Reluctantly we left Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park behind and headed towards our next accommodation in the Greta Valley. We found a quirky little place to stay on AirBnB which was a former sheep shearers quarters. It was a real taste of the South Island countryside and if you’d like to book the same place you can find it here.
The best part of all? They have gorgeous little piglets who love to be fed your scraps!
En route to the Greta Valley we stopped at Hanmer Springs, an alpine town in the Canterbury region. It is best known for its thermal pools and spa and in winter the whole resort transforms into a ski resort.
After a long drive we couldn’t resist a dip in the thermal pools.
We arrived at our accommodation around 10.30pm so we went straight to bed and got up the next day excited for a day of exploration in Kaikoura.
Kaikoura is a coastal town and is still recovering from the earthquake which occurred last year. The coastal road has now reopened and the seal colony has returned.
This looks a perfect spot for a picnic doesn’t it?
Kaikoura is famous for it’s crayfish so we managed to bag a great outside table for lunch at The Craypot Cafe.
After a filling lunch we were ready to tackle the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway.
This three hour walk offers stunning scenery, steep in one part, the rest of the walk is relatively flat.
I found my perfect coastal cottage…….
We walked along the seafront before climbing upwards.
We passed many beautiful flowers before happening upon a breathtaking view.
We stayed here for quite a while just taking in the scenery. I thought my outfit matched quite well with the blue of the ocean!
After a full day lunching and sight seeing we were looking forward to having a BBQ in the lovely garden of our accommodation.
We barbecued up a storm and talked for hours into the night sipping on white wine. A perfect end to the day.
The next morning we headed to Akaroa where we spent New Year’s Eve. On the way we stopped in Christchurch for lunch and a wander around the city.
I have lots of pictures so my next post will show you everything we got up to there.
Does this look like somewhere you’d like to stay? Have you been to Kaikoura before?
I’d love to know!