Kaikouri, NZ
Sunday, February 16
Campgrounds in the morning are an interesting place to be. It’s like being invited into people’s living rooms first thing in the morning as they walk to the shower house in their pajamas with their hair sticking up at all ends. Kids are rushing to the playground at first light. Others are making breakfast in the community kitchen with a look that says, “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had a cup of coffee.” I’m buzzing by with my yoga mat looking for the flattest/cleanest space to exercise. This morning, Aden was awake so I took him to the playground while I did my workout nearby.
Kaikoura has a farmer’s market on Sunday mornings, so we packed up the RV and drove to the town center to check it out. There were only a few vendors, but the vibe at an outdoor market is always fun. We purchased some plums and peacharines (a fruit that taste like a peach and a nectarine had a baby), a handful of green beans and a small pint of strawberries. Then, we browsed through some of the shops in downtown Kaikouri. This is a touristy area by the water, but it was nice because it didn’t feel too busy.
Before we walked back to the RV, we stopped by the farmer’s market once more to buy more plums. Aden had already eaten most of the ones we purchased earlier. He loved them!
We said good-bye to Kaikoura and drove along Highway 1 for about 20 minutes to Ohau Point. A large seal colony can be found here. It just might be the easiest place to see the New Zealand fur seal up close! There were hundreds of seals sprawled out on the rocks sunning themselves and lots of baby fur seals swimming in shallow natural pools of water protected from the crashing ocean waves. Andi parked the RV on the side of the road and I whipped together a simple snack lunch of deli meat, cheese, hummus, snap peas, strawberries and a sliced peacharine. We ate lunch while we watched the seals play outside our RV window.
After we ate, we walked along the sidewalk to watch the seals for a while.
Back in the RV, we drove to the town of Blenheim where we dumped the contents of our cassette, filled up with fuel and bought groceries for dinner. Blenheim is in the heart of Marlborough wine country, known best for its sauvignion blanc, and Andi and I were so excited to experience it. We decided to stay in a nearby village of Renwick at a farm stay we found through the Campable RV travel app.
On our way into town, we stopped by another place Andi had read about called The Vines Village. They were closing soon, so we only had long enough to purchase two scoops of ice cream for the kids and two wine flights for Andi and I. We’re not normally white wine drinkers, but when in Rome … or New Zealand’s Wairau Valley! Gotta try what they’re known best for.
Lucy, the owner of Kindar Farm, warmly welcomed us to her property. We parked our RV in the “paddock” as she called it, also known as the pasture, between rows of almond trees. Andi made delicious steak salads for dinner. Afterward, he and Aden walked to town to check it out while Tory and I stayed back in the RV. Tory read and I blogged while the boys stopped by Cork & Keg for a nightcap.
Tomorrow, we’ve going on a wine tour by bike. Looking forward to it!
