Heading north to get my hands dirty and become more of a
traveler than an tourist. I really want
to experience more authentic Kiwi culture.
Although the tourist track has been lovely and the infrastructure is
certainly in place for tourism I need to do something different for a
while. I have only met a handful of New
Zealanders as most people I meet at the hostels are travelers themselves. Not a day goes by I have not met and wished a
new group of German travelers on their way.
No offense to you Germans out there - you know there are millions of you
exploring the world – which is thanks in large part to the relatively long
vacation time allotted by their government among other factors.
Anyways, we drove from Christchurch to Kaikoura (known for
dusky dolphins and whales). It was a
really overcast cold day in Kaikoura so I don’t have much to report. I already had my dolphin experience in Akaroa
so I wasn’t overly excited to get out and explore. I did walk along the coast and along the main
street. Small tourist hub full of tours
– yes I am getting tired of this.
Onwards to Wellington we stopped at a seal colony just
outside of Kaikoura and continued on along the coast and the beautiful
Marlborough Sounds. A truly stunning
landscape just as beautiful as the first time I saw in en-route Nelson. I will definitely return at a later
date. The ferry from Picton offered
beautiful blue skies which met us on the other side upon arrival in
Wellington.
Now my first time through Wellington I was not overly
impressed. This time for some reason
(blame it on the weather since I was able to see the sun and it was not really
that windy) I really enjoyed it. It was
by all means more familiar which meant I was not lost every minute navigating
through a new place. I also spent some
time shopping and enjoying the cafes. Cuba
Street in particular I enjoyed along with Lambston Quay and the Civic Center which
are becoming party central with the NZ Seven’s Rugby Tournament over the next
few days. That’s all for now and It might be a while
before next update. I have a ton of pictures and will post when I can (it might be a while though). I hope these last
few recent posts should keep you occupied for a bit. Cheers!
