Kaikoura Coast Track

The first big hike Gene, Howard & I did was the Kaikoura Coast Track, a three-day walk through gorgeous coastal forests, hills and beaches just south of the Kaikoura Peninsula and Kaikoura Coastal Range (the highest of the mountains, just above, to the right of which extends a little finger into the ocean, the peninsula). When asked, later on, what our best experiences so far in NZ had been, all of us agreed that our break in the rest-stop house on the first day’s hike (which included a stunning range of settings from deep forest, to steep hills and coastal fields), with some of these amazing and clear views of the moutains, coast, and peninsula, was one of the abslute peaks. We spent three hours drinking tea, reading, and napping with these views before continuing on to our evening’s lodging.

Our final day was foggy and misty. This is Gene, ready after a cuppa for the final stretch on day three.

What trip through New Zealand farming country is complete without curious sheep poking their heads out? Although thistles aren’t, I think, native to New Zealand, I couldn’t help appreciating how the dew clung to their many spines and petals on the wettest of our mornings on the track.