My Plans Are Foiled!

   Well, the severe rain warning was pretty accurate. I was totally rained out in Motueka on Sunday! I had no plans that day, as I knew it was going to be rainy, but I didn’t expect all the roads to be flooded! I couldn’t leave Motueka at all. I had planned to see Abel Tasman National Park and the Oparara Basin, but my plans were foiled. The weather didn’t look like it would improve much for Monday or Tuesday either, and Wednesday I would be leaving Motueka. Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to do anything, I decided to leave and find somewhere with nicer weather. Most of the South Island is having some pretty bad weather at the moment, but Kaikoura on the east coast looked the most promising, and it’s on my way to Christchurch, where I’m going on Wednesday.

   So, since I was rained in Sunday, I didn’t do much. I did skype my parents and watch two movies though! I also tried to go to the Sunday Market, which is apparently a big thing in Motueka. However, this week, only two or three stalls were there! Conveniently it was across the street from my backpackers, so I didn’t have far to go, but I still got soaked in the short time I was over there buying veggies! I decided to take a drive to see if I could get to some caves that were up the road a bit, but the roads were flooded and closed. Apparently the Tasman region got 3 months worth of rain in 24 hours… yikes!

Sunday Market was a big hit! I think I was the only customer.

I don't think that's normal...

   I made plans to leave the hostel and go to Kaikoura Monday morning, but with such short notice I didn’t have any plans there. I took my time on the drive – it was 4 hours, but I stopped a lot! I drove through Nelson, where I came from, because there really aren’t that many roads on the South Island. It was a beautiful drive though! Once I got past Nelson I got into Blenheim and Marlborough, which I hadn’t been to before. From there to Kaikoura was all new to me, and it was so incredible. I can’t believe how spectacular my drive was! While passing through Blenheim, I was absolutely surrounded by vineyards. So. Many. Vines. They were so beautiful set against rugged mountains or the deep blue ocean. I was in a valley for a ways, then crossed over a small mountain pass and saw the ocean. I followed the ocean all the way to Kaikoura for a few hours. It was so gorgeous. Once I got a little closer to my destination, I could see a huge mountain range, the tallest having snow covered peaks. The clouds nestled right into the mountains, and it was fabulous. I only wish my camera could capture the true beauty of the landscape!

You see stuff like this just casually driving all over NZ.

I am in the most beautiful country.

   Just outside of Kaikoura, I stopped at the Ohau Seal Colony lookout. I had read about it, and was so keen to stop. It didn’t look to promising from the road, as it was only a small pull off from the road. There were some steps down to a viewing platform, and once I got down there… seals! There were so many! They dotted the coastline, and almost blended in with the rocks. I admired them for a while, and took a lot of photos. I swear they were posing for me!

Can you find the seals?

What a cutie! Posing for the camera!

"DON'T TAKE MY PHOTO"

   Once I made it to Kaikoura, I found a hostel that looked good and checked in. I had no plans for this town, but the receptionist at the hostel told me some things to do in town. I ended up going to the Maori Leap Cave Monday afternoon, because I made it to Kaikoura by 2 PM. I was the only one on the 45 minute tour, which was really cool and personal. The cave is a spectacular ocean-formed limestone cave, with lots of cool stalactites and stalagmites. The old man giving me the tour was the sweetest, and he told me lots of stories about the cave.

So cool!

I've worn hard hats in NZ more than I have in my whole life.

   After the cave tour, I went to the information center in town to figure out what to do Tuesday. I had seen flyers for piloting your own plane, so I got more info and decided to book! Tomorrow morning I’ll be flying a plane all by myself (…with the help of an instructor). I am TOO excited. I’ll take lots of photos if I can stop steering the plane long enough!