Traveling around New Zealand you hear a lot about the West Coast. It's got mountains, and oceans and lakes and forests and rain forests and all that jazz, but what's so bad about the East Coast and it's recently shakey past? I decided to find out for myself, and instead of taking the typical route to Wellington; up the west coast and through Abel Tasman to the Picton ferry, I departed from Christchurch and traveled through Kaikoura to Picton.
First of all, it quickly became clear that the mountains are not only on the West Coast. No joke- check out this photo taken from the heart of Kaikoura:
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| what's that you see? Mountains to the east! |
Secondly, if you want to see the diverse array if New Zealand wild life (ok, that was a joke, it's mostly sheep) Kaikoura is the place to be. You can see many seals...
And if you get close enough to disturb their slumber you may even anger them/see them move! While the sluggish adult seals may not seem that new and exciting, no one can say no to baby seals!
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| Best of friends! |
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| Enjoying a leisurely swim |
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| they move very fast and it was tricky for this amatuer photographer to get them to stay still |
Once you arrive in Picton you can then do all the things like kayaking the Marlborough sounds and hiking the Queen Charlotte track because you won't be tired from doing the same activities in Abel Tasman. Also, they have Crayfish instead of Whitebait which I'm sure spurs endless arguments on the most prized kind of seafood.
Maybe the drive up the west coast is even better, I wouldn't know, never done it, but I do know you should give the east coast a chance!...If it's convenient for you...both sides seem nice...let's not fight anymore.
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