From the Ocean to the Mountains - Act 1: Kaikoura

Today, we traveled to Kaikoura, about 2.5 hour drive away. It is the closest major town to the north of Christchurch. Kaikoura is a small town of about 3500 people. It is a former whaling town and the site of many former Maori settlements. We went there for the beautiful scenery, seals and other wildlife in the region.


After arriving in Kaikoura we headed up to the lookout to look out over the town and up at the beautiful snow-capped (~2500m high) Seaward Kaikoura Range. The mountains were incredible and so very mountainy. More mountainy than any other mountains I had seen previously. Here is a group shot of us on top of the lookout with the mountains in the background.

After departing the lookout we headed out on the coastal track for a look at some aquatic life like seals...

...and climb around on the beaches and cliffs looking at beautiful colours and mountains.



(Please remember to click through on any image for a higher resolution version)

All in all, it was an awesome first adventure into the wilds of New Zealand. The only downside was that with all the tramping my ankle got very tired and sore. Still, this will probably be a good strengthening exercise for the future.