Hey, everyone! Oof – what a journey this week has been! Some good, some chaotic, some bittersweet. From tomorrow, it will be three weeks since I’ve finished work. I’ve seen and experienced so much since then! Read on if interested.

Pelorus Bridge

After my night blogging and recuperating in Nelson, I had plans to drive to Momorangi campsite near Picton. However, my friend Daniel (the one I’d stayed with in Nelson, whom I know from Queenstown) invited me to join him at his family’s place in Marlborough Sounds instead. The only catch was that the road getting there was closed until 4.30pm, so I had some time to kill.

I mozied around Nelson doing a few errands. I wanted to find a post office to ask them why my postage wasn’t working when sending letters. Well, turns out I only have stamps for POSTCARDS. And unfortunately, I already put the stamps on letters haha. So now I will just have to hand-deliver the mail to my loved ones once I’m home. Alas. That’s okay.

After leaving Nelson, I drove to Pelorus Bridge, which was a filming location for Lord of the Rings and also had some nice walks. The water along the river was very clear. The area is home to New Zealand’s only mammal – bats! In hindsight, I wish I’d gone back there and stayed through the evening so I could have seen the bats. They are attracted to the insects that hang out near the streetlamps. I hope I’ll be able to see them on the North Island. We’ll see.

I went on a few different walks. One was a 30min loop track that crossed a suspension bridge and went through some native forest.

The other was an hour long trek, with two waterfalls along the way. You know I’ve nearly HAD IT with waterfalls (kidding). I was curious to see what the waterfalls looked like, since I hadn’t seen any while driving along and it didn’t look like a particularly wet area.

Well, let me tell you…

I actually laughed out loud at how pitiful the first waterfall was. It was practically a trickle compared to the amazing falls I’d seen along the West Coast and even Fiordland. WHAT?!

I continued on and after an hour, made it to the second waterfall, which I was hoping would be more substantial.

More powerful, yes, but comically, it was practically blocked by what looked like a massive log. The view of the waterfall was literally blocked. “This is ridiculous,” I told myself, and climbed a little bit to get to a better vantage point to view the falls.

Insanity!

After finishing the track, I climbed down to the river and tried to read my new book. It has been quite a captivating read and I’m nearly finished already. Unfortunately, sandflies had other plans for me. Before long, they were chewing up my ankles again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: bastards.

I had passed enough time, so I started making my way closer to the road that would open at 4.30pm. Maybe 5min from the road, I stopped at a lookout to do another short hike. The lookout of the Marlborough Sounds were stunning. As usual with any picture I take in Aotearoa New Zealand, pictures don’t do it justice. What a view!

Alright. Just about 4.30pm. I went back to my car to head over to Daniel’s place, but then…

Car Panic

Maybe a minute into driving, suddenly my music turned to static. All the lights on the dash went on, as if someone had opened all the doors and the trunk. The fuel tank went from halfway full to empty. But worst of all… the car stopped accelerating.

Luckily, I had a safe spot to pull over. I turned off my car. My heart was beating fast. Nothing like this has happened so far since I’ve owned Goldie. What is happening?

I decided maybe it was a fluke. I turned the car back on and started to drive, but it happened two more times. Okay, this isn’t safe. I looked up a mechanic. Right at the junction where I would be turning off to go to Daniel’s place, there was a mechanic. Success! I pulled into the parking lot but realized quickly that it was looking pretty grim. This was a one horse town, not much going on here. The “mechanic” was a little garage next to a convenience store.

I stopped inside and asked if the mechanic was around. The lady at the counter said the mechanic was out hunting. Oh. She asked me what the trouble was. I explained and she mentioned it sounded electric, that it would be good to get to Blenheim.

Unfortunately, it was 4.45pm at this point and I wouldn’t be able to get to any of the shops in time – everything seemed to close around 5pm. What am I going to do?

At this point, there was no way I could drive to meet Daniel. I was too worried about my car. He was another 45min from where I was, which meant I would drive 45min there, to the middle of nowhere, then 45min back, plus however much time it would take to get to a town with a mechanic. I texted Daniel and apologized but said I wasn’t able to come.

I looked to see how far away my original campsite was. Would you believe… it was only eight minutes away. “Okay, I got this,” I told myself. And little did I know, the campsite was only 20min from Picton, a town which definitely had a mechanic. I was able to get them on the phone before they closed and asked if I could come first thing the next morning. They agreed.

Luckily I had already booked my campsite a few days prior. I rocked up with no more issues with Goldie. The one main attraction of Momorangi campsite was that it was home to the eleven-legged starfish. I had no idea such a thing existed! And I was able to spot a few of them, too. While I was pleased to spot them, I was very much in my head about my van for the rest of the evening. Once I’d unfolded my bed, I sat with my head in my hands, praying to my higher power to please, please, please help me just get to Picton tomorrow to get my car fixed.

This is the thing. I had NO idea what could possibly be wrong. I also had no idea just how much it would cost to fix. I was willing to pay up to a certain point, maybe $1,000, because that’s about what I would save by staying in my van for majority of my trip, as opposed to in hostels. However, past that, it was going to be a hard decision to make. It might be better off ditching it for parts and instead, hitchhiking the rest of the way (which is common in New Zealand). I didn’t want that, though. I had so much planned on my road trip, so much of the country I wanted to see still. Hitchhiking would severely limit the remainder of my trip. Sigh.

It took a while for me to fall asleep, but eventually I did.

In the morning, I frightfully drove to Picton. While it was only twenty minutes away, I was terrified my car was going to fail on me again. It didn’t.

The mechanic came to have a look. After testing the voltage on a number of things under the hood, he was scratching his head. Everything looked good. He told me it was pretty hard to diagnose when the issue isn’t acting up at the moment. He suggested I get to an auto electrician (a sparky). He referred one down in Blenheim, which was another 20min drive. Ugh! Mercifully, the mechanic didn’t charge me for his time. I was very appreciative of that.

I called up the mechanic in Blenheim, and he told me what he thought it was, but he wasn’t going to be free until Monday. This was four days away. He asked me if I was having the issue currently, but I said no. I told him I guess I could just drive down to Kaikōura which was my original plan and if anything happens, I can head back to Blenheim. That’s when he suggested Jason, who was a mechanic down in Kaikōura. Alright, let me give him a ring.

Jason was my savior. He told me immediately what he thought the issue was. He told me he was free to have a look same day. Alright, I’m on my way……. two hours away.

I was pretty nervous the whole car ride. I was dreading my music going to static – the telltale sign that it was going to flare up again. And yet, it didn’t. Somehow, some way, I was able to make it to Kaikōura safely, and rock up to the sparky.

Jason had a quick look and also told me it was slightly hard to diagnose without the issue acting up. But then he tried something. He jiggled the key in the ignition and that confirmed it. The radio turned to static, all the lights turned on. “Yep. It’s the ignition switch.” He needed to order a part. Timidly, I asked him how much he thinks it would be. Jason told me he’s not one who wants to muck people around just for a quick buck, that’s not how he operates. He said the part “would probably be $150, a little bit more with labor.” I could not believe what I was hearing. This is just what I was praying for – a CHEAP fix. All in all, $190 and one day later, Goldie was back to normal.

It was quite the misadventure… but it will certainly be very memorable in the future.

The funny part is that this all happened literally the DAY after I had posted an ad on Facebook Marketplace to sell my van in a little over a month. She was rebelling. Oh, Goldie. You’ve really cost me a lot of money since I bought you.

Kaikōura Peninsula

After the chaos of my car, I was at least happy to finally be in Kaikōura.

Kaikōura was a place I originally wanted to move to when I first arrived in New Zealand. I was hoping to get a job on a whale watching boat. They have resident sperm whales that transit through the Kaikōura Canyon, which is a deep underwater canyon that is very rich in nutrients.

I had a number of tours reserved for the 30th September, and the 1st and 2nd of October. I later changed the tours to earlier dates.

Before my tours, I spent time along the peninsula.

There are two walkways – one which starts with a steep incline and then steadies out to walk along the tops of the cliffs. The track took me adjacent to some cow paddocks. On one side, I had cows.

On the other, steep cliffs and gorgeous views of the water and the landscape down below, which featured plenty of fur seals.

The walk was wonderful, easy, and the perfect introduction to my four nights in town. This was the longest I’ve stayed in one place since I’ve left Queenstown!

On another afternoon, I went back to the peninsula to do the coastal walkway. This time, I met up with Marko from Croatia, who was traveling through the area in a campervan. It was cool to spend time with another traveler. I had so many questions about his campervan set up. It is far superior to mine. He let me have a look and it truly is excellent. It’s a self-contained campervan, so it has a sink, an oven that functions with butane, a bed that doesn’t need to be folded up daily, cupboards, dishware, etc. Honestly, that’s the dream.

We talked about our misadventures and car troubles along the way, the places we’ve been, the places we’re going, etc. We got along pretty well and after walking the coastal walkway, we continued talking for some time. He invited me for tea and later, he offered to prepare a small dinner for me. He had picked some wild romaine while we were walking along the coastline and for dinner we had boiled romaine and potatoes, with butter, spices, etc. It might not sound that good, but it was seriously delicious. I had two helpings haha. Or was it three?

We also went for a night walk and saw… bioluminescent moss/lichen?!

Eventually, we parted ways but we connected on Facebook (not Instagram since mine is still suspended GOD DAMN IT) and are both heading up to the North Island, so maybe we will meet again one day.

I wish I could say I did more around Kaikōura, but other than the tours I will mention below, I mostly was just hanging out at my campsite. I did a lot of reading. I sat on a bench looking out to the sea and searching for whales off in the distance (which I spotted, twice!). I did yoga once. Handwashed my laundry and airdried it which was new for me haha. Really, I just did a lot of relaxing. It was nice. I felt very happy to be by the sea. As Nittsy said to me, the sea is healing.

Whale Watching Flight

Originally, I was going to do the whale watching flight last, but since everything got thrown up in the air with the car crisis, I decided to see if I could get in earlier. I tried calling one morning but since the airfield was literally right next door to my campsite, I decided to just walk over.

I was surprised to see the pilot behind the desk. He was able to accommodate me on the next flight, which was in one hour. Yahoo!

One thing I was a little stressed about was the tours getting cancelled. That’s another reason why I was pushing them a little earlier. The earlier I could do them, the earlier I could get on a RESCHEDULED tour. If I waited until the 30th, 1st, and 2nd, I might be stuck in Kaikōura until the 5th trying to get on rescheduled tours haha.

Reason being – strong winds, strong seas, etc.

So, I was glad to be getting on the flight. While waiting, I spoke with an elderly couple from the Netherlands. They have been touring around New Zealand. I asked them where their favorite places were, and they both agreed they loved Aoraki / Mount Cook. That seems to be the common consensus with a lot of people. It is a spectacular area. The wife was very eager to see a whale since she’d never seen one before, but boy have they tried. They’d been to Alaska, South Africa, etc. A number of places where whales live, but they’ve never seen them. I suggested in the future, they have to go to Maui in February. That is prime whale viewing!

I had my fingers crossed for them. If I didn’t see a whale, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve seen them heaps of times before (even though I will take nearly any opportunity I can to see them).

And then, it was time! Eight of us, including the pilot, boarded the 8-seater propeller plane. And then off we went!

I wondered if maybe it would be kind of scary being in such a small plane. Would take-off feel pretty intense? Would landing? It was absolutely fine.

The flight was 40min and was spent mostly looking for whales. Were I to do it again, I would opt for a flight later in the day. That way, the planes and boats have been coordinating all day to see where the whales are. With the earlier tours, it’s all a guessing game until someone spots something.

But then… a humpback!

How cool it was, to be able to see it from above. I’ve never been able to experience that vantage point before, where you could see the whole body. Such massive beasts!

The plane dropped low, low, low, circling around and around. At some points, it felt like the plane was completely sideways. It was kind of crazy haha.

The humpback was the only whale we saw, but then we also saw a pod of dusky dolphins leaping out of the water, chasing towards the whale. How fun! There were also some fur seals swimming near the surface.

I certainly wasn’t expecting to see a humpback. I was hoping for a sperm whale, since they’re the residents here! But I adore humpbacks, so I’m glad they made an appearance.

What an incredible experience. And pretty cheap, too. I think I got the tickets for somewhere around NZD$150 which is a bargain for a 40min flight, I think. I would have probably done it just for the scenery alone.

Swimming with the Dusky Dolphins

I’ve been lucky enough to swim with dolphins once before, my first trip to Hawaii back in 2019. It was an unforgettable moment, one of my cherished travel memories. At the time, I didn’t have a GoPro and so I wasn’t able to get video footage of it. But I always wish I’d had it, to be able to look back at the memories.

Soooo, while it was pretty pricy, I decided to splurge on a tour to swim with the dusky dolphins of Kaikōura. NZD$230, but… I’d heard the tour was not to be missed. Okay, count me in!

I had to wake up pretty early and after checking in, waited for what felt like forever. I lingered close to the check in desk, where I heard the ticket agents occasionally talking with the skipper over the radio. Oh, NO. It was seeming like the tour was maybe going to get cancelled. My whale tour the day before was cancelled and I was gutted (I’ll touch on that in the next section). I hoped this wasn’t going to be the case again.

Time went on, and eventually we were all given the caution that wind levels were very high and at any point, we may have to cancel the tour. Okay, not very encouraging. The employees decided to move forward with at least getting our gear ready and doing a briefing. If we could go forward, we would, but if not…

I had my fingers crossed. The whole time, I was prepared for another cancellation. Then we got our briefing. Then we went on the shuttle bus to take us to the marina. Then we got to the boat. Would it still be cancelled?

We got on the boat and the wind had died down. Not ten minutes later, we were swimming with dolphins.

And while the dolphins in Hawaii were amazing, this swim with dusky dolphins was one of the most incredible underwater experiences I’ve had. We were encouraged during our brief to make noise underwater to get the dolphins curious. Sometimes they would circle around us, and we could circle with them.

So, when the dolphins appeared, I did just that. I made all sorts of noises underwater and the dolphins seemed to love it. They circled around me, I circled around them. We kept going and going and going. It seemed endless.

There was only one problem. The GoPro I had hired wasn’t working so I wasn’t able to get any footage. Eventually, I swam back to the boat and handed it to the staff member who had given it to me. “It’s not working,” I said. I was having a similar issue before getting in the water and she helped me then, too. The battery was dead. Yikes. I decided to go back to the dolphins, thinking I was just meant to experience it in memory only.

Maybe five minutes later, I popped my head out of the water, and the staff member was waving the GoPro at me. She’d fixed it! I went back to retrieve it. I was absolutely elated she got it working for me, because I was able to capture a number of videos that are now saved to my phone. Thank you, Fay! (I’ve written her a review on Google, and also have reviewed a bunch of these people that have helped me recently.)

It was hard to keep up with the dolphins at times. I was tired and I wasn’t breathing as properly as I should because I kept making noises underwater haha. I was out of breath and the water was COLD. So cold. We were suited up with booties, fins, wet suits, wet suit jackets, hoods, etc. And even then, it was very cold. I was determined to spend as long as I could with the dolphins, though. I’m glad I did.

Sometimes they would disappear but then they’d be right back again a moment later. Suddenly, from my left, a dolphin would circle into vision, eyeing me. One might swim away, but another might appear.

It was a spectacular experience.

Eventually, the boat horn blew which signaled us our swim time was over. Just in time, because I was probably on the verge of hypothermia haha. I dried off and had a blanket around me the rest of the trip. I must have very poor circulation, because whenever I’m in cold water, it is really, REALLY hard for me to warm up afterward. I was chattering and shaking for probably twenty minutes. That used to happen all the time in Australia, too. The staff member gave me some hot tea which helped a little, although my hand was shaking while holding the cup lol. What a mess.

We were afforded more opportunities to observe the dolphins from above. I snapped some pictures with my camera but nothing compared to being in the water with them.

One cool thing was seeing one of them flipping out of the water. It did it back to back to back. Dusky dolphins are very acrobatic and are constantly jumping out of the water, doing tail slaps, backflips, etc. Very fun creatures.

And then, to my great surprise, just before we were pulling back into the marina, we spotted a small pod of Hector’s dolphins! Hector’s dolphins are one of the world’s rarest dolphin species. They are also the smallest. Our guide told us that only 5% of their tours are lucky enough to see them. How amazing!

Their dorsal fins are so cute and very unlike other dolphins’ fins. It almost looks like a paddle.

If I were to come back to Kaikōura in the future, I would swim with dolphins again, 100%. Not an experience to be missed, just like everyone said!

(One last note. I didn’t think I would be doing any snorkeling while in New Zealand, so I didn’t bring the GoPro I own from home. So… I hired one for $65 for that dolphin tour LOL. But I will tell you, it was worth every penny for me because I was able to capture such an incredible experience that I’ll remember the rest of my life!)

Sperm Whales

I wasn’t sure if I would get to see a sperm whale. During my flight, the skipper had said the sperm whales were “further out to sea” or something like that. But… but I thought they were residents in Kaikōura? I thought they were here all year round?

The day prior to the dolphin encounter, I was slated to go whale watching on a boat. I woke up, went to the parking lot. Moments later, I received a text that the tour had been cancelled due to rough sea conditions. Damn it! I was given the option to reschedule or get a full refund. Obviously, rescheduling! I ended up rescheduling for 4pm, the same day as the dolphin encounter tour.

I rocked up around 3.30pm to check in, half-expecting the tour to get cancelled again. Thankfully, it was a go!

The shuttle bus took us to the marina and we boarded the boat. The on-board naturalist gave us all sorts of information about sperm whales. Most notably, they are the largest toothed predator on the planet. They are also the deepest divers of any whale species. They can hold their breaths for up to 45 minutes, which is pretty impressive. I once went on a whale watching tour where the guide joked, “it’s funny that there’s a whole industry based on seeing creatures that spend 95% of their lives under the surface”. Truly!

The guide also gave us “a spoiler.” She told us that they’d been able to locate a sperm whale already today, and with the use of their hydrophone, they would be able to pinpoint where it is again. The skipper drove us to the area where the whale was last seen. On the deck, I was standing next to the guide as she dipped the hydrophone into the water. She had headphones on and was hearing the clicking noise that sperm whales make, which is sort of like a sonar, I guess. I had been chatting with her a little bit earlier with some whale questions and she asked me if I’d like to hear. She gave me the headphones and I listened to the sperm whale’s clicking. How cool!

The hydrophone is a non-invasive way of locating sperm whales. All it is doing is picking up on noises underwater.

At one point, the guide said, “I think it will probably come up on the left side.” We had been standing on the right but I decided to go with the professional’s prediction. Sure enough, three minutes later, the sperm whale came up.

Wow. WOW. It was much larger than I expected.

I’ve seen southern right whales, humpbacks, grey whales… but sperm whales are BIG. I couldn’t believe how long the body was and I was only seeing a fraction of it.

How I wished I could be under the water, looking at the massive creature’s entire body. They’re such interesting looking creatures!

One bonus of the sperm whales is that they spent more time on the surface than any other whales. I suppose diving so deep for so long means they need more time to recover afterwards haha.

Sperm whales don’t typically do acrobatics in the way that humpbacks do. They sort of just float along the surface. So really we were just watching it as it floated like a massive piece of driftwood, strongly exhaling from its blowhole every now and then.

This whale’s name is Holey Moley and they were able to identify it because it has a hole on both its tail and dorsal fin. Holey Moley is right!

Before sperm whales dive back down, they give a kind of tell TAIL sign. It’s almost like they reverse for a moment before diving down. Our guide announced “alright, he’s getting ready to dive!” And sure enough.

Click, click, click. I snapped as many pictures of the tail as I could. I had almost forgotten I’d be able to see that part!

Success. My very first sperm whale sighting. I was feeling pretty good.

Afterwards, the skipper led the boat around to check out some dusky dolphins. To be honest, I was pretty tired from the earlier tour. Sightseeing can surprisingly be mentally exhausting haha. I wasn’t too focused on the dusky dolphins although I did watch them play. It was funny to see how excited other people were. I was like, “yo, I just spent all morning swimming with these guys” haha.

We also saw some albatross, which I was a little more excited about. I was able to get a somewhat-kinda-okay picture of a northern royal albatross, which was exciting to see! I haven’t seen them since I was in Dunedin, at the Royal Albatross Center.

The mountains looked unreal, lit up by the fading sun. I admired them, admired the sea.

It felt so nice to just be where I was – seeing whales, dolphins. Near the ocean, near the mountains. What a place to be.

Love you, Kaikōura.

My time on the whale watching boat made me think of what could have been. I tried to get a job on that very boat. I had emailed with that very skipper who was steering the boat. It was kind of weird. It was almost like – this is what I envisioned for myself but this isn’t how it turned out. But at the same time, look at what did happen during the past eleven months. Look how incredible of an experience I’ve had on the South Island. It seemed very fitting that Kaikōura was my final place before heading to the North Island.

Adios, South Island

The morning after the dolphin and whale tour, I was on a mission. A mission for chocolate. I think I’ve mentioned it for weeks now haha but my friend Renee had bought me these amazing chocolate bars from Makana Confections, a chocolate store near Blenheim. Because they were the perfect dessert, I promised myself I would buy more of them lol. And so that’s what I did, on my final morning on the South Island. I drove two hours from Kaikōura to Blenheim, then spent $90 on three boxes of chocolate bars (which only had 3x bars per box). A splurge, but well worth it. They are heavenly. Macadamia butter toffee crunch. A+, 100%, 10/10.

I almost ran out of gas on my drive there. I thought I’d had enough (well, I did) and then the light turned on and I was like oh, FUCK. Although to be fair, I think you still have like 30min driving time before it goes to empty. At least now I know how much it really takes to fill my car up from empty – NZD$117. Yikes.

Another twenty minutes took me to the Picton Interisland ferry terminal, where I would depart from the South Island. I drove up and checked in and proceeded to wait in line for an hour and a half. Boring!

It wasn’t until I was on the vessel that I realized my last footsteps on the South Island were leaving a chocolate factory after spending $90 there hahaha.

Once aboard the ferry, I was surprised to find that they had tons of jellyfish around the boat. They were moon jellies, just like the ones along the Swan River in Perth, Australia. It had me feeling somewhat nostalgic.

I have never taken such a massive ferry before. Semi-trucks, vans, SUVs, cars, SO many vehicles were loaded onto this massive ferry. I think there were like eight levels on the ferry. It is an expensive ride – $250, but I had to do it since I needed to take my car to the North Island. And yet, I’m really glad I did it that way. It felt much more suitable than a plane ride. It was like a voyage, crossing between islands.

The journey was about three and a half hours. I spent most of it outside, soaking up my final views of the South Island. I was struck with emotion at one point and actually shed a tear or two. The South Island has been my home for the past eleven months and now I was leaving.

Once upon a time, New Zealand was just a place I heard great things about. I had half-hearted plans to spend two or four weeks there during my Australian visa. I’m glad it all worked out the way it did, though. A work & holiday visa in New Zealand was NOT part of my plan when I was leaving the US, but here I am. Almost a year later. And what a time it has been. I’m truly grateful for the life I’m able to live.

Along the ferry trip over the Cook Strait, I quickly began to get glimpses of the North Island. And finally, Wellington. Coming back to the North Island serves as an interesting benchmark for me. The last time I was there was the very beginning of November, just before flying to Queenstown after I’d secured a job. Look at where it all started, look at what has transpired since then. SO much.

And funnily enough, here I am, writing this at a hostel that I actually stayed at all those months ago. It all comes full circle, doesn’t it?

So here I am, back on the North Island. Less than two months left in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Miscellaneous

What else to mention?

I don’t really have much miscellaneous stuff this time. I caught up with some family back home. Had phone calls. Emily also sent me a letter my family sent to the hostel. So sweet!

I caught up with my former boss Jen. It was wild to hear her voice again. We’ve texted a bit here and there but haven’t talked on the phone since I’ve left. I enjoyed hearing about the developments at work and in her life since leaving. As we chatted, I saw a whale from shore.

Art of the Week

I didn’t have any ideas going into this one, I just started doodling and seeing where it took me. It’s kinda fun to do it like that sometimes, although the results aren’t always the best.

Reflections

I think a lot of my reflections were at the end of the Adios, South Island section. Things are good. It is certainly weird to acknowledge I am no longer on the South Island. At the same time, I’m ready for what’s next.

So what is next?

I have so much of the North Island to explore. Some notable places include: Mount Taranaki, Tongariro Crossing, Taupo, Rotorua, Coromandel. I would like to tackle these places before my week in Fiji. Depending on what pace I travel, I may do more. We’ll see.

My friend Ash and I reconnected the other day and I am going to visit him tomorrow. He lives two hours outside Wellington but we may do some hiking together which will be nice. I haven’t seen him for months since he was last in Queenstown. It will be great to see him again!

Until next time – sending you all my love. xx