Our 150 k drive
today took us through vineyards in the Awatere Valley and down the coast to
Kaikoura. Maori heritage is reflected in the name, Kaikoura that
means meal of crayfish. Maori
chief Tama ki Te Rangi arrived in the area many hundreds of years ago and found
an abundance of crayfish and named the area.
The first European settlers and whalers arrived in 1842.
Thankfully the town’s current tourism boom is based on eco-tourism observing
whales and other marine wildlife. The special richness of Kaikoura’s marine
life is explained by the presence of very deep water and the mixing of warm and
cold ocean currents which forces nutrients to the surface.
Surf in the foreground, a band of cloud & snow on the mountains.
Before looking for our apartment we drove out to the Point
Kean lookout and could not believe our eyes when we saw a New Zealand Fur Seal
colony basking in the sun, surf rolling in behind them and snow capped Seaward
Kaikoura Mountain Range behind that!
If you click on the photo you'll see a fur seal
in the centre at the bottom
and snow on the mountains behind mum and dad!
Once hunted for their skins the seals came within
a stones’ throw of extinction,
but now thrive with an estimated population of 30,000
on the South Island’s East Coast.
a stones’ throw of extinction,
but now thrive with an estimated population of 30,000
on the South Island’s East Coast.
We’re very
happy with our apartment at ‘The Fairways’. Dad is particularly impressed with
the huge gas log fire…however as I write this blog and we’re watching the
ever-changing panoramas of Mt Fyffe and the towering Kaikoura Ranges, the sun
is slipping below the mountains and we’re still warm & toasty after such a
sunny and warm day.
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