A Couple of Firsts!

After a great sleep, we woke early as I wanted to get to Riverland's Truck stop so I could fuel up and empty (for my first time). I was keen to get there before anyone else so I wouldn't feel pressured to hurry.

And with relief, it did turn out to be as easy as Bernie said it would be. It probably seems silly to seasoned RVers and no doubt by the end of this trip I won't give a second's thought when it comes time to empty, but because I was on my own, I admit, I was a little apprehensive of how the procedure would pan out. Thank goodness it was simple, nothing splashed back up at me (phew - haha), and everything went as planned . It gave me a little boost of confidence.

So we were on the road again.

Destination - Kaikoura.

Our first stop was Kekerengu, a stony beach about 60kms north of Kaikoura. Its dog friendly, with a wonderfully wild foreshore and easy parking. There's a decent size area for self contained vehicles to camp, and close by is the popular Kekerungu Store, which is known for its delicious meals and fabulous views.

The dogs did what they always do - Oakly dug holes and Boo rolled in the sand!

And, I admired the many driftwood huts. I love how people create these!

Looking north, the weather wasn't looking promising. It's a good thing we left that behind!

The wind on the beach was icy-cold, so we walked through the shelter of some pine trees, which turned out to be much warmer.

I can imagine kids on holiday, would've enjoyed making and playing in this hut, which was nestled among the trees.

On our return to the bus, this classic motorhome, was about to leave, I would've liked to have chatted to the owners to find out more. It had such character.

Back on the road, I was reminded of the the 2016 earthquake that had struck the area, with the many roadworks we stopped at.

Eventually we arrived at Kaikoura. It'd be easy to be entertained for several hours, by the colonies of fur seals (kekeno). There were pups with their mums, seals basking in the sunshine, pups playing in the pools and many others just doing what seals do. So good to watch.

Our next stop was along the Esplanade. There, the dogs could get out and explore, while I sat back and soaked up Kaikoura's ambience.

After a tiki-tour of the water front we were ready to move on.

We set off to South Bay, which as the name suggests is a little south of Kaikoura, there's an NZMCA park, at the race course. Luckily, we found a spot to park (the last couple of times we'd tried staying, it had been full). After parking, I was keen to walk up the stairway beside the race-course before the weather turned against us.

The view was great.

At the top we had an option of heading towards Kaikoura township or to South Bay's Peninsula. We chose the Peninsula. 

The track followed a farm fence, along a grassy path, before meandering down through a pine forest. The dogs were forever hopeful a rabbit might appear and I was forever hoping that one wouldn't ! And luckily for me, no rabbits were seen (on this particular walk)! More about that scenario coming up, in future blogs!

Made my day, finding a toadstool.

Walking out from the shelter of the trees, I noticed a big drop in temperature. The wind had picked up and it was cold. Time for home/the bus.

After an hour or more of walking we found ourselves back at the bus. Both dogs found a cosy spot in the sun and settled in for a nap ... what a great idea - who was I to disagree?

It turned out to be the calm before the storm ...