Kaikoura!

Today was a gorgeous day in Kaikoura! We arrived here yesterday and it poured rain all day. Still I knew this place was beautiful and today, I found out that was true. Ashley and I went on a 3 ½ hour hike all around the peninsula. We saw so many different scenes and all were beautiful! First we walked the waterfront. The beaches were not sand, but tiny pebbles. It was so amazing to see the Kaikoura Mountains just crash down into the Pacific Ocean, and the water was a magnificent, light teal color.

Then we reached the seal colony area. I was so excited – seals are my second favorite animal (next to tigers, which I doubt I’ll ever see one of those in the wild, and I’m not sure I want to). They were all pretty far from us, but I could still see them moving around. We also saw some penguin-like birds. Then we hiked up this hill and got a nice view of the surrounding area. We walked along the cliff top through a pasture full of cows looking down at the beautiful water crashing against the white rocks. Then we went down the hill, and through a small town. We trekked across the peninsula through a forest and back to the main street. It was so fun and so gorgeous, but I was quite exhausted afterwards.