New Zealand > No whale watching trip

At six o’clock the alarm goes off. Will there be room on the boat this morning? The hope quickly fades. Online we see that the first three boat trips of the morning have already been cancelled. The next boats are all fully booked. Disappointed, we roll over and go back to sleep for a bit. More than two hours later, we wake up again. By now, all the morning boats have been cancelled. Outside, the bay looks calm. The sun is even peeking through. There’s probably more wind out at sea; they wouldn’t be keeping the boats docked for no reason. This must also mean a big loss of income for the operators. At ten o’clock, we leave Kaikoura and drive back to Picton. The hotel owner advises us to make a stop along the route at a lookout point where seals often rest with their pups. It’s hard to miss the spot—there are already many cars parked in the small lot. On the rocks, a few dozen seals are basking in the sun. The little seal pups hop around over the rocks. A fun sight. Some even venture into the water between the rocks. Just before Picton, we take the turn to Rarangi Beach. Here it’s clear there’s wind at sea—the waves crash onto the black pebble beach. In nearby Monkey Bay, tucked between the rocks, waves also roll up onto the shore. We follow the old coastal road to Picton—an extremely winding road along the coast. We quickly gain altitude, giving us a great view of the bright blue seawater. The road turns into an unpaved gravel road. At times, the tires struggle to grip the loose stones while going up and down. We pass Robin Hood Bay and several other small bays, some with just a single house—so peaceful. With all the curves, progress is slow. It takes us over an hour to cover less than forty kilometers. Eventually, we drive into Picton. In the town center, we order a sandwich. At the harbor, we see the ferry to Wellington just leaving—this is the same ferry we arrived on yesterday. From Picton, the Queen Charlotte Road begins, a coastal road along the Marlborough Sounds with stunning views. We stop a few times to enjoy the fjords. At Linkwater, we turn right onto Kenepuru Road toward Te Mahia. Tonight, we’re staying at a resort on the Marlborough Sounds. Although the resort is accessible by car, we decide to leave the car in Te Mahia and take a water taxi instead.

New Zealand - The boat picks us up for the overnight stay on the opposite side

This saves us over an hour and a half of driving. Te Mahia is much smaller than I imagined—the little village consists of just a few houses and a resort. We park the car at the pier. At the resort by the bay, we order a drink while calling our own resort to let them know we’ve arrived. From the opposite shore, we see a small boat coming toward us. Soon, we meet Mike at the pier. In about ten minutes, he takes us across to the other side. There, his wife Linley is already waiting for us. She welcomes us and gives us a tour of the Hopewell Resort, also offering us a beer. It turns out there was a mix-up with the booking, so tonight we’re upgraded to a more luxurious cottage with private bathroom facilities. The original cottage we booked had shared facilities. We made the booking back in October and couldn’t remember exactly what we had reserved—it was the last available room at the time.

New Zealand - Our cabin at Hopewell Lodge

It was also good that Linley mentioned in her email: “Don’t forget the food.” The resort has no restaurant. There’s a communal kitchen where guests can cook their own meals, but they do serve pizzas and there’s a restaurant at the neighboring five-star resort. Tonight, we choose the pizza, and tomorrow we’ll go to the restaurant. We’ve brought breakfast and lunch with us. During the pizza dinner, we chat with a German couple, a British family who moved to New Zealand, and a New Zealand family. It’s nice how everyone comes together here. At dusk, we go looking for the glow worms. You can see these glowing creatures in various places in New Zealand—often in caves—but here at the lodge, they’re right along the path. Among the ferns, dozens of tiny lights glow, as if small LED lamps are lit. The creatures use the chemical reaction to lure insects—a fascinating phenomenon. When we return to the lodge, Linley walks over with oysters. Would we like to try some? They were freshly caught in the waters right in front of the lodge. Delicious.