New Zealand Diary, Day 9

Day 9: What now?

We awoke with clean(er) clothes and a thirst for adventure. Blenheim is the tourism center for the Marlborough wine region, so we set off looking for the wineries and maybe some bicycles to ride between them. We traveled north from town a few km into Spring Creek, back to the east end of Rapaura Road. This road is similar to Highway 12 through Napa Valley with its acres (hectares) of wineries and the occasional small inn, but only about 10 km long.

About a mile--it appears the roads were laid out in miles before the metric system was adopted--down Rapaura Road was our first destination: the Boutique Chocolate Factory. We learned of it from one of those tourist maps, and thought after brekkie that would be a good place to start. Indeed it was. We sampled a few of their many creations, and ended up with a box of chocolate-covered toffee with crushed macadamia nuts on top. It had been made no earlier than the day before, and was slightly soft and chewy. Much better than any Heath bar I've ever had.

On down the road we went, looking for a winery with reds, rather than just whites. We found the winery we were seeking, and spent some time in their reception area perusing the literature they had for the region. I tasted a few of their wines; DW tasted one. The experience is not unlike the California wine trail, except that in California nearly all the wineries have started charging for tasting. But we had come to New Zealand to see things we could not see at home. So what were we to do?

We decided that vineyard tours and wine tastings were not what we wanted to do. We had heard of a Mecca for whale, dolphin, and seal cruises—Kaikoura—and we decided to go there. We figured we'd get there around 5pm, and since the holiday was kicking into full gear, we wanted to make sure we had accommodation before we arrived. We took the loop back into Blenheim (since we had to go there on the way, anyway) and stopped at the iSite in the old train station. A lovely, friendly, and competent young woman found a room in a hotel near the beach, in an acceptable price range. She said the hotel used to be called “Maxton's on the Shore”, but had just re-opened under new management as the “Kaikoura Boutique Hotel”.

Having stayed at the “Blenheim Boutique Hotel” the night before and being unimpressed with the room itself, we had some trepidation about the “Kaikoura Boutique Hotel”, but it met our other requirements, so we booked it. (The nice thing about booking things at an iSite is that they can generally convert the charge currency, so avoiding the foreign conversion charge from the card issuer.) Off we went again, this time south on Highway 1.

For about 50-60 km, the highway stays inland. This region, though, is not as green during the summer as the northern coast, with the way the storms get channeled off the Tasman Sea. In fact, it was downright brown. Not dead, like Nevada, but brown like the dried grass of the Texas panhandle or the plains of central Kansas. It was at first quite hilly, and we soon crossed a mountain pass with nice tight little curves. After that, though, the valley became wider and flatter, and DW took a nap. Since I was driving, there was no one to take pictures.

After a while, the road emerged onto the coast, along with the railroad, and we traveled together past beaches used for both recreational fishing and commercial sales of the local fish and “crayfish” (lobster). We passed the small communities of Wharanui, Kekerengu, and Clarence. DW awoke. Presently we came to Okiwi Bay and the Ohau Fur Seal Colony.

Viewing these seals from the lookout seemed better than when we were in the kayaks. We weren't any closer; in fact, we were probably quite a bit farther away. On the other hand, we were on solid ground, and it was much easier to work the camera without worrying about dropping it in the sea. Also, there were a lot more seals, including quite a few pups. We stayed there about ten minutes just watching them romp around on the rocks, and dive into and jump out of the sea. (Warning: If you don't turn the sound down, you'll hear my voice at the end of this video.)

After Okiwi Bay, the road goes through a small coastal plain with a deer ranch, then comes back out to the shore at the township of Kaikoura. Just at the north edge of town, there is an intersection with two roads that go out toward the shore. One goes back north for a short way, and leads to the docks for the whale- and dolphin-watch tours. The other is The Esplanade, which passes through West End where a good many shops, restaurants, and bars are, and continues south down the shore. It was down The Esplanade we would find our hotel. It was quite easy to find because their café is called “Maxton's”, and they have a sidewalk sign with that name on it on display during business hours.

I found the proprietor, a woman named Robyn, and gave her the booking voucher from the iSite. We learned they were in the process of remodeling all the rooms (of 10 or 12 total, I'd guess), and ours was one of the recently completed ones. She showed us to our room, and we were still not quite sure this was such a great place. But the bed was comfortable, and the hotel is literally across the street from the beach. In addition to the usual china cups, thin stainless ware, and hot water pot, there was a French press and coffee for it. The towels were thick and soft, and the toilet-shower room was of an ingenious design, so that it was fully ventilated without need for mechanical fans, but with no danger of rain getting in. Not that it was raining…

After unpacking a bit and freshening up, we started thinking about supper. There was a helpful restaurant guide on the small cork-board in the room. We decided to head for the Indian restaurant, but keep our eyes open on the way. Back up The Esplanade to West End, and then out onto Highway 1 again to the Indian place. When we got there, we had a look at the menu and the atmosphere, and decided to go somewhere else. I'm sure the food was good, but it wasn't really what we wanted then.

There was a pizza place next door, but that didn't sound good, either. We wandered back into West End and parked on the street to walk. We asked a young Australian hawking wine where we might find a good steak. He pointed down the street, and said our best bet was “the brewery.” I didn't understand what he'd said at first, but looking where he was pointing I saw the biggest place on the block, called “The Whaler”, a sort of outlet of the Monteith's brewing company.

We walked in to the bar and placed our order. I saw that they had apple cider on tap, and got a pint of that. DW ordered fish and chips, and I ordered the steak special, and we sat at one of the empty tables. And sat. We ordered at around 6:30. At around 7:15, we heard someone say they were going to start cooking. I'm still puzzled why they ran the kitchen that way, but the food was worth the wait. The cider complemented the steak, onion, and mushrooms perfectly, and the mashed potatoes had just the right amount of garlic in them. DW got two large pieces of fresh fish, and enough chips that she couldn't quite finish them all.

Hapuku head

Kaikoura peninsula

After driving back to the hotel we decided to walk along the beach boardwalk. We even took a couple of photos in the waning light. We liked this beach very much, and the peninsula to the southeast promised even better walks and views. Besides, we already had our room for the night. We'd decide tomorrow whether we liked it enough to stay.