East coast of New Zealand. Seals. And more.

We headed from Blenheim and wine country down the east coast to the small town of Kaikoura. This is a real coastal town full of kayakers and surfers and hikers. On the way there we passed this really old bridge still being used for trains on the top but no longer using the bottom part of the bridge for cars

Stopped for some waves crashing on the rocks. 

Then we stopped to see the big seal colony. There were lots of young pups playing in the water while the moms sunned on the rocks. They were a hoot to watch. 

We back tracked a little to go to the Ohau water falls which is about a 10 minute walk in. At the base of the water fall were 5 seal pups playing. We got to watch a couple of them start to make their way back down to the ocean. Quite fascinating. 

On the coastal route and through much of NZ the train tracks and the roads run close to parallel. Lots of train tunnels through the mountains. 

After checking into our bed and breakfast and making sure George liked the room we headed out for a hike at the end of the peninsula.

We saw another seal colony and lots of ocean views. As much as I love living in the mountains there is something magical about being on the coast. 

Walkway up to where the walk started. We were on top of the cliff with great views. 

We ended the day with a glass of wine outside our room which had a great ocean view.