This morning we headed off to Kiakoura (not to wale watch but have a look at the area). The drive was very interesting since the road was VERY windy and we traveled up and down the small mountains and the road followed the land closely. So twisted and turned, did switchbacks and drove up and down for much of the trip. However, with such beautiful weather it was an enjoyable (and slow) drive.
When we arrived at Kiakoura we headed over to the information center to have a look at what options were available to us. We had talked about doing a ocean kayak trip at some point and we found that there was one being offered today at 12:30. This gave us an hour to get lunch and ensure we had a campsite so we hurried off to do so.
Now remember that I have never been on an ocean kayak (Wes has been to the Broken Islands twice) and what kayaking I have done was years ago. We decided to take a double kayak and Wes would deal with the rudder. I was the front end drive.
This was a perfect day for a kayak trip. The sun was out (yes we screened up big time) and there was a breeze but no wind. The waves were about 1 meter high (we were told) and the ocean was this beautiful aqua color. We were going to find New Zealand Fur Seals and hopefully swimming Blue Penguins. I learned that I am not a good front of boat paddler since I kept feeling I should tell Wes which way to turn the rudder etc. I realized after a couple of comments that really I needed to chill out and not try to front seat drive. We did have a good time.
The advertisement for this kayak is to go kayaking among the seals. We did this. The seals on the shore often get too hot and have to swim to regulate their body temperature. With the heat of today there were lots of seals in the water and they did not seem to be concerned about our kayaks floating around getting very close at times.
Much to the surprise of the guide we also saw several blue penguins. Often you can see them as they dive and disappear since they are not happy about people being around, but for some reason today they seemed to be content to continue to sit on the surface while we got relatively close. Although I had my camera with me in a waterproof bag, I was not able to get it out quickly enough to get any pictures of the blue penguins.
We took a route that went from the beach out into the open ocean so we could go around a reef and point and get to the other side where the seals were enjoying sun bathing. We spent 2 ½ hours floating around and exploring the shoreline. This area the rock is primarily limestone so not much grows on it so there really is not much to describe. Some of the erosion along the shoreline does create very interesting landscapes.
We returned to the campground and again feel we have been blessed with a fun day, sunny skies and a sense of another adventure successfully completed. Time is running short since we have only 3 more days here before the travel home occurs.
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