living room made the house so much more cozy. I had picked up a can of soup when we had made a pit stop earlier, which was perfect for my dinner, since there were no restaurants nearby and we were a bit far away from the city center. Also, it was only our group staying in this house, which made it easy for us to bond over dinner. After dinner we played some games before going to bed.
DAY 10 – LAKE TEKAPO
After breakfast, we checked out of the lodge and our plan was to spend few hours exploring Christchurch city center until noon. I will recap more about Christchurch and what I did in my final post, since we were going to come back to Christchurch and I had planned to stay 2 more days here after the group tour ended.
Cookie Time –
We stopped at NZ’s most loved cookies place, “Cookie Time,” that’s been in business since 1983.
Scenic drive through green hills –
Lake Tekapo –
We arrived in Lake Tekapo around 4pm. It was darn too cold here but the “blue” color of the lake was simply breathtaking which was enticing enough to get of the bus and enjoy the view.
A tiny church by the lake –
Jesus has the best seat in the house –
The purple flowers were blooming around the lake and it made Tekapo so much more beautiful as it accentuated the colors of the lake’s blue water.
The best place to take a selfie 🤳 and I couldn’t miss this opportunity 😬
Later, we checked into the YHA Tekapo. I’ve to say that this was by far the best accommodation on this tour. My room was super comfy with en-suite bathroom, as well as, the view of the lake from my room was simply spectacular. I wish we were staying here longer.
As I lay in bed to relax, I looked outside the windows, and was surprised by a beautiful rainbow sprouting out of the lake.
Picked up some food from the nearby grocery store and had it in the dining lounge which watching the sunset, which was magical.
In the middle of the night, I peaked outside the window, and was in awe as the sky was entirely sparkling like “diamonds in the sky!”
