Day 142 Kaikoura, Ohau Point Seal Colony, Ward Beach, Blenheim

We said goodbye to Kaikoura and started the final leg of our South Island journey.   We wanted to get to Blenheim today but there were a lot of things we wanted to do along the way.  The first stop was unplanned as it was due to rubber necking.  I wanted to see why everyone else had stopped.  It turns out it was a nice beach that was full of surfers.  I am not quite sure why as the surf was not very high.  However, we did stay and watch for awhile but the novelty wore off fast and we moved on.

The coast along this part was pretty rugged but is a very popular spot for crayfish.

The first planned stop was the Ohau Point Seal Colony.  There were quite a few seals and we spent some time just watching and enjoying.  The seals were not only at this point but all up and down the coast.

The next few miles had us following right along side of this rugged coast in between the Pacific Ocean and the rolling hillsides. It was quite stunning and surprisingly there were a few places to stop and take pictures.

We detoured off the main highway to Ward's Beach where we first went for a walk and then had some lunch.  The beach is pretty isolated as it is quite a distance from the main highway.  The locals come here to fish and scuba dive.  I think the scuba divers are looking for shell fish as opposed to just diving for sport.  The beach is not very good for swimming as there is too much kelp in the water.  However, the area is very picturesque as there is a deposit of limestone rocks that have been shaped and carved by the waves and the wind.  We ended up walking one way before lunch and then tackled the other direction later.  It was a nice break from the driving.

After leaving Ward's Beach we wanted to go to Cape Campbell to view the lighthouse and maybe get an overview of the coast line.  In order to get there we had to go past Lake Grassmere which is a shallow lagoon protected from the open sea by a single barrier beach covered by sand dunes.  Due to its geographical characteristics  it is ideal for natural salt extraction.   

I must admit that is just looked like a big shallow bog and not very glamorous.

When we got to the turn off to Cape Campbell we discovered that it was private property and that killed our chances of seeing the lighthouse.  We did keep going on the road we were on and came to Marfells Beach.  It looked like a nice area to spend some time.  There was a holiday park with a lot of people set up for camping.  It was getting late in the day so we just stopped long enough to get a few pictures.

Marfells Beach was our last stop for the day.  Once we left the beach we made for Blenheim, found the holiday park and settled in for the night.  It was a full day but a very enjoyable one.