Kaikoura, New Zealand South Island

After Picton, we travelled west to Queen Charlotte's Track because there was a cheap DOC campsite with power so we could recharge our various electricals! The next morning after a bit of a walk on the track we went back on ourselves to travel south along the east coast to spend the next night in Kaikoura.

We found this incredible beach with volcanic black sand and turquoise water. The black sandy beach was littered with bright white trees and branches that had been stripped of their bark by the sea. It almost looked like another planet, or the surface of the moon.

The good thing about New Zealand is that the best sights are free (or have been so far anyway)! Having a camper van has given us a lot of flexibility too; we carried on driving south and stopped to take some photos when we spotted hundreds of fur seals sat on the rocks. I couldn't get close for too long as they really didn't like me being there, but it was was still great to view them.

We got chatting to a local while we were there, who told us that a bit further down the road was a waterfall that when the mother seals are out catching food, the pups swim up the river to the fall when during winter there can be as many as 40 there. Unfortunately there weren't any at the waterfall when we got there, but there were a few swimming and playing in the river leading up to it.

We stayed in another free DOC campsite that night, near a small village called Puhi Puhi. Apparently in the 1920s Puhi Puhi was literally just a school, and because it was so far away from the road, the students used to ride ponies to get to it. Electricity didn't reach Puhi Puhi until the 1950s either! We reached Kaikoura today, which is one of the places in New Zealand where whales can been seen out to sea all throughout the year. We haven't seen any yet, but we have seen plenty more seals, that are used to humans being around so I could get in closer for a better photo.