Part 2

We awoke this morning still in the small motor park near Cheviot. This may not seem like a bit deal, but it was the most predictable thing to happen to us in quite a while. I was starting to feel like Ford Prefect in the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".

Laid in bed for a while watching the birds play outside. There were three of them. Black wings with white on top. Their leader flew off and the remaining two were at a loss for what to do next.

Soon after breakfast we departed for Kaikoura. It's not far away - only 75 km north of Cheviot.

We stopped along the way to admire the hills and wildflowers. Other than that, most of the trip was spent accelerating and decelerating through the winding road which twisted its way through the mountains. Well, hills, really.

We arrived in Kaikoura around 10am. Maybe a bit later, I suppose. Stayed at the Esplande Holiday Park. The manager told us they were full last night, as were most popular parks in the area. Good thing we stopped in Cheviot!

After a brief nap we headed into town. Found a place that advertised "swim with the dolphins". They couldn't get us until the 19^th. We didn't think that spending a full day here tomorrow was a good idea, so we went across the street to the visitor's center. They directed us to an outfit that does guided snorkeling tours where you interact with seals. "Swim with the Seals". Why not? Seals, dolphins. Can't say that I've swam with either, so I probably won't know the difference.

The trip left at 2:30, so we still had some time to play tourist.

Checked our email at a local camera shop. There are quite a number of places throughout NZ where you can do this. The going rate seemed to be around NZ$2.00 for 10-15 minutes. More than enough time to check in and see if anything interesting is happening. (We were in escrow on our first house, and so Aras was a bit stressed making sure the process continued smoothly.) Some other folks were there transposing long, handwritten letters. Makes me wonder if the art of sending postcards and letters is going away.

Finally it was time to go swimming. They gave us a full wetsuit with hood, mask, fins and a snorkel. We hiked across some rocks, got in the water and started looking for seals.

Pam saw one first. She swam up to me to tell me about it. It was clear that she was excited.

I saw mine a little while later. It swam right past me, maybe 3 feet away. Looked at me as it passed by. It was pretty neat, I must admit.

Pam saw a few more, as did I. Also saw a jellyfish, which looked pretty cool suspended in the water. It was a light blue color. As it turned out, we didn't see as many seals as expected, they cut the price down to NZ$30. We started around 2:30, and finished at 5. I thought it was a bargain.

Since the RV was parked right there, we decided to have a quick crackers and cheese snack, then do a hike up into the hills nearby. The path went out to the end of the peninsula, with some views overlooking several bays. Sounded like something worth doing.

	A couple standing on the bluff overlooking the bay.
	As we were descending the trail, we bumped into this sheep coming towards us.  We both stopped and stared at each other for a minute, neither party wanting to alter course.   Finally, he (or she?) grew tired and scampered straight up the hill.
	A view from the top of the plateau while we were hiking.  Note the mountains in the background - it had snowed there less than a week ago (a late spring snowfall).
	A fair number of these birds were seen during our hike.

Going out was fun. We were on top of the hill. A bit windy, but not too bad. A lot of sheep. On the way back we took a trail down to the coastal walk. The wind had picked up, and was very strong. 45-55 mph. The wind was so strong that it was difficult to stay balanced when standing still. It almost knocked Pam over when she was standing still for a photo. We were very happy to get back to the RV. Total time for the hike was about 2.5 hours.

Turned the RV around so that the rear window faced the water and mountains in the distance. This was our dining room and we enjoyed dinner right there.

A quick 5 minute drive back to the Holiday Park and we were done for the day.

Awoke in Kaikoura. It had started raining during the night, and there was still some light rain falling. Cereal for breakfast. Even though it was Kellog's Special K, it tasted a lot different that in the US. They put a lot more wheat into it to give it body. Pam and I both preferred the New Zealand version.

Showers were immaculate. We are both impressed with how clean the facilities are in New Zealand.

Checkout was at 10:00 - we pulled out exactly at 10. No early starts for us.

We stopped about 25 km north of town to view the seal colony. Watched some fisherman setting and checking his traps in the area as well. Assume he was trapping fish, not seals.

Blenheim was the first large town since Christchurch. My driving had not improved as much as I thought.

With Pam motioning frantically I started through a sequence of traffic circles. Unfortunately, there was already a red car in the circle at the time I chose to enter right next to it.

For those who have not had the joy of traversing a New Zealand traffic circle, I should point out that traffic circles in this town are 1.5 lanes wide. My RV certainly needed a full lane, and I felt bad about asking the red car to settle for 1/2 a lane. So I moved over to give the red car a full lane. I also stomped on the accelerator, which did little more than make things noisier and spew black exhaust. If you've been paying attention, you should be wondering where the other 1/2 lane came from? Well, it seemed to me that a perfectly good sidewalk was going unused, so that's what I used. Pam remained remarkably calm. So did pedestrians in the area, all things considered.

About 50 meters later, as I was still amazed that we exited the previous traffic circle without incident (well, damage), a speed bump appeared mysteriously. I hit it at full speed. Looked in the rearview mirror to see all of our books and pamphlets on the table get launched up into the air. It was a mess in the back. I started to look around for any police cars, since a case could be made for an impromptu lesson on driving techniques.

The problem with all this excitement was that I took the wrong road when exiting from the circle. Next thing I hear is Pam telling me that I have to go back to that circle. I didn't like that, and I suspected the townsfolk would not be excited to hear that I was coming back to try again. It's times like this that a local civil alert system would be very useful, but no one was manning it today (if they had one).

Things worked out better this time. We ended up in some narrow alley to test my precision driving skills, but other than that, made it through without further incident.

There road from there started to twist through the hills again. When you have an underpowered diesel engine pushing 8,000 lbs, the slightest incline becomes a mountain to overcome.

Stopped for fuel in Rai Valley. As we pulled out, I remarked that the red light on my dashboard was back again. Didn't seem to be affecting things, so I wasn't worrying about it. Pam looked over, and said that it was probably the emergency brake. I had released the brake, but not the last little click which disengaged the red light. Ooops.

The road from Motueka to Kaiteriteri was very twisty. Reminded me of the gravel road in Sequoia National Park.

We finally arrived at around 7 pm. Decided to take tomorrow off and do nothing. We are at a 420+ unit park (big), but only 50 meters from the beach, since the park is basically empty. Nice view of the ocean.

After dinner we walked on the beach. Went to sleep and enjoyed hearing the ocean waves in the background.

Did laundry and took a shower. Pam drove the RV and tested the emergency brake system. Flushed the water systems and refilled our fresh water tank. This turned out to be a lot easier than expected. I am still surprised at the lack of gauges to indicate how full/empty the various tanks are.

Went for a walk on the beach. Took some pictures and watched the eco-system in a tidal pool.

Came back and signed up for a full-day kayaking trip tomorrow.

Went walking in the evening looking for a restaurant. This is a resort town, so it would seem that there would be one in the area. None were to be found. Detoured up to a park overlooking the bay, where a dog appeared from out of nowhere and barked/growled at us. Not sure what his mission was, so we left to avoid any misunderstandings.

Decided to sleep in the dining area tonite instead of about the driving compartment. We agreed that it was more convenient above, but that climbing in and out of bed was tricky at best. Imagine starting your day off with a gymnastics move. It seemed like we were just doing time until one of us got hurt getting down from there in the morning.

Awoke during the night to the refrigerator running continuously. Strange. Seems to still be cold, but we'll keep an eye on it.

At 8:45 we walked over to the meeting point for Kaiteriteri Kayaking. We had jeans on, while everyone else was wearing shorts. So we walked back and quickly changed into shorts. Decided to leave the jackets at the RV as well. We are still in the process of learning how to read New Zealand weather.

At around 9 they started the briefing for those doing the all-day trip. Pam and I had the most experience in our group. The guide, Hymish, went over the basics of kayaking and then we were off.

There was a fair disparity between the fastest and the slowest in the group, so we kept paddling, coasting and mainly waiting. This was ok, though, since there were many things to look at. The coastline was very rugged, a lot like Oregon.

We saw a lot of wildlife, too. Starfish walking (well, moving) towards the water, Some clams and urchins. Hymish caught an urchin. Since enough people were interested, he smashed it with his paddle and several in our group tasted it. I passed on the opportunity.

Our first break was at 11. We stopped and had some coffee, mocha or hot chocolate. Our guide used to work at Starbucks and was quite good at making coffee.

One of the swiss girls hand-rolled a cigarette. Pam thought it was a joint, and her eyes grew wide. I explained that, no, she was using tobacco and it was quite legal.

We paddled on, stopping for lunch at 1:20. This was a longer break.

Our group consisted of 2 Germans, 2 Swiss, 2 Americans (us), and 2 from England.

The trip ended a few miles up coast and we took a shuttle bus back to the motor park.

For dinner we had fish burgers and a huge pile of fries. An amazing heap of food for only NZ$10.50. People around here to not exploit the tourist traps to the extent one would find in the US.

Also have noticed a disturbing lack of T-shirts for sale as souvenirs.

One last observation. The two main renters of motorhomes are Britz (ours) and Maui. The Maui brand looks a lot nicer. They have tinted windows and wood interiors (ours is formica). Also, a real ladder to climb upstairs. All in all, they appear to be a better deal. Hopefully we will have a chance to take a closer look at them before the end of the trip.

Awoke this morning to an alarm at 7am. Rolled over and went back to sleep. Woke up again at 7:30. It was chilly outside, so we only got up at 7:50.

Breakfast was Kellogg's Chex. In the US "Chex" is a Purina product. Very similar, except that the New Zealand Kellogg's version added a honey coating.

The original plan was to load up the day pack and catch a water taxi to Abel Tasman National Park. The taxi left at 9am and we were not yet ready, so we came up with a new plan. It was easier to do this than to get ready on time.

Pam was missing her parents a bit so she tried to give them a call. No one was home, so she left a message. It seemed to cheer her up.

We decided to drive up the Marahau and park at the trail head. Then we would hike in and try to catch a taxi back. If this plan didn't work, we could always hike back. That would suck, of course, but at least we had a backup plan.

Loaded up the new Osprey pack and headed down the trail.

	Pam wanted to capture my "natural state" during this vacation, so she got a shot of me taking pictures.
	Here is another view from the trail.  We paddled around that island yesterday as part of the kayaking trip.

It was very lush. Lots of ferns. The ocean was a blue-green color. Very tropical looking.

Stopped for lunch at a waterfall just off the trail.

Got to the beach area at 3:30. The water taxi was supposed to show up at 4:15. Sat around and watched the waves. There were at lot (~25) people also waiting for the water taxi.

The first boat showed up but there was no room. Same with boats #2 and #3. I should say no room for us; other people who had pre-paid were able to get on without problem.

Finally a boat showed up and I was able to secure passage for the both of us. Cost was NZ$15 each. The alternative was a 4 hour hike back to the car, so this was really a bargain.

The ride back was fun. We cruised past the areas we had kayaked in yesterday.

Reaching the town, the driver parked the boat close to shore, then came back with a tractor and an attached trailer. He put the boat on the trailer and started driving down the road (with everyone still on the boat). Asked where people needed to be dropped off (park, hostel, trailhead). Dropped us off at the trailhead, which was very convenient.

We drove to Motueka and found a motor camp. Walked to "Hot Mamma's" for dinner. Strolled around the town and came home when it started to drizzle. Pam was starting to get cold.

Pam remarked that the only place that had charged for showers (thus far) was Kaiteriteri.

We woke up (well, got up) a bit before 8. Decided to walk into town for breakfast. The place we had dinner last night had advertised blueberry pancakes which sounded good.

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the sky was a clear blue. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was closed. I looked inside and saw someone, but the door remained locked.

We opted to go across the street to the grocery store and get some milk. Bought a lot of groceries, actually. This was a good idea until we started to walk home, a good 800m or more. The grocery trip was not anticipated, and the bags were heavy by the time we arrived back at the RV.

Read about the Southern Traverse (which started today) and the America's Cup races. The Southern Traverse is an adventure race in New Zealand, and by all accounts a pretty good one.

We pulled out around 10. Stoppped and got some directions for how to proceed to Greymouth.

We stopped at around 1:30 to walk across a swinging bridge. The bridge was pretty long and high, but narrow. There was a trail we walked around on the far side of the ravine, where we saw some abandoned gold mining equipment. It was a nice break, but not too exciting. It seems that they are trying to develop the site for tourists since it has a lot of old gold mining equipment, but as of yet there has not been a whole lot done.

Continued to drive along the mountains. The roads were better than expected. Sometimes the lanes became a bit on the narrow side, but overall it was ok.

Stopped for lunch at a cafe in Ratton. Very small place - only 2 tables. Had some very tasty ice-cream, whose flavor was "Hoky-Pokey". Apparently this is a "standard" flavor in New Zealand, much like Butterscotch would be in the US.

Made it to Greymouth around 5 and got a site next to the ocean. Unfortunately, we were also at the end of a runway, so any planes or helicopters in the area flew directly overhead. Pretty low too, since the runway was fairly close.

Decided to drive into town for dinner. We have reservations for (about?) the cave rafting trip tomorrow. Sounds fairly intense. Good adventure. We have to meet at 8:15, so it will be an early start for us.

We are having dinner at the "West of the Border" cafe. My beer came in a boot shaped glass. Some local brew - couldn' t understand the name when the waitress said it.

Dinner was excellent. Not sure whether we should tip, so I left 20%. Probably confused the waitress, since the guidebook says 5-10% (Pam read it when we got back to the RV).

We walked around the Quay (retaining wall between the town and the canal/ocean) for a bit, then decided to save it for tomorrow. Found the caving shop.

Came back to the RV park and watched the glow from the sunset. We sat on the beach and watched the waves too...

Pam and I also had fun on the trampoline today. I hurt my back a bit, but it was still a lot of fun. The trampoline was at the playground in the RV park.

New discovery. The refrigerator does not work when we are connected to 240v. It just rattles continually. Noted that on 24v (battery power) it is cold and quiet. No more plugging in for us!