February 19, 2019
We wanted to get a very early start since it was a 5-hour drive to Kaikoura. But we woke up to gray skies. The clouds were very low and threatening rain. So we took more time to check out and left at about 7:15 AM.
Heinrich drove to Lake Brunner. We wanted to hike to Carew Creek Falls, but there was a 4 km dirt road to get to the trail head and it was raining, so we decided to skip the hike. Instead we drove to the town of Moana along the lakeshore. We stopped at a park and hoped the weather would clear. The clouds were so low that we were only able to see the bottom of the lakeshore and none of the surrounding mountains. This was supposed to be a good viewing spot for the Southern Alps. Not today.
We stayed in the park to eat breakfast. We checked the weather forecast, and it was predicted to stay rainy all day there. Since the forecast for Kaikoura was much better (partly cloudy) we decided to move on.
We stopped in the town of Reefton to fill up on gas at the Mobil station. There the attendant gave me a free Mobil card that was good for a 6 cent per liter discount when spending at least $40. I wish I had known about this card earlier in the trip.
I took over driving. Next stop was a waterfall hike near the Maruia Hot Springs resort. I had found this hike listed in Roadtrippers and in the Campermate app. I did not know the name of the waterfall but later found out that the locals referred to it as Five Mile Creek Falls. There was no sign for it along the road, and there was a small area to pull off the road and park the car. There was a blue arrow on a tree that pointed to the trail head. It was a wonderful 15-minute hike through a lush forest to reach a 50-meter high waterfall. Impressive! The trail was a bit narrow and overgrown, and there were two stream crossings due to bridges being washed out, but it was no big deal since we were able to hop rocks. The hike was definitely worth the time.
The road up and down Lewis Pass was a much gentler grade than Arthur’s Pass. The scenery was not as rugged, but I thought it was very pretty with forests dotting the hills. We stopped at the summit to take the 20-minute alpine nature loop hike. The summit was only 864 meters altitude (2,835 feet) and we were still below tree line. The summit vegetation consisted of beech trees, mosses, and grasses. By this time the weather was clearing and only partly cloudy, so we had some nice views of the surrounding mountains.
At the pass we also took the Tarn Walk which was a 1-minute stroll to an alpine tarn with lovely views.
To get to Kaikoura we decided to take the inland route 70 through the town of Waiau. There were many one lane bridges on that road, and a really long one just before reaching Waiau that had 2 passing bays. I ended up having to use the first passing bay on the bridge to avoid oncoming traffic (a truck). A car and a campervan were following me, and the car behind me was able to pull into the passing bay, but the campervan had nowhere to go so he stopped parallel to me on the far right side of the lane. The truck was just barely able to squeeze by both of us. It was a little scary. I don’t understand why these long one-lane bridges were built when they don’t have clear sight lines all the way to the other side. It seems like a ripe spot for lots of accidents.
After passing through Waiau we took a shortcut road to get back to the main state highway 1. There was a twisty section of paved road that climbed to the top of a hill where there was a nice view. We stopped there for lunch.
Heinrich took over driving the rest of the way to Kaikoura. After we reached state highway 1 we encountered road construction and small delays. This was the part of the country where much road rebuilding was needed after the earthquake in 2016. Fortunately all of the roads are open now, but they go down to one lane where the repair work continues.
Near Kaikoura the road passed by close to the ocean where we saw many pretty bay areas but no wildlife. We checked in at the Dolphin Lodge which was located at the top of the hill overlooking the town and the ocean. We had reserved a room for two nights. It had a private bathroom, and there was a shared kitchen down the hallway.
After getting settled we decided to drive to the New World supermarket at the end of town to pick up some dinner food and a few lunch supplies for our final few days. We prepared a spaghetti dinner and salad in the kitchen. We ate dinner outside on the picnic table where there was a nice view of the ocean and surrounding mountains. The resident cat came to investigate. It was very friendly. I had to keep it from climbing onto the table.
After dinner we strolled down the hill and looked at the shops and restaurants in town. We found a fish and chips place that had reasonable prices, and we made a note of it for tomorrow. We found the Whale Watch Kaikoura building and browsed the gift shop, but I found nothing of interest. We walked back to our room, and I spent the evening reading and posting photos to Facebook.