Picture Perfect Kaikoura

Picture Perfect Kaikoura

I've got a few favorite spots in New Zealand that I've talked about here and there on the blog before. Some of them are secret spots, some of them aren't. Sometimes my answers vary, depending on who is asking. But no matter who asks me, one of my favorite spots without a doubt is Kaikoura. North of Christchurch on the east coast of the South Island, it's not really in a fab location for roadtrips, but without a doubt, Kaikoura is a stunner.I love mountains and I love the sea. Rarely do I get both in the same place, but hallelujah, thank you for Kaikoura because it has both. Boom. On this rugged coastline tall snowcapped mountains drop down straight into turquoise seas. Kaikoura is the stuff of fairytales. It doesn't look real, kinda like the rest of New Zealand actually.

Because the ocean drops off steeply on the shore, it's as deep as the mountains are tall, Kaikoura is home to some kickass sealife, like whales, dolphins, seals, you name it, they got it. I first fell in love exactly a year ago when I passed through on my first trip to the South Island with Haka Tours. We went swimming with wild dolphins there and I spent most of the boat ride with my face in a bucket. The weather wasn't that great then and I didn't even get a glimpse of the mountains. I'd been itching to get back ever since.8 months rolled by before I had the opportunity to return to Kaikoura, this time on my own in the dead of winter on my Jucy campervan road trip around the South Island. In fact, I loved Kaikoura so much it was the only place I stayed for more than one night on my roadie. One of the main reasons I went to Kaikoura in winter was to see the infamous baby seals. A few miles north of Kaikoura along the coast there is a magical place, are you ready for it? Sit down, you've been warned.

The Ohau Stream Waterfall is just a blip on the side of a truly majestic coastline. On one side of the windiest road in existence you have a rugged, rocky coastline with turquoise waters overflowing with stinky seals and seaweed, with the Kaikoura Peninsula. On the other side you have dense New Zealand bush that leads up into the mountains. There's a parking lot usually packed with campervans stopped there, you can't miss it, that is the beginning of the walk. About 15 minutes along a stream bed on a super easy flat walk you'll eventually pop out a waterfall in the woods, beautiful in its own right. Except in winter it's filled with frolicking baby seals. I'm not joking.

The momma seals come up in winter and leave their babies in the safety of the waterfall pool to grow before hopping back down the stream bed, across the road and back into the sea where they lounge around on the rocks. I'm not going to lie, it's even more impressive in person. When I first moved to New Zealand, I was really fascinated by seals, I had never seen them before, and I had this romantic image that they were like docile, sea dogs, or maybe even otters. Cute, you know? Then I saw them for the first time up close and personal at Cape Palliser on the North Island, and I realized that couldn't be further from the truth when they chased me back to my car.