Kaikoura to Waipara

Travelling south from Kaikoura, there are still a lot of roadworks where the roads were affected by the earthquake. Mostly slips. At this one we had to sit for some time as we waited to be allowed through. You can see the black mesh/material up high to the right where they are trying to secure the cliff face and stop more crumbling away. In the distance at the front of the line, just by the tunnel, was a man in a cherry picker (scissor lift?).

This man was doing something to the cliff face. It looked like he might have been pounding some sort of anchors into the rock. If you know, please make a comment below and enlighten us all!

Here's a closer pic.

While we waited, we were entertained by this seal playing and sunning itself in the water.

Finally, we got to drive through the tunnel.

Helicopters were flying in various supplies to the workers at the top of the cliff.

Further along the road, more signs of slips.

Another one-way section—stop-go—traffic was allowed through the right tunnel only.

We stayed the next few nights at Torlesse Winery in Waipara. What a fabulous place, (an NZMCA Park Over Property), with wonderful hosts—Kym and Maggie Rayner. We enjoyed tasting their wines while we were there, but even more enjoyable was having the pleasure of Maggie's company in our rig on the night before we left. We had a great chat over a bottle of their Albarino, a delicious white wine from a Spanish grape. They have two brands here: Torlesse and Omihi Road.

Another bonus: the night we arrived, another van pulled up and out stepped an old work colleague I'd not seen for over ten years! Kim and Selwyn were on their way to Christchurch where their sons were competing with remote-controlled race cars.

I regret not taking more photos here at Torlesse. I was obviously too relaxed and just enjoying the place! :) We will definitely be back.

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Kaikoura

We loved Kaikoura when we came through about ten years ago, and in spite of the earthquake damage (November 2016), it still retains its colourful charm and character. There are some fabulous murals. I only managed to photograph a couple this time round.

Looking back at the entrance to Kaikoura township . . .

And a view towards town. You can see the whale mural half way down the street on the right.

The beaches were stony on both sides of the peninsula. These photos are from the northern side. You can see the southern side in my Kaikoura NZMCA Park blog post.

In the township, there's a bridge across Lyell Creek to get to the beach.

 Signs of earthquake damage to the shops not yet repaired.

There was a shop window devoted to the story of the quake, a timeline and a tribute to those who helped during the crisis.

A few shops have not yet reopened, but notice the yarn bombing!

A colourful, cheerful addition to the braces put in place to support the shop verandas.

We stopped to speak to a local who had this beautiful dog in the tray of his ute. Bella's story was poignant. Her owner rescued her from a plastic bag full of puppies that had been thrown into the sea. Bella was the only survivor. Isn't she beautiful? What some people can do is beyond understanding.

Some small shops have sprung up in these containers. It reminded me of the waterfront in Wellington, except I think the grass and plantings in front of these make them more aesthetically pleasing and quaint!

On the end of the far right container is the recent history of Kaikoura. If you manage to enlarge the "Land Transformed" photo below, you may be able to read about how 80km of coastline was lifted out of the sea, 1700 people were involved in the rebuild, 85 landslides were cleared, 1 million cubic metres of material was moved from landslides, etc.

We took a drive along the waterfront past the township. Here we saw more evidence of how the land has risen.

There were fascinating rock formations in this area. This was probably all under water before the earthquake.

Further around, at the end of the road, we found this access down to a large rocky expanse that people were walking out on to get nearer the sea and the seals. A local told us the water used to come right up the the bottom of the steps!

Seals frequent this area. They come right up to the buildings. Hence the gates in front of the toilets—to keep the seals out!

The road back towards Kaikoura township.

And back to the southern side of the peninsula, this is where some of the fishing boats come in.

Close by was another wharf where the whale watch boat (and others) let off their passengers.

Still on the southern side, more white rocks . . . more evidence of changes in the landscape wrought by the earthquake.

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Kaikoura NZMCA Park

While at Kaikoura, we stayed at another NZMCA Park. This one was at the Trotting Club. It's a very popular place, and most nights there was no spare room.

During the day it cleared out a bit and the stalls were more obvious. Occasionally a horse float arrived. One time, four horses were unloaded, placed into outside stalls, fed and then reloaded for the rest of their journey.

Along the side of the parking area was the start of a walkway.

St Paul's Track. We only went to the top of the hill, but the track continues on around and over the other side of the peninsula.

The view from part way up, looking down over the Trotting Club to the right of the NZMCA Park.

Views from near the top.

The next morning we were awoken at about 6am by what sounded like a foghorn. It sounded over and over again. Later, when we ventured out into the drizzly, foggy morning, this massive cruise ship was moored offshore.

It was cloudy and drizzly the entire day. But that evening the sunset was brilliant.

The next day was stunning. Hot and sunny. And another beautiful end to the day.

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