Kaikoura to Picton

On this warm, cloudy morning, my way further north hugged the east coast for two thirds of the route. I made a first stop at Paparoa Point, the place where, according to legend, an ancestor of the Ngati Kuri people of Kaikoura first set foot on New Zealand. A statue and a plaque pay tribute to this special occasion. What I also encountered here – by smell before by sight again – were fur seals, quite a sizeable group of them. And this was about 200m away from busy State Highway 1!

My next stop was a coffee break at The Store Kekerengu, near Clearance. Coffee under palm trees at the ocean shore! By this time it was 20ºC and sunny. After this stop the road lead more inland. Just looking at the street signs –  Lake Elterwater, Lake Grassmere – I could have been passing through the Lake District. However, there are saltworks at THIS Lake Grassmere. The lake has a large number of pinkish coloured ponds in which salt is dried and harvested.

The Weld Pass then lead into wine country, the Cloudy Bay vineyards, and via Blenheim into Picton. The sunny afternoon was perfect to do the Queen Charlotte Drive, the scenic route along the Grove Arm of the Queen Charlotte Sound, which I missed due to the rain when I came to the South Island some three weeks ago. I finally got to drive the steep and windy road () all the way to Ngakuta and Momorangi Bay and back to Picton. Add in the breathtaking vistas and no explanation is necessary for why I was smiling the whole time!