We're Back in the South Island- Kaikoura; Part 2

Real-time

Continued on from Part 1

The Ohau Point seal colony, north of Kaikoura, has always been a regular place for us to stop on our way up or down the main highway and I was keen to see how it had fared after sustaining extensive damage during the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that as a result of the 'quake the colony now has a large rocky platform to rest on, most of it having been pushed up out of the ocean. The platform also contains numerous small pools, a perfect nursery playground for the seal pups to play in while they wait for their mothers to return from the sea.

There's also a new landscaped parking bay and viewing area along the edge of the colony's rocky platform. 

This was the old parking area, look how close the sea was before the 'quake. The seabed has been pushed up quite a height, it now finishes at the back of the seal colony's platform.  

The world famous Ohau Stream Waterfall pool was destroyed in the 'quake. This was where the seal pups from the colony used to travel 500mtrs up the stream to the pool seeking shelter, safety and to play in the fresh water pool. It's also where they entertained hundreds of tourists.

I'm very grateful that we were able to visit the pool a number of times in the past, it was a very special place and especially if you were the only one there being entertained by curious seal pups. Although towards the end it was getting a bit out of hand with dozens of people descending on the pool daily, many of them disturbing the pups by swimming with them, touching them and trying to get selfies. I was due to do a month at the pool as a volunteer ranger when the 'quake happened. These photos are from one of our previous visits.

Now with several pools on the platform, the pups can play and are safe from crashing waves, marauding males and overpowering people...

...as they wait for Mum to return from the sea. And when she does arrive there's no way this pup is letting go.

The road north of Kaikoura was lifted by over 4 metres in places and although the road has been reopened for over 18 months, there's still a lot of road repairs, rail line embankments and rock face work going on, along with stop & go people and lights (with helpful countdown).

They certainly have done a lot of work though and it's actually quite hard to see where old sections of the road finish & new ones start.

Our next overnight stop is at an old favourite of ours, Donegal House, an Irish Hotel on the outskirts of Kaikoura. 

Donegal House also has a campervan park; there are two large areas for RVs to park. Power is available on one side of the Park at $20 per van, if you don't need power then it is free to park. Of course it would be courteous to partake in happy hour or a meal at the pub though. And especially when it's a cold winter's night and the fire is roaring away inside.

We parked in the smaller area this time, backed up to a paddock with a small pond. Last time we were here there was a lonely (& rare) white swan on the pond, he was missing this time so I hope he's been packed off  to find a mate.

We stopped at the South Bay Marina on our way to the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway which we'd decided to walk. The snow covered Seaward Kaikoura Range made a great backdrop to the hauled out fishing fleet.

The last time we stopped at the marina, it was in atrocious weather but we'd wanted to see how the rebuilding of the harbour was going after the seabed was pushed up by the 'quake making it very difficult for the commercial boats to enter & exit the harbour on anything but a full high tide.

The tourist tour boats now have their own jetties at the new South Bay Marina and there's also a separate jetty for cruise boat tenders to disembark passengers.

I've walked the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway previously, this time David decided to walk in from the Point Kean end and meet me half way. He dropped me at the South Bay entrance and then drove back into town and out to Point Kean at the end of the peninsula. I love this view back over South Bay as I climb the walkway to the top of the sea cliffs.

From the lookout above South Bay the track crosses farmland until it reaches the edge of the cliffs on the ocean side of the peninsula. There are magnificent views out over the sea and down to the papa rock reefs below. A large seal colony rests in the sun on the rocks here with some snoozing the day away stretched out in amongst the overgrown grass above the beach. Some of the people walking along the track around the shoreline cross through the grass without realising that there are seals there. They move pretty quickly when a large brown 'slug' lifts it's head nearby.

I meet David about two thirds of the way along the top and we then retraced my steps for a short distance and descended the steep stairway down onto the beach below and walk back around the rocks, David crossing the same grassy seal track but being very cautious he doesn't stumble over one of those hidden seals. It is actually quite hard to see them down at ground level.

I walked around the edge of the rocks taking photos of the snoozing seals tucked into nooks and crannies and lolling over  the edge of the rocks close to the beach. They seemed totally oblivious to people passing by although I did see the odd eye open, scan & then shut again.

The only movement in the colony were these two young seals play-fighting and a wary guy watching from behind.

There was once a large colony of seals at Point Kean, they used to be everywhere, on the rocks, over the road, up the stairways, under the bushes and on the boardwalk but once again the 'quake has raised the seabed here and it seems that they have moved further south and joined up with the colony we've just passed.  Some have moved out to the edge of the reef at Point Kean and there are still three or four seals loyal to the carpark but nothing like it used to be when most of the car parks were taken up by seals.

But the saddest sight of all was the old nursery pond alongside the boardwalk. This was once teeming with seal pups, now it's an overgrown stagnant duck pond.

From Kaikoura we headed south aiming for Christchurch but only making it to Parnassus. Why the hurry we said.

The main road south of Kaikoura is also still under repair although they have done one heck of a lot of work since we last came through, when we did a loop from Hanmer Springs to check on progress. I bet not many people would be able to say they drove through one of the Raramai Tunnels the wrong way. The photo on the bottom right was from that loop trip, it looks like they have increased the height from 4.38 metres  to 4.6 metres and widen the mouth (it's still pretty tight though).

As we were driving through the Hunderlee Hills, I spotted a familiar looking rig, complete with bright coloured kayak on the roof, approaching us through a thicket of bare poplar trees. There was a lot of mad waving from both sides as we passed.  

We've often been in a similar area but usually one of us is leaving as the other is arriving. We did manage to meet at Omakau a long time ago & at Warbirds a little later on. Then there was the time we didn't realise we were together at Napier's Ericksen Road Park until one of us was pulling out the gate. A friendship made over the internet through a love of RVing and belonging to the same motorhoming forums and Facebook pages. After some frantic texting the bus turned around and that is how we found ourselves having a coffee and then happy hour at NZMCA Parnassus in the company of John & Lorraine. It was lovely that they turned around and great to catch up with them because it could be another 4 years before we see them again!

Sunset- Parnassus NZMCA Park

From Parnassus we headed straight through to NZMCA Weedons Park which is not far south of Christchurch city. We have stayed at Weedons on a regular basis over the years and it felt quite comforting arriving back there, a bit like coming home.

It's a pity the weather didn't get the memo we'd be arriving though (and we'd need some sun to ease us into a South Island winter).

I think we had one blue sky day (and that was on the day we were leaving) during the week we were there. And then one of our diesel heaters spat the dummy and had to be serviced which was probably just as well going by the extreme frosts we've been having since we left Christchurch.

Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura

Real-time

We pulled over at the Hanmer Springs NZMCA Park on the way out of town, we've stayed here a few times but because it is about 8kms from the village, it's sometimes easier to stay in town at a campground or a POP (park over property). Back in March there was a major scrub fire on the hill behind the site. It was quite frightening to see how close it got to the houses. Luckily there's a road and a river between the hill and the Park, I know the motorhomers that were on site were woken and warned to be prepared to evacuate. Talk about front row seats!

The fire did jump the road further around the hill and closed the only road in and out of Hanmer Springs. It also threatened the historic Waiau River Bridge which crosses the gorge. If that had been destroyed Hanmer would have been isolated for months.

We took the Inland Route heading for Kaikoura on the coast, stopping at Rotherham so I could take photos of the church and the historic cob Watters Cottage.

Click photo to read.

We've driven the Inland Route in the past, so this time we decided to turn off at Waiau and take the more direct Leader Road to the coast.  The road passes through a number of large sheep stations, following the Waiau River for a time and then climbing a little into the hills. There was very little traffic other than a few farm tractors moving between paddocks.

We were climbing steadily up one of the hills when I let out a yell (to my ever patient husband) to stop, after I spotted a church down in a dip and surrounded by farm buildings. My first thoughts were that it was an odd place to have a church and then, perhaps it was a family church on a farm station. But I think it's a decommissioned church from somewhere near and it's been shifted there. Now I need to do some research to check it's history.

Leader Road exits onto SH1 just north of Parnassus, we thought about stopping at the NZMCA Park there, but decided to press on to Kaikoura even though the weather was deteriorating somewhat. I always unconsciously hold my breath as we pass through the Parititahi Tunnels- they never look large enough, no matter how many times you pass through them. Some idiot drove the wrong way through the right hand tunnel heading north just the other day and was chased (at low speed) by a police car for something like 80kms before being pulled over.

Usually we stay at the Kaikoura NZMCA Park in South Bay but this time we decided to check out a POP we'd heard a bit about- Donegal House. Mr TomTom lead us out the back of the Kaikoura township through dairy country, along a straight, narrow and very undulating road; a few items in the van moved shelves in protest. 

I've dubbed Donegal House the 'pub in a paddock'. It's a few kilometres north of Kaikoura and a couple of kilometres off the main highway, if you choose to ignore Mr TomTom like we should have. It is a most unusual place to have a Irish hotel, restaurant, function centre and accommodation lodge along with a large campervan park. But it works.

And much of it has been here for over 20 years. The campervan park was new last year, each parking position is marked out like horse stalls (the farm has a horse stud) with an Irish name on each section. Powered sites are likely to be available later this year. For now you must be self-contained, it's $10 per night although free if you're a NZMCA member. Of course they're looking for your likely custom in the hotel and I can report the Lamb Shanks were an excellent choice!

There's a large garden, pathways and footbridges over a pond and waterway along the front of the hotel but unfortunately with the drought that North Canterbury has been suffering for the last few years, and no recent rainfall, the pond level has dropped considerably. 

There's also a large farm pond alongside the park which attracts an amazing amount and variety of birds. Not only were there the usual mix of ducks; mallards and paradise, there were pukekos, swallows, plovers, stilts, herons and a couple of hawks. 

A large flock of swallows hovered over the pond for hours, catching insects on the wing. They'd slowly make their way up the pond, the front ones peeling off as they reached the edge, then flying to the back of the flock to start again. What incredibly hardworking little birds they are and I'm amazed they eat enough to balance the energy they use. Although they do take time out, I found this little guy resting on our shower dome one morning.

Each evening a large flock of White-faced Herons/Matuku flew in, circling for a short time before landing on the opposite pond bank. Then after a little bit of squabbling and shuffling back and forward they evenly spaced themselves out for the night. I counted 28 birds one evening including one uncommon white Cattle Egret. Unfortunately they arrived on dusk (this photo has been lightened a lot) and they left before sunrise so I couldn't shoot the egret. 

But the biggest spectacle of all were the mass arrival of starlings who roosted in the gum trees that lined the drive on the way in. Half a dozen flocks would fly around and around, ducking and diving, rising and falling, as they circled the trees, faster and faster as they swooped down and around; the flocks growing as they passed through each other. 

What an incredible sight and sound as they swept past time and time again in a loud swoosh, before eventually disappearing at a fast pace directly into the trees, sounding like they crash landed in the leaves as they landed. Silent other than the wing sound while they were flying they now set up a short burst of chatter announcing their arrival and saying hello to their neighbours before settling down for the night. Until someone who shall remain nameless started up the generator. The closest birds shot out of the trees like bullets squawking in surprise as they did a couple of circuits before resettling again. 

In a smaller pond near the driveway I found another rare bird, and a first for me, the introduced Mute Swan. Wild Mute Swan populations are only found in Canterbury (approx 80 birds) and Hawkes Bay (20 birds). There are also odd semi-feral birds elsewhere around the country on ornamental ponds and reserves. This poor fellow is all on his lonesome and has apparently been here for many years.

He was very pleased to see me and propelled himself across the pond at a fast rate of knots everytime I passed. I climbed over the fence to get some close up photos and he obliged by swimming back and forward and around displaying his magnificent and beautiful wings and cocking his head as he went. Living on a muddy farm pond may provide you with tasty dinners but it does nothing for your neck feathers!

No matter the length of stay in Kaikoura, a visit to Kean Point and the seal colony is always on my must do list. I never tire of watching seals go about their 'busy' daily schedule of lazing about, looking like giant fat slugs amongst the seaweed and sunning themselves on the rocks.

But the real reason to visit at this time of the year is too see the seal pups that have been left to their own devices while mum is out feeding, for sometimes up to 3 days at a time. There weren't so many pups about (compared with a previous July visit) and the fresh water pool that they were frolicking in back then, was a swampy puddle with very little water- another sign of the drought. The water level came to the top of all the dark brown grass(which has since grown) before.

There were still half a dozen pups lounging on the low branches and hiding underneath a large tree but none swimming in the pool. You can see the same tree and pups swimming in the pool on this blog, from 2 years ago.

I did find this gorgeous wee guy drying himself off on a grassy patch beside the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway.

I wanted to reach out and rub that cute little flipper as he was scratching himself. Of course I didn't. 

I know that look of pure bliss when your scratch reaches the spot very well, little fellow.

He barked a warning each time David walked past, we think he thought David was a large seal because he was wearing black jacket and pants. Whatever it was, little seal pup didn't like him approaching at all.

We found this 'luxury resort' on a back road, on the way home.

Complete with information centre nearby! Don't you love some people's sense of humour. Although I'm not so sure the neighbours would agree.