Kaikoura

 

After one final breakfast at F and D's it was time to depart, I bid a temporary goodbye to my dear hosts and adoptive family.

The ferry crossing to Picton was lovely, good weather and one of my favourite films showing in the movie room, Cuthbert even had a nice open air spot away from the smell of oil and wee that seemed to surround the campervans, and possibly some effluent that was coming from the sheep transporter.
At Seddon I picked up Pedro, a hitchhiker who had been waiting for 2 hours poor guy for a ride, and 2 hours somewhere else, he was heading to Christchurch, I said I was stopping in Kaikoura for the night and going to Christchurch the next day.

I stayed at Dusky Backpackers and on check in I was reminded why I had booked there - spa pool. Pedro decided to stay too and ride along to Christchurch the next day as at 8pm it wasn't the best time of day for more hitch hiking.
Looking North the town reminded me of Jasper in Canada:

 



The next day I walked the Kaikoura Peninsula track which goes around the headland, Fredaricka - an Italian traveller I met in the spa pool the night before accompanied me for the first section, she had walked the track yesterday. She turned back at the car park at the end of the road and I continued on, it was a lovely walk.

 On retuning to Dusky Lodge backpackers or whatever it was called, I collected Pedro and we continued to Christchurch, we stopped for a nice pie and coffee at a place called Twin Rivers café that had a very nice ornamental garden with an oblong pond, rather like the Blue Peter Garden pond except this garden was in sun. Pedro despite not having much money was very generous and wanted to buy the lunch, which he did, what a cool hitchhiker, I dropped Pedro at a YHA in Christchurch and I went onto Jane's.