cross-posted from: https://no.lastname.nz/post/1486364
By Mrs BlueÆther
Saturday 28th – Water, water everywhere
Well, the skies cleared and the waters receded a little, and we made it off our farm camping ground, past soggy paddocks and swollen rivers, and back to “civilisation” at Richmond, near Nelson. We’d only needed to stay one extra night at our camping spot, but it was still a relief to have access to shops and utilities. We restocked our little fridge in a very busy supermarket, visited a very busy laundromat, and picked up some other items we’d found we needed. Life in the town centre seemed to be pretty much ticking along as normal.
It’s surprising how much time the little necessities take out of a day, but we did also manage a trip out to Rabbit Island to wander along its usually popular beach. We drove past partially flooded crops, and a few paddocks that were still submerged. In one, cows were clustered on an island about 12 metres in diameter.
We made it out to the “island”, fording a wee pond, and found a surprising number of people in the brown waves. Not something we would have considered, with the threat of contamination with raw sewerage from the floodwaters, but still, I loved the fact that the surfers weren’t just stereotypical tanned young people with sun-bleached hair. Next to where we were parked, a woman in her 60s was pulling on a wetsuit. Her general appearance seemed more suited to a pink and beige tweed suit. A bit further down, a grey-haired couple were tucking their surfboards under their arms.
The absolute best thing about Rabbit Island is the many, many gently inquisitive weka. We were all enchanted. Most of them were pretty fearless, nosing about the camper and sniffing at BlueÆther’s coffee cup left on the step. They were happy to be within a few metres of us. However, when one got spooked, it stretched its neck out in front of it and pointed its beak ahead, long and straight, and shot off like an arrow.
We rounded off the day at the Richmond Aquatic Centre, where we’d learnt there is a wave pool (and showers!). The girls had never been in one before so were super excited, then gutted to find the wave pool was closed. It still ended up a highlight for them, though, as the centre also has a “lazy river”, and they loved playing in the warm current through the channel.
We parked up for the night at a well-equipped freedom parking area with lovely views across the estuary. Thanks, Richmond!
Sunday 29th – Monday 30th Seals and Whales
We had wanted to head west towards Takaka, but the state highway heading east was still closed. Our backup plan was to head south-west towards Greymouth. But that state highway was also closed. Unless we wanted to hang about in Nelson/Richmond some more, hoping for the best, our only option was to retrace our steps back towards Blenheim. That road had reopened.
It felt a bit off to be leaving the area in the midst of a state of emergency. Little we could do, though. As we made our way from the region, the road condition was pretty good – a few minor slips – but the land was still inundated in parts. Earlier in the week we had stopped to eat at Canvastown (named for the goldminers tents that once crowded the site) and appreciated the display of goldmining relics, interpretation boards and replica miners hut, just sitting beside a parking area as a sort of fabulous little wayside museum. Now, land around Canvastown had been transformed into lakes with ducks lazily paddling.
We made our way out to the east coast and headed south through a landscape that became increasingly lovely, eventually coming in sight of snowy mountains and seal colonies along the Kaikoura coast. We found our stop for the night at Paparoa Reserve, about 30 minutes north of Kaikoura. It was amazing…the home of a 2000-strong kekeno (NZ fur seal) colony – the largest in Aotearoa.
We spent hours clambering over rocks, getting up close to the seals and cooing over the pups. BlueÆther got his rod out and tried his luck at catching dinner (nope). The next day, we (the adults) woke up to a beautiful sunrise and clear skies, and we all had breakfast sitting outside watching seals. Pretty magical.
A short distance up the road we pulled over into another rest area with a boardwalk/viewing area, looking out over seals below. This was a completely different and also an utterly magical experience of the seals – there was more of a feeling of being an observer rather than a part of the landscape; however, we were also closer up and had better views. There were so many seals. We saw pups nursing and seals playing in sheltered water. It was amazing.
We moved on to Lavendyl, outside Kaikoura – lavender gardens with a shop. By this time, the clear complexioned dawn had turned into a cold, grey, rainy morning, so we gave the gardens a miss. We did, however, try the chocolate lavender ice-cream and cappuccino lavender ice-cream (as you do on a chilly day), with varying opinions. One of the many bonuses of being in a camper: when parents get into lengthy conversations with random shop owners, kids can just head back to the campervan and read a book, and the parents don’t even get told off!
After a cosy fireside lunch at a Kaikoura pizza restaurant (BlueÆther ordered a rabbit pizza) and a grocery top up, we went on to Fyffe House. Fyffe House is a museum that was once part of a whaling station, with construction beginning in the 1840s, making it one of the oldest buildings in the South Island. It tells the story of whaling in the area and the inhabitants of Fyffe House through the years. As its foundation, enormous whale vertebrae are used, one of which is exposed. They’ve never needed to be replaced. Whale bone is still found in other places in the area where it was used for construction, particularly whale bone fences.
I’m loving the fact that the girls are picking up some historical and general knowledge on this trip. As am I! Like, the fact that baleen was much more valuable than whale oil because of its use in whalebone corsets, and that almost led to the extinction of the southern right whales that were hunted here. Fashion has a lot to answer for!
We found another beautiful spot nearby in which to settle for the night, and enjoyed exploring another shore.
