A weekend in Kaikoura

Photos: View from motel, sperm whale diving, great view on roadside stop, view from Outlook at Okiwi Bay

After spending months in the top part of the top of the south, Queens Birthday weekend was a perfect time for a weekend away. I booked a spot at the Seaview Motel through AA for $99 per night... Thursday night I got the oversold phone call and was moved to the sister Clearwater Motel. This motel was about 3 "rooms" or suites in total. It was old, but delightfully the beds came complete with electric blankets. YAY! :) Plus it was right on the Esplanade, so had a great sea view.





We went for a walk up to the Peninsula above a sea colony, wandered the small main street (including the second hand book shop). Then we drove out of town and visited Donegal House, an irish pub, before heading back to town for dinner, and a quiet evening in the hotel room.





Sunday we went whale watching with Whale Watch Kaikoura . For the tidy sum of $130 each, we arrived at 10 for our 10:30 overview, before being bussed out to the boat. We headed out on the boat, and the first whale spotted decided to go down just after we spotted him. WE ventured out further and found 2 whales. One seemed to be playing with a fur seal, or following it- we had views of this for about 30 minutes, before cruising out to see another whale further out. It was a really neat experience. They were sperm whales so we got to see just the top of their heads, basically, and their tails when they dove. The guide was fantastic- she gave lots of informative info- such as that the huge amounts of oil in their heads actually are thought to help them in their deep dives and in resurfacing- it turns more oily as they come up, but is more solidifyed when they are diving. We decided to have a bit of pizza and pasta for dinner, as didn't want to pay TOO much for crayfish, or the other food that seemed to be popular on the local restaurant menus.





This morning it was raining and we just did a few short walks on the drive back to Nelson.





The weather was pretty good, and Kaikoura is beautiful. I was really impressed by the ever changing and beautiful sky...