Day 17 - Kaikoura
Kaikoura is fairly small (pop. 2,200) and lies about 180km north-east of Christchurch. What's interesting about it is that it's right beside the end of the
Hikurangi Trench. The depths of the trench and the prevailing winds and currents in the area make the waters around Kaikoura particularly abundant with deep-sea life, which tends to attract other species of animals, including dolphins and whales.
The town is famous for whale watching, which is why I was stopping there. It's also conveniently located right on the train route from Christchurch to Picton, the place you need to get to if you want to take a ferry over to the north island, which is where I was ultimately headed. So I figured.. might as well stop and see some whales.
I checked out of my hostel, jumped on a
scenic train heading north, didn't bother with any photography, and sat back and enjoyed the sights of the pacific ocean on the right and mountains on the left as we rode along towards Kaikoura. It was a relatively short ride and in almost no time I was in Kaikoura at my new hostel.
I checked in, asked about food options, and set off for the local
iSite, the one place that was almost everywhere I went that I knew I could rely on for reliable information and advice.
I devoured a large plate of Pad Thai for lunch. The next photo has nothing to do with that meal.
Another option for something to do in Kaikoura: swim with the dolphins
The iSite!
Inside I talked to a nice lady who convinced me not to go see any whales.. not directly mind you, but all the information she gave me seemed to suggest that I would likely spend a lot of money and probably only get to see their butts. So that was a no go - and honestly I wasn't too disappointed. There seemed to be a ton of other things to do in the area, even though the town was so small... And to be honest again I was actually kind of happy about the relaxed feel of the whole day, now that boating, helicopters, and whales were out of the picture.
The Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway was something that came up that I remembered from my research. It was a 4-6 hour long hike that took you around the entire Kaikoura Peninsula, right by the water. It seemed exactly like the sort of low key thing that I was in the mood for.
Here's a map of the trail, with some weird crap going on just to the left of the iSite, which is in the top-left corner of the map. My plan was to walk the trail clockwise.
I do not remember much about the Garden of Memories.
Came across this memorial erected for those who fought in the 2 world wars. (Notice how they refer to them as the great war and the world war)
I had with me a bottle of water and some snacks.. that would have to do for the next 4-6 hours!