New Zealand Diary, Day 11

Day 11: “The Snout”

We slept in just a bit before checking out, partly because of the mid-night interruption, and partly because the cool, rainy weather was conducive to it. We’d made a booking on the BlueBridge ferry for the next afternoon. Our plan was to stay in Picton, the ferry’s port town, this night, so we wouldn’t be rushed getting to the pier on time. We traveled back up Highway 1, past Postman’s Road, past the Ohau seals, past fog-shrouded forests and hills, past the salt farms of Ward, until we got to the township of Seddon. We hadn't eaten anything substantial, so we stopped at the Seddon SuperValue market (look it up on Google Maps Street View) for some fruit and yogurt, or maybe lunch fare. We took our time in this store, as well, looking over the warm pies, the cold sandwiches, the fruit & dairy selections, and the chip section. I wish I’d had the camera with me in the store, because they had chip flavors I hadn’t seen before. The ones that stuck with me the most involved bacon. There was bacon, bacon and sour cream, and bacon cheddar.

We had our lunch, and went on to Picton; it was overcast but not raining, and the iSite was open. After all, even though Nelson and Blenheim are the centers of activity for Marlborough, Picton is the point of entry for many people. In the iSite, we were helped by an effervescent young redhead, who booked us an ensuite room (private bath/toilet) at the Buccaneer backpackers’ inn on Wairawa Road, with sheep in the yard and an almost close view of the marina. Being close to the marina was desirable, because there is a walking track that begins there, and the price was right.

We checked in and got settled in to our room, which did in fact overlook the marina, part of the town of Picton, and the sheep in the front yard. We changed into hiking shoes and grabbed our water bottles, and armed with a map from the iSite we set off for the trailhead. To get there, we walked down a couple of residential streets, and between a couple of houses through a council-maintained shortcut. We found the trailhead directly across the street from the marina entrance, and started around the densely vegetated hillside. On the other side, the track was interrupted by a cul-de-sac from another neighborhood, then it continued on up the sea-side of the hill. Eventually we came out of the brush at the end of a dirt road, with a sign pointing the way to the “Snout Track” through a gate designed to bar access by vehicles, including bicycles.

The Snout Track

“The Snout” is a narrow, crooked finger of land that separates Picton Harbour from Waikawa Bay to the northeast, in Queen Charlotte Sound, and the western face of this spit (plus a few more hectares) is a reserve called the Victoria Domain. The Snout Track climbs through the Domain along the relatively steep hillside that descends to Picton Harbour, reaching its highest point at Charlotte’s View. It then continues down through the ferns and totara trees to the very tip of the spit. The total distance of the Snout Track by itself is about 4 km, or 2½ miles, so it took us about an hour to make the walk one way, after the 30 minutes or so it’d taken to get to the start of it. It was certainly worth the time, though. While going out, we saw only two other parties, and we were alone the whole time we were at the Tip of the Snout. We met a few more parties going out as we were coming back, but we were still impressed with how few people were on the track for such a populated area.

I disappear around
the corner.

A sloop,
on the sound,
from the Snout

Notice the kayak

Charlotte’s View is on a peak about 2½ km from the start of the track. When we passed there on the way out, the sky was cloudy bright, no rain, about 70°F. By the time we got to the tip, it was beginning to darken, sprinkle, and cool off. It stayed fairly mild as we climbed from the marina back to the hotel, but when we were yet about 8 blocks away, suddenly a chill wind came up and started whipping the rain at us sideways. As we climbed the outside stairs to our room the rain slammed into our backs, relief coming only when we turned the corner to cross the deck to our door.

After drying off and changing clothes, we decided to go for coffee and explore the downtown area, defined as High Street between Broadway and London Quay, with a little spillover onto Wellington Street–that’s about four square blocks. The storm was still raging as we ran down to the car, but by the time we got downtown, the wind had died down and the rain was a light drizzle. We drove around for a few minutes before finding a 2-hour parking space, then went looking for a likely place for coffee. We stopped in a nice little restaurant with a courtyard that I can’t remember the name of, and decided to have a couple of the specials they had posted. There was a coffee pot and cups set out on a table by the bar where we ordered, and the barmaid told us it was normally $2 a cup, but it wasn’t very fresh so she wouldn’t charge us. For free coffee, it wasn’t half bad. The food was very tasty, and came in almost American-sized proportions. We ate our fill, then looked around downtown a bit more, but there wasn’t really anything that spurred our interest. We did, however, locate a grocery store where we could get something for breakfast in the morning, and got a bit of sweets for later. Then it was back to our room for the night, again quite exhausted from the day’s activities.

New Zealand Diary, Day 10 afternoon

Day 10, afternoon: Tragedy
First, let me assure you that no harm befell DW or me. Nevertheless, I have a sad story to tell you.

 After lunch, we set out for “Kaikoura Farm Park and Llama Trekking”. It appears to have been started as a llama ranch, which started offering multi-day hiking adventures using llamas as pack animals. Apparently they also began taking in animals that had been abandoned or injured. We have always enjoyed visiting zoos, and this attraction’s description promised the opportunity to feed and pet several different kinds of animals, including a fallow deer fawn. We were especially excited about this visit, even with the light rain that was falling.

To get there, we had to go up in the foothills on Postman’s Road, one of the grid that had been laid out when the area was settled by Europeans. After crossing a couple of intersections and a couple of dips maintained as seasonal washes, we came to a gravel driveway leading past a farmhouse to a carpark just big enough for a bus and a couple of motorhomes, in front of a largish shed that acted as the gateway into the farm park. The first animal we met was Jess, a female border collie who helped watch the stock. The young girl behind the counter told us we could go into any of the enclosures except the emus’, because they had a chick and were very protective. We paid the nominal entry charge and bought a couple of cups of food, and walked through the door into the farm park.

We were greeted by various fowl, including a couple of turkeys, and a fancy white chicken. The first enclosure held a pair of donkeys, and no other mammals that I could see. I guess those asses weren’t very sociable with llamas, or anything else. We went past a short row of trees, and there was Bambi, the fawn. We were told she was brought there with her sister when they were just days old, after their mother had been killed by a hunter. The sister became much too aggressive for the food, though, so they sent her to a regular deer ranch. Just off this area was the llama pen, where DW spent some time getting to know their different personalities.

Through another double gate was an area surrounded by smaller pens for other fowl, including white geese with goslings, and a single wallaby. There are no kangaroos in New Zealand, but there are wallabies, brought there by Europeans from Australia for food, and most likely sport. This one was probably hit by a car and brought to the farm park to be nursed back to health. He liked to be fed by hand, and loves whole wheat bread. They are so darned cute, and DW loved feeding and petting the little guy.

Other residents of this second large area included three standard black & white (Hampshire?) hogs, and a couple of hairy pigs, one of which was apparently a boar (segregated in a small pen), because he had tusks. We also met Barney there, a male border collie, who reportedly was Jess’s mate, sire of a couple of litters of puppies. He was a little more active than Jess, who was following us around, and seemed to keep the hogs in line as they tried to get up close to us so we would feed them. We both got our legs a little muddy from their rubbing.

Jess down left, Barney up right

At one end was the pen the emus were in. They actually came right over to the gate, with their chick behind them. The chick looked to be about 2/3 adult size. Although we were careful not to approach too closely, for some reason one of the adults became very agitated. It actually jumped over the gate, which was about 4' tall with a solid top bar. It didn't quite clear it, and landed in a heap, but quickly got up and started running first at the young man who was feeding the other animals and helping guide us, then at DW. I was quite a bit farther away, but started putting even more distance between the emu and me.

Barney’s instincts kicked in, and he started trying to contain the emu, barking and heading it off. Poor Barney. The emu would have none of that, and I presume (because I was looking the other way) it kicked the dog in the face with one of its ugly claws. Suddenly there was yelping, and Barney was running back and circling, then sat down. Somehow the young man got the emu cornered then back into its pen, and I went to examine the now quiet dog. His left eye was closed, and there was quite a bit of fluid strung down his muzzle. As I tried to comfort him, he lay down in the grass. My first thought was that he was in shock; I don't even know if animals do that, but that’s what I thought. I picked him up, since there was no way we were going to drag him, and carried him into the entry shed.

Meanwhile, the kids tending the farm park called the owner, who was out on a llama trek, on his mobile phone. They got the go-ahead to take Barney to the vet in town. DW and I stayed at the farm park for another 20 or 30 minutes, but the mood was more somber. We met one of the ponies on the place, and some hens with chicks and other white geese with older offspring. The rain was getting heavier, and with the sadness over Barney, DW and I decided to leave and go on to the next thing.

The next thing, we determined, was what was called a “forest trail” up one of the mountains NW of the township. We drove about a mile back down Postman’s Road, then took a left turn away from town. After about a mile-and-a-half, the pavement ran out and we were on a well-graded gravel road, headed up the base of the mountain. Just as we got to where we could see the end of the road, a herd of cattle started coming out from behind some trees and crossing the road. I surmised they were ready to be milked, which seemed even more likely as we approached and stopped, and I could see their heavy udders swaying as they walked.

There was a break in the line of cows, and we crossed their path and parked in the small area at the trailhead. The rain seemed lighter now, so we put our hats back on and started up the old, cowpie-dotted farm road that was now the beginning of the track. We hadn't gone more than a couple hundred meters, though, and the rain began to fall harder, and a breeze began to pick up. Even though we were in trees now, we could tell that we would be soaked if we stayed out much longer, and the wind would make it not much fun at all. Too bad: judging from the view on the beginning of the track, I expect the view from the top would have been breathtaking–if it weren’t overcast and rainy.

Kaikoura Bay upper left;
cattle path just before bend in road.

Besides, by this time we were beginning to get a little peckish, so we decided to head back to West End and see if we could get a good burger. (We couldn’t.) We ended up having fish & chips (DW) and chicken strips (me), then headed back to the hotel for a nightcap and rest. Yes, we decided that we liked Kaikoura, and the Kaikoura Boutique Hotel staff, so much that we would stay another night. (I should have tied up this particular loose end on the last post. Well, there it is.)

Shortly after 3am, we were awakened by a siren, of the stationary type. What with the recent seismic activity off the coast of Christchurch, my first thought was tsunami warning. A few minutes later, though, we heard a vehicle siren, and we decided the first one was a call for the volunteer fire department. I later confirmed this with Robyn, who said that sadly, most of the middle-of-the-night calls for them are car accidents.

Afterword: I emailed the owners of the Kaikoura Farm Park to find out how Barney was doing. They said unfortunately the eye had to be removed, but he was already adjusting well and almost back to his old self. They remarked, “we love intelligent dogs.”

New Zealand Diary, Day 10 morning

Day 10, morning: This is Summer?
We awoke hungry for a "cooked breakfast". We asked Robyn about a good place to get it, and she recommended the Dolphin Encounter's café, just about a block toward West End on The Esplanade. It was just over 200m, but it seemed like a long block. While waiting for our brekkie, we looked over the brochures for local activities. We learned there was a walking track around the end of the peninsula, with one across the middle to form a loop. We decided to give that a go after breakfast.

After stopping back by the hotel to put on sunscreen and pick up the camera, we set off down The Esplanade, and the boardwalk along the beach, away from West End and toward the end of the peninsula. After a short way, the boardwalk ended, and we climbed back up to walk along the road. Along the way we passed a council park with a playground, where a family was unloading supplies for a picnic. A couple of people were walking or running along the beach with their dogs. After about 1km, we passed the old commercial pier, and the Pier Hotel, with its large, glass-walled café half-full of patrons enjoying a late breakfast while watching the surf roll in. The road continued past a small residential area and around Fyffe Point, on the upland side of which sits the historic Fyffe House. Onward we went, past fishermen, past fishmongers with their steaming pots of crayfish, past signs advising people of size restrictions on the fish they catch. At the end of about another 1km, we reached a small carpark for the Kaikoura Peninsula Park, where we found the trailhead for the Peninsula Walkway.

The first few meters of this track didn't thrill me--a half dozen switchbacks up the side of the cliff. Once on top, though, the vista was worth the climb. Not only was there a majestic seascape with mountains behind the houses on the peninsula, but the top of the peninsula itself was a wide expanse of meadows and knolls, with rows of trees along the property borders. The meadows were populated with cattle, some adults, some yearlings. The knolls were populated with farmhouses and mobile phone towers. In the distance, we could see the “upper crust” neighborhood on the spine. The track crossed a couple of stiles where the pasture fence went all the way to the cliff's edge, and passed along the precipice where there was room.

Just before we reached the first stile, this little bird was sitting on a fencepost singing. He seemed unconcerned with us as we passed. Just like when I sing in the car.

About halfway around the walk, there was a small area with benches and a spur track that descended to a seabird colony. DW has more energy than I, so she took the camera and went down to the beach. She took a few photos before the birds decided she was lingering a bit too long and began to act a bit aggressively.

After she returned to the top, we continued on toward South Bay, passing more cattle on more rugged hills, and a small view point from which we could see kayakers paddling out to see if the dolphins would come around. From that point, the walkway was paved (for wheelchair access) down to the South Bay carpark.

Then it was back along neighborhood streets by the waterfront until, with the aid of the tourist map from Encounter Kaikoura, we found the track that went back across the peninsula toward our hotel. As we climbed the spine, we passed through a forest with small rivulets, finally emerging on top again between two pastures. At the end of a 150m alley, we crossed the road that rides the ridge, then went back down through another bit of woods until we got to the street above The Esplanade, just at the intersection of the street our hotel was on.

It's a good thing we didn't have far to go, because ever since we'd reached South Bay the sky had been growing darker. Just as we crossed the street and started down the block to our hotel, it began sprinkling, and we crossed the courtyard to our room under a steady drizzle. By the time we'd eaten lunch, it was a regular rain, but not windy. We decided it was a good time to take in one or two of the more touristy attractions we'd read about, and I'll tell you all about it—in my next post.

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.