So long and farewell to the land of the long white cloud
The last few weeks of the house sit flew by and before we knew it we were once again packing up a campervan to head out on adventures. Rather than hire one we had managed to score a relocation deal with a large company, they needed their vans taking back to Auckland and were willing to provide a free tank of fuel and ferry tickets for anyone willing to do the distance.
Our first stop was to be Picton so we chose to take the newly rebuilt coastal scenic road through Kaikoura. Whilst we didn't spot any whales we did find a fantastic chippy and enjoyed fish and chips whilst admiring the scenery.
As we headed further north we pulled over to let a lorry past and happened upon a breeding colony of New Zealand Fur seals. These sea mammals are not classed as "true" seals as they walk upright on their front flippers and have external ear flaps, making them look more like sea lions than seals.
We spent a happy half hour or so watching the antics of the pups as they wrestled and played in amongst the rock pools.
With dusk closing in and many more miles to go we pushed on north and made it to the campsite just outside of Picton by 9pm. We were concerned that the campsite, Whatamango (such a great name!), would be packed given the season but there was plenty of room and we even managed to nab the same spot we camped in last time!
After a talk about the different species present in the Marlborough sounds and which ones we are allowed to swim with (orca are considered a bit too risky for tourist swimming!) we squeezed ourselves into thick wetsuits and headed out into the beautiful sounds.
Our first wildlife spot were some more fur seals, these ones being the males who make themselves scarce when the pups arrive. They had a clever trick of being able to make any rock look comfortable and were all snoozing in the shade, it being another lovely sunny day.
As we passed a salmon farm the guide explained to us that the high fences were not to stop the fish getting out but rather to stop the seals getting in! Many seals had discovered this easy meal and so fencing improvements had to happen very frequently. We even saw 2 juvenile males checking out the latest fencing, they were not as sneaky as they thought they were being!
As we headed around the sound checking out the most popular dolphin spots we passed by a colony of King Shags, one of the rarest sea birds on the planet. It was truly a privilege to see so many of them in one place.
As we rounded into a sheltered bay some dolphin activity was sighted and the excitement on the boat was palpable. As we neared the creatures the small grey bodies with rounded dorsal fins identified them as Hector's dolphins, one of the smallest and most playful species of dolphin. Due to their protected status we could only observe from the boat but they put on an acrobatic show for us and seemed to be having fun playing in the bow waves of the boat.
With the temperature steadily rising and no other dolphins spotted anywhere in the sounds we headed into another bay for a swim. The locals had been feeding the fish here for generations and so a large shoal quickly came to investigate. In amongst the smaller fish were a couple of blue cod, beautiful fish and also extremely tasty as we had eaten some blue cod only the day before.
We may have mentioned previously how impressed we were with the public parks in New Zealand and so finding ourselves very salty and with a few hours to kill before the ferry we headed to the local community swimming pool where anyone can swim and shower for free.
The next day was to be a long driving day and our last full day in the van. Thanks to an elaborate route planned by the satnav we took the scenic/ slow drive through the mountains and along the other side of lake Taupo. After driving for around 10 hours we were very glad to set up camp just south of Auckland and repack our bags. The following morning we dropped the van off at the depot before traispsing accross Auckland to the central bus station.
Happily we made it to the bus station with time to spare and were soon headed north, the bus driver entertaining us along the way with tales of how lost luggage will be sold on Trade Me (NZ eBay) and that no hot drinks are allowed on the coach as he is "over the drama" of people spilling them.
Arriving into the now familiar town of Whangarei we had a sense of homecoming and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with our friends Guy and Lou. Despite this being more of a social visit than a helpX placement we couldn't resist helping out and took great pleasure in the daily egg hunt and farm routines. Their garden had really taken off thanks to some extra input from visiting family and so we were enjoying bananas, blueberries and passion fruit fresh off the respective trees. There were even a few citrus fruits still on the trees despite the sweltering summer heat.
With regular trips to the seaside to cool down in the sea it wasn't long before a plan was concocted and Mike and Guy went surfing with the paddle boards. A beach picnic of fish and chips rounded the day off beautifully.
Our last day in New Zealand had us heading back to Auckland with Lou's family who were attending a concert there that evening. As we had an early flight the next day we stayed behind in the rental house to babysit, an accidental all-round win of timing.
It has been wonderful beyond words to revisit some places and it was great to start and finish our NZ trip in the same place. We have hopefully made some lifelong friends in the process and if/when we decide to move out permanently there are many favours for us to return.
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