First stop on the way down was our favourite stopping point, The Store. This little restaurant was recommended to us on our first ever visit 2.5 years ago, and it still is a great stopping point. But Annie and Dave demanded wildlife, and as the East Coast of the South Island is well known for it, we duly found some at Ohau Springs.
This is a spot famous for baby seals as they shelter from the Pacific swell upstream, while mum fishes out in the ocean, regularly visiting the stream to nurse her young. There were probably around 50 young seal cubs hidden around the 10 minute walk, which finished in a majestic waterfall.
We then trooped on to Kaikoura stopping to view yet more seals, of the fully grown variety! This dude was hanging out solo on a rock and happily posing for photos.
We managed to grab some lunch and, seeing as Kaikoura literally means "eat crayfish" it would have been rude not to sample some. We found a great value place that was recommended by Lonely Planet. It was literally a shack by the roadside but it meant for a lovely view and great value seafood.
The afternoon was then spent cruising around the Kaikoura hills on quad bikes. Seeing the East Coast from a very different perspective!
From there we headed to Nelson as an overnight stop on our way to Golden Bay. On the way through, we decided to stop for some dinner in Havelock, the mussel capital of NZ, where we had to sample some of the local fare. This trip was quickly developing into a seafood tour of the country!
As Annie and Dave are from Stoke, we thought it would be a great idea for a lunchtime visit to the Stoke brewery for some beer sampling! Thankfully (for Annie and Annalie!), Dave wasn't feeling great, so Annalie duly handed over the car keys and took one for the team in the tasting department!
Onwards we went, over the windy Takaka Hill, with a planned stop at Anatoki Salmon. Here you can fish for Salmon for free, under the proviso that you eat what you catch - no releasing here. So you have to be carefully co-ordinated or you could end up with a haul but an empty wallet!
Dave and I managed to catch three between us and we got Anatoki to fillet them and smoke them for us. We chose plain, asian spiced and lemon pepper, which were delicious. What was that about a seafood tour again?!
The following day we went out to Farewell Spit, which is the largest sand dune in the world! It's at the very Northern tip of the South Island. It made for some stunning photos of lots of sand!
Our wonderful - if eccentric - B&B owners had advised us to travel a little further around the peninsula to reach Wharariki Beach. They showed us the best route to take and also advised us of low tide, as this is the only time the beach is accessible.
We took a little longer than planned to get there, thanks to a missing sign, but we finally reached the beach to be welcomed by the magnificent sight of Catherdral Rocks. We'd been warned it was a landmark, but weren't quite prepared for just how stunning!
The next day we headed back to the Abel Tasman National Park. Ian and Annalie had visited in not such great weather in October. However this time was a treat. We grabbed a voucher from Grab One to get a half-price cruise along the coastline and the weather played ball!
So if none of this makes you want to come to NZ, I'm not sure what would! Apart from the earthquake in Welly that we missed by about 10 minutes as we were still on the ferry!
