Heading south from the Marlborough wine region down the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, you will eventually run into the small town of Kaikoura.
We parked our campervan at a free campsite on the beach near the Kaikoura peninsula for an overnight here. Incidentally, the camping spot was right next to a kiosk serving the best seafood of all time. But this wasn’t the only positive about the spot – we were within easy walking distance of the Kaikoura peninsula.
There are 2 main ways to travel across the peninsula – one is via a walking path on the cliff sides which offers spectacular ocean views, and the other is along the sea. As an added bonus, the seaside route goes past several native bird nesting sanctuaries and right through a seal colony.
We took the cliff route down and the sea route back to get the best of both worlds. The views from the cliffs were no doubt impressive; but walking right past seals was something we’ve never experienced! First off, there are hundreds of seals out on the rocks lying about. Second, some of them are laying almost on top of the walking path! It was crazy how unbothered they seem when you walk by – probably because they know how easily they can inflict a nasty bite if needed.
Fortunately it didn’t come to that with us though, we made it through unscathed with some amazing memories to boot. Enjoy some seal action with this video!
