Kaikouri to South New Brighton

The final day of travelling took us from the crayfish capital of New Zealand to South New Brighton which is just outside the city of Christchurch.  This was the most scenic part of the entire journey.  We had a choice between carrying on down the coast or going slightly inland through another range of mountains.  The Rough Guide to New Zealand recommended the latter so that's what we did. 

It was a freezing cold misty morning when we left the Pacific coast town of Kaikouri to venture inland.  During the previous day we saw a lot of aerial photographs of the town which showed that it was nestled between the ocean and mountains but we had seen very little evidence of any snow-capped peaks, due to inclement weather.  As we ventured inland we were suddenly presented with unbelievable glimpses of the aforementioned peaks framed in the haze of a disappearing mist.

Misty Peaks

A lorry driver passed us coming the other way and for some reason he was waving his arms frantically as if to warn us of snow, landslides, icy conditions, killer sheep, rabid gangs of possums?  Who knows, but for a while he unsettled our minds and we came to the conclusion that he probably does that for a laugh to all the motorhome drivers he faces.  Twat!

More mist

This drive and the fantastic views went on for over two hours with no real dangerous driving conditions (or sheep or possums) and proved an ideal way to spend some of the last of the trip. 

View across the estuary to Sumner with shag in foreground

Our journey ended in South New Brighton which is on a spit on the estuary of whichever river runs out of Christchurch in to the sea.  After a 6k walk along the beach we got a bus in to the city to sample its delights.  We bumped in to a Sheffield United fan and a Barnsley fan in one of the pubs.  I had to break the bad news of a defeat to QPR and subsequent loss of manager to the Blades fan.