Kaikoura and The Peninsula Walk

Unlike yesterday, we are in for a warm day with little breeze. Todays plan is to complete the Kaikoura Peninsula Walking Track, which loops around the extremities of the peninsula beginning in and returning to the town. We opt to go anticlockwise so that we end up at the famous seafood kiosk on the Northern side in time for lunch. The total distance is 12 km and the recommendation is to allow 4 hours including a bit more time to conquer the steep sections and also time to stop and admire the view.

Starting from our motel, the first part is through the town streets, and the turn off to the trail was only around 400m away. The first part of the track is a well mown section that takes you to the South.

This soon gives way to a forest trail into a wooded valley which eventually meets the road running along the Southern part of the peninsula.

There is a branch in the path once you leave the wooded valley that allows you to divert to South Bay of continue around the peninsula. We did the latter. Below are some shots of South bay.

South Bay

Looking inland from South Bay

As we got closer to the water, we could see a cruise ship. It looked like the same one we saw at Akaroa yesterday, and as we got closer to the marina where there passengers were being bought ashore, we confirmed it was Scenic Eclipse 2.

Scenic Eclipse 2 at anchor

We were back on the road again for the walk to the marina.

Lifeboat from Scenic Eclipse ferrying passengers ashore who being loaded onto the two dolphin watching tour boats waiting at the marina.

Our walk continued on, but we had to make a short detour to get a photo of this seal resting under a picnic table.

There were quite a few sea kayakers out on the water and being Saturday, i think every pisherman from the area was on the water and there are lots of them,

After a few hundred metres further on, we leave the road and re enter the walkway proper.

Entrance to the track

We stay on the track for the next few hours until we get to the other side of the peninsula when we will meet up with the road to take us back to town.

The early part of the track is very impressive

It looks like we are in for a bit of a climb to get up to the top of the peninsula.

The track is well formed, sometimes paved, sometimes gravel and others juts at rutted dirt track.

It is quite a climb to get to the top, but the views on the way up are spectacular.

Looking back at Scenic Eclipse and the marina settlement

Some of the less developed track

Fishermen are everywhere, we think these ones are after lobsters

One of the main attractions of this walk is to see the seal colonies, and there are plenty of seals

Lots of seals

We chose to observe the colonies from above, but on the Northern side of the peninsula there as a car park, and you could walk along the shelf to see them closer up, but not real close.

The shoreline pathway went a fair distance, but adding more km to our trek was not a priority. The view from the top of the peninsula was more than enough for us.

The peninsula is a limestone outcrop pushed up by seismic activity long ago. The limestone sea shelf was the second thrust upwards of the sea floor. The resulting views are astounding.

At most times the track took us through rural properties

More great views of the limestone sea platform

The final lookout North before descending to the roadway

As we came off the trackback down to the roadway, we were greeted by 2 Llamas, we are not sure what the purpose of them being there was as their was no active effort of a commercial nature.

With the scenic part of the peninsula walk completed, we are now on the road along the Northern side of the peninsula heading back to town. An institution along this road is the Kaikoura Seafood BBQ Kiosk, which has now attracted a food truck that sells ice creams, and another that sells beer and wine. Nevertheless The Kiosk is still the focus of attention with tourists climbing over themselves to spend $150 to $200 on a lobster. We took a more conservative approach and shared a whitebait fritter and crayfish fritter both served with rice and salad.