Kaikoura

I captured a few last shots of Akaroa on my morning walk before we departed for Kaikoura.


Whale Pots seem to be the collectable on the East Coast

 

The main street is pretty quiet at 7 am


A thoughtful sculpture outside the Post Office


As we drove out of town we could see that a small cruise ship had arrived in the harbour. It looked like the Scenic Eclipse. The town could certainly use a bit of an influx of tourist spending.

The drive to Kaikoura is expected to take around 4 hours, the first stage winding our way out of the Banks Peninsula will be pretty slow, the we pass through Christchurch and will get open road on the other side. The roads are in excellent condition but much of it is single lane with the occasional overtaking lane. A short burst of Motorway out of Christchurch is the only free running section.

Nevertheless, it is a scenic drive, with lovely rolling hills and lots of sheep and cattle in places. We stopped for a late morning tea in a small place called Cheviot where shared an excellent sausage roll and had a cup of coffee.


Cafe 8 in Cheviot (worth a stop for a sausage roll)

About 40 km out of Kaikoura we drove through mountainous country with extensive pine plantations. 


At around 20 km from Kaikoura we pop out of the other side of the mountain range and can see the ocean. The mountains literally come right to the sea, so only narrow band of coast carries both the road and railway lines. The road is closest to the sea and the railway often has to go through tunnels, as does the road on a few occasions.


The concrete wall on the left of the photo is the entrance to a rail tunnel

Rocks falling on the road would be a perennial problem, so here is a bit of Kiwi ingenuity to address the problem.


It was a bit after 1 pm when we arrived in Kaikoura, so drove into the main town area before attempting to check in to our motel. It is a busy place with a scarcity of parking spaces in the main area and a public car park that is metered. We had to do a second lap to find a car park, a bit further away from the main area.


Part of the main street which runs along the seafront

We found an Asian cafe for a relatively light lunch and then headed to our motel which is located on the escarpment above the main street.


Our motel for the next 2 nights


It is on the main highway above the town centre (looking North on the highway from the front of the Motel))


Looking down the nearest side street where the hospital is located (nice location for a hospital)

We wandered downhill from our motel to the shorefront in search of a dinner venue. The town is surprisingly busy and may restaurants are booked out until late sittings. We had more or less decided we would have a meal at a pub, and ended up at The Strawberry Tree Restaurant in the Irish Pub at the Northern end of town. Even they were booked out for seats inside, so we agreed to a beer garden seat with the hope someone would leave and we could come inside. It is still quite windy and cool. The hostess obviously felt sorry for us and said she would come and get us if an inside table became available.
Within 10 minutes we had a table inside.

The meals were huge.






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