Kaikoura Loop

Catch-up (July 28th, 2017)

While in Hanmer Springs we decided to do a day trip through to Kaikoura. Originally we were going to take the 5th-wheeler through and stay a few days after we left Christchurch but decided against it after checking the long range weather forecast- wet and miserable! 

Stop/Go on the Hundalees

Also both SH1, the coast road south (more slips), and the Inland Kaikoura Road (snow & flooding) had been closed several times during the two weeks before we left. And while we'd heard reports that the road was not too bad to tow over, we decided after driving it that it was a good decision not to take the van through there, as much as we wanted to support the local community for a few days.

Parititahi Tunnels

The decision to which way round we were going to drive to Kaikoura was made for us by the time we got to Waiau; the Inland Road was closed due to snow so we headed over Leader Road to the coast and exited onto the main highway just north of Parnassus.

Buckled road on the Hundalees

It had been raining on and off most of the way but it bucketed down over the Hundalees- a winding climb through the hills, with many road works and an undulating road surface, due to sections of it slumping away into a empty void or buckling, under the forces of the earthquake (above). I wonder who that wings (NZMCA) member is below?

The majority of the earthquake damage and consequently, the road and rail repairs south of Kaikoura are right on the coastline- there were over 25 large slips on the coast road between Oaro and Peketa. There's activity happening from all directions and angles with many Stop/Go sections.

We timed it just right, the weather cleared as we made our way through the busiest section of the coast road repairs. Excuse the quality of the photos; they were all taken through a dirty windscreen- I'd have loved to have stopped and got out to take photos- so many interesting shots!

We did pull into one of the rest areas near Goose Bay to check out the rocky coastline. It's very hard to get an idea of how much the seabed has been pushed up here due to the tide being on it's way out, but the bleached rocks and seaweed indicate where the new low tide zone is- this would have always been under water before (click photo to enlarge). The seabed rose up to two meters along the coast during the violent 7.8 earthquake.

A new species of Kaikoura crayfish? Or 'Orange is the new black'? High-vis orange was everywhere.

Many of the rock slides still had a fair bit of repairs to be done to stabilize them...

Steel poles, wire fences and rock cages didn't stand a chance against the forces of nature. 

Traffic lights controlled this section around a rocky point. I was wondering whether the portaloo was for passing people caught short or the construction crew....either way, imagine stepping out of there while everyone's lined up waiting for the lights to change- "Morning" he'd say as he stepped out re-arranging his hi-vis gear.

I wonder where this container came from (maybe caught in the earthquake while it was on a truck or train perhaps?) and it looks like that first blue container in the row of containers protecting the traffic from rock fall around the point did it's job.

It's not everyday you can drive the wrong way through a road tunnel on State Highway One.

These guys certainly earn their pay; hanging off rock walls and swinging about on the end of cranes high above the road. All in freezing temperatures with a negative wind chill factor blowing through too.

Our last Stop/Go, this one with her very own kiosk, tied down for good measure. The Stop/Go Operators were all very friendly, waving and smiling to every vehicle and having a chat if you were the first car in line. What a cold job though.

We drove through the township and around to the Esplanade to have lunch; the weather was closing in fast and it was very cold, not pleasant at all.

I'm sure there are now many more rocks sticking out of the water in the bay, although it's still hard to tell which ones are new because the tide was on it's way out.

After a quick lunch we drove out to Point Kean where you can definitely see the change even with the tide out; dried green seaweed stuck to parched rocks- the new exposed low tide zone would have once been always under water. 

High tide used to come just about to the edge of the carpark, where the brown seaweed line is above; the seals (spot the seal?) resting on the rocks between there and the tarseal. There are nowhere near the numbers of seals here today, they obviously have a lot more rocks to navigate to get to this area now.

The huge papa rock platform at Point Kean was always exposed at low tide but now the tide looks to be miles away from where it used to stop. The photo set below was from one of my previous blogs- you can see the raised papa rock above, lower right is the same one in the first photo below. And the bottom left photo below was taken at the same spot as the single photo above with the seal in it. 

We headed back through town, the weather had cleared off the mountains across the bay...

...but by the time we got around to South Bay- as you can see by the spots on my camera lens- the rain was torrential again. I took a quick photo of the construction work at Kaikoura Harbour- the seabed lifted so much here that the Whale Watch and other tourist boats have only been able to exit and enter at the top of the tide.

And further round at the Kaikoura Boating Club ramps the change is even more noticeable.

With the wet weather looking like it was in for the duration we headed off home, this time taking the Inland Kaikoura Road which was now open.

With quite a distance to travel we only stopped a couple of times; here on the edge of a steep cliff with no barrier (don't do that with kids in tow) overlooking the Conway River.

Much of this road has now been repaired following the 'quake, with just a few short sections with road work or speed restriction signs. 

We passed the grit spreading and grader truck exiting the area near Mt Lyford just as we drove into another snow covered landscape.     

We've yet to visit Mt Lyford (let alone see it- it's always cloudy when we drive past), we seem to always be driving past the end of the road after a long day exploring when all you want to do is get home; to eat, to warm up or to just have a lie down.

There was one last stop to take a photo of this very muddy waterway making it's way through the bare willows.

Total distance travelled- 275km
Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura via SH1 coast road - 145km
Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs via the Inland Kaikoura Road- 130km
And you'll notice on the map that the road is not marked between Oaro and Kaikoura- Google maps won't allow it as the road is currently closed for critical repair work, it should reopen again for weekend periods from September 14th onwards. Check the NZTA Road Status maps for updates.

Kaikoura- Too Cute for Words

Normal transmission resumes.....

We took the Inland Road from Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura even though the forecast was for rain and snow showers as the alternative route direct to the coast via Waiau was closed on SH1 due to a truck crash and with the driver missing we weren’t too sure when it would open again. The cloud was low, the road winding & wet and we passed a grit laying road maintenance team waiting for the inevitable snow but we managed to get through with just a couple of snow flurries along the way. Unfortunately we missed the fabulous views of a snow covered Mt Lyford and the surrounding range although we did catch glimpses of how low the snow was at various points along the way.

As we drove through a twisty bit of road I spied a sign post for “The Doone Grave”, I let out a yell to stop and my ever patient (suffering) husband managed to pull the rig over further down the road (actually I say "over" but what I mean is "to a stop", we were in a twisty bit and there was no shoulder so he stopped it in the middle of the road on a stretch where he could see oncoming cars.  I ran back up the hill to where I’d seen the signpost and scrambled over a stile and up the hill a little way to find a special gravesite for an little girl called Alice Doone. This was a grave not for a well known settler or famous explorer like others I've seen, this was for an ordinary little girl who died in a tent in the rugged back country wilderness.

The Doone Grave- In 1887 during the construction of the road from Waiau to Kaikoura there was a contractors camp situated on the Whalesback. Willie George was the camp cook, he lived in a tent with his wife & daughter Alice who was 1 year 10 months old. Alice fell ill & before a doctor could be brought from Waiau she died. Rev Campbell, the Presbyterian minister rode many miles over rough country to officiate at her burial on the roadside.

After the camp moved the site was neglected until a Captain AW Owles from Christchurch, who travelled the road frequently on business, made it his objective to raise money to have the grave fenced. Today a stone marks the grave which is enclosed by an iron railing with a post & wire fence surrounding the plot. In 2007 locals took up the challenge to tidy up access to the site so anybody could visit.

In Kaikoura we once again stayed at a NZMCA Park, this time part of the Kaikoura Trotting club grounds which are located in South Bay. Definitely not the best park we’ve stayed in, it was very cold as the sun (when it made an appearance) disappeared behind the large hill in the early afternoon and the snow on the surrounding mountains sent a very chilly breeze down to us at sea level. Can you see the “Out There” poking out from behind the trees on the far right. The one good thing about the site was that the Kaikoura Coastal Walkway had an entry point right beside the site. I took this photo from the steep stairway behind the site.

We went for a drive into town to find that there were black storm clouds approaching from all directions. This was looking out to sea from the Esplanade.

I was hoping we wouldn’t get caught out in the rain as we drove around to Kean Point where I wanted to say hello to the seals again. The reason we are heading north via Kaikoura instead of travelling over the Lewis Pass to the Tasman area was in fact because I want to see the seal pups in the Ohau stream. You’ll remember we missed them on our way south back in November, they had already weaned and gone to sea.

Looking back towards Kaikoura town with the mountain range behind covered in cloud. The cloud lifted the next day to reveal a heavy dump of snow on the mountains.

There was great excitement (from me) as we passed the little pond beside the road just before the point and I spotted half a dozen seal pups frolicking about in the water in amongst the ducks & geese. I hadn’t expected to see any seal pups here but then remembered that I’d read somewhere that seals had started to breed at Point Kean only recently. These pups would probably be around 4-6 months old.

We parked up in the car park as there was no stopping along the pond edge. I ran back along the boardwalk to the pond but not before being startled by a grumbling noise underneath. A troll? No a seal pup that had been sleeping and hadn’t taken too kindly to being disturbed by a couple of girls ahead of me. I stepped out onto the road and he mock charged me. He was a very aggressive little fellow and luckily a little bit too fat to squeeze out onto the verge and road.

A little further on I found more  pups hanging out in a tree right beside the boardwalk, they’d climbed up into the low branches and were resting up after their antics in the water. There were still three or four pups left in the water playing and chasing each other although a couple decided they’d had enough and climbed out just after I arrived. Across the water on the sand bank between the pond and the rocky beach and beneath the scrub were also a dozen or more pups sleeping. A seal pup crèche!

These two pups left in the water were very fast swimmers, racing up and down the pond, turning tight corners at each end and racing each other back to the middle where they’d have a rumble, twirling over & over each other. There were dozens of Welcome Swallows sweeping over the water and each time one came close to a pup, the pup would launch itself out of the water and try to catch it then chase after it down the pond. Just like a pup(dog) or a kitten playing. They were just too cute. I think their eyes must have something to do with it, they are so huge, great big round orbs peering at you.

It was low tide and while I was taking the photos of the pups David had gone exploring out on the rocks. He came back to get me as he’d found a lone pup right out by the waves. There were quite a number of seals out further but most were across a deep channel. A few people were also exploring the rock pools.

It wasn’t long before we located the little guy that David had spotted, he was sheltering under the rocks not far from the surging tide. He was a friendly little chap and we had to keep retreating so he couldn’t  get too close.

And what a little cutie he was, my heart melted especially when he looked at us with those huge eyes. He wasn’t at all afraid and stuck his nose out and moved closed any chance he got. I know they survive well in this environment but I couldn’t help wonder how they manage it, such tiny little vulnerable creatures, all by themselves on the big rocks and crashing seas with marauding male seals about as well.

The mothers are at sea feeding and are gone for 2-3 days at a time, I wonder how they find their pups when they come home. This little guy was very agile climbing up and over rocks, crossing small pools and popping out through gaps in the rocks, all the while checking to see where we were. I wonder where he heads to when the tide comes in and why he isn’t in the creche with the other pups. Perhaps he knows Mum will be home very soon and is waiting at the water’s edge for her.

How big are those eyes! Mind you they look a little scary here.

He looks a little sad here don’t you think?

I could have stayed and shot photos forever, or at least until it was dark (or the tide pushed me back in) but in the end our little mate went swimming in a big pool, disappearing under the bull kelp. We headed back to the car as the dark clouds closed in and big fat spots of rain started plopping all around us.