We headed north to seek out the other half of the seal colony and waterfall that the owner of the Sunrise told us about when we checked out the day before.
We drive north for about 20 minutes to Ohau observation point. When we get there it is very clear that there are plenty of seals around because of the strong smell. You smell these guys long before you see them. We walk to the observation point, and below us are the mother seals lounging on the rocks. There was a small depression in a couple of the formations, which had filled with water from waves washing over the top. These little pools were absolutely seething with baby seals, thrashing around, learning to swim and fighting each other on the edge of the pool. We stood there for a little while watching, and a crowd of people eventually gathered, so we moved on up the road.
Just around the corner there was a gravel pull out for the waterfall that the owner of the Sunrise Lodge had told us about. We were excited about the possibility of seeing some seal pups playing in a waterfall, but given the number we saw at the beach, the chances were probably slim. The guy had said that he had been there 8 times in the past 2 years and he had seen them 6 times, but his wife, who had been there about 6 times had never seen them. It was a nice little walk, and the waterfall was really pretty, but there were no seal pups...
We hopped back in the car and continued on towards Picton, and our ferry. I saw a sign for an Alpaca farm, and made the executive decision that we had to check it out. It was a little place, and a lady walked from her house and into the shop. There were many alpaca and 1 llama, we talked for a little while about raising and shearing the animals.
Katie bought a hat made from some of the alpaca there on the farm.
We got to Picton in time for a quick lunch at a cafe along the main street, and a scoop of Hokey Pokey ice cream for desert. We boarded the ferry and settled in for the ride to the North Island. A very awkward Belgian guy asked if he could sit down at our table, and we said sure. We started talking, and asked him what he had done while in New Zealand. He started off by complaining about how expensive all of the things were, like sea kayaking, whale watching, dolphin trips, glacier trip and caving, that he didn't do any of those things because they were just a big rip off. Then he proceeded to say that New Zealand wasn't all that remarkable, and that it wasn't all that different from Europe. He had been traveling with a tour bus, and getting out at the places, walking around, looking at the buildings. I suppose from his perspective, it wasn't that different at all. He had been staying at communal bunk rooms in the hostels, because they were the cheapest accomodations, and they were really noisy and the lack of sleep had ruined several days. He said he was going to Austrailia for 2 weeks after he leaves New Zealand, and that he wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. He was very well educated, as we spoke for a very long time about the world economy, trade issues, and energy markets. I didn't get the impression that he couldn't afford to do these things, it's just that he chose not to. Afterwards, Katie and I both felt really sorry for this guy, since he had missed so much, and his mindset would prevent him from ever really enjoying some of the things that we had done.
We get off of the ferry in Wellington at the beginning of their rush hour (4:45pm), and drive north. Traffic is horrible, stop and go, and it adds about an hour to an already long drive. The one bright spot was a sight that kept us laughing for the rest of the trip. Now keep in mind that Katie and I are both cyclists and there is always an uneasy tension between cars on the road and cyclists. We have a healthy respect and fear for the power of a 1 ton vehicle moving at 40mph vs a 17lb racing bike, and have been scared in traffic before. So, on with the story. We're cruising along this narrow 2 lane road with poor shoulders in bumper to bumper traffic. Traffic is moving pretty well coming the opposite direction but it is heavy as well. We are coming up to a bridge with concrete walls on the sides which narrows a little further, when we both notice a cyclist coming the opposite direction. He looked to be in his 60's, and was decked out in a safety orange vest and a big orange flag shooting out of the back of his city cruiser bike with wide handlebars. He didn't look very at ease. Compounding his discomfort was a gigantic camper van riding right behind him as they were crossing the bridge coming towards us. We don't know what triggered it, but all of a sudden, the cyclist's eyes got really wide, his elbows shot out to 90 degrees, and he stood and started pedalling like speedy gonzales on methaphetamines, mouth gaping open and peadalling like crazy! We can only assume that he survived. Maybe he had signed up for the "Extreme Adrenaline Bike Ride" in wellington or something of that sort...
We drove for another 4.5 hours to Turangi, where we stayed at another hostel. The night driving over the mountain pass was pretty harrowing, so to wind down once we got to our room we had a glass or two of wine that we had brought from Kaikoura. That helped us get off to sleep...
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