A walk on the beach to the north until we can’t go any further because we reached the estuary inlet.

Shark fin rock I’ll call this! From a distance it is deceiving!

A walk on Waikuku Beach on a sunny, very warm afternoon revealed it to be very busy around the Surf Lifesaving Club!

Being a Lifesaving Club, it looked like classes were being held, with kids divided into groups based on age or size.

Meanwhile out on the water, several surfers were getting up on the waves!

After a good nights sleep we had a leisurely morning before we had to catch our 2:05pm train back to Rangiroa. As we relaxed, enjoying our view of the park from our balcony, we spotted a little train chugging towards us along the river. The tracks we thought were abandoned from old infrastructure are used for a tourist train in the park!We checked out at 1pm and headed to the train station and enjoyed a snack at the restaurant at the train station. In fact there is no ‘train station’, nowhere to get a ticket or ask a question. The whole building is a restaurant now. All train related activity is done on the internet before your trip!

The station is restored and well taken care of!

We boarded a little late and started our journey south. Before we reached the ocean we traveled along the Big Lagoon.We crossed the Awatere river a little further south.

A big bridge over a shrunken river.

Then we passed Lake Grassmere and the saltworks. Not a freshwater lake, fed by a river, but a seaside lagoon that is managed in order to move seawater into progressively shallower ponds that wind evaporates leaving salt to be shovelled up. The ponds turn pink in the summer from algae in the water that becomes pink as the salinity increases, and tiny pink shrimp flourish.

As the tracks approached the seashore and ran along the rocky coast we spotted the ‘crayfish shacks’ along the road. The ‘crayfish’ are rock lobsters and lack the huge claws of the Maine lobsters we are familiar with. The commentary on the train told us that families have run these shacks for years, harvesting the ‘crays’ from the local waters.We spotted a Pouwhenua (land post) at a picnic/rest area along the road. It is a wooden post used by Maori to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance.We will have to drive the route one day to find out the significance of this pouwhenua!

We arrived back in Rangiora at about 7pm and headed out for dinner before getting back to our B&B, exhausted from so much sightseeing!

A very early morning to catch our 7:30am train in Rangiora. The Coastal Pacific train operates north and south along the Pacific coast between Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, and Picton, at the top of the South Island where the ferry docks. We opted to catch the train in Rangiora, closer to us, and disembark in Blenheim since we’ve been to Picton, and will be there again to catch the ferry in March!

Traveling light, just an overnight backpack and a bag of snacks!

On time, with great big picture windows!

We settled in our seats and began the journey through the region of Canterbury, passing orchards, paddocks of sheep, dry brown hills, green pine plantations and vineyards. Sometimes a road alongside, sometimes a river, woefully lacking in water!About one third of the way into the 4 hour trip we emerged from the hills to the flat on the lip of the seashore.As we traveled north along the coast it became more rocky as we approached the Kaikoura peninsula. This area is known for sightings of dolphins, fur seals (more like sea lions) and whales.

We spotted a pod of dolphins flipping out of the water, and fur seals in the water and sunning on the rocks!

At Kaikoura we had a short stop and a chance to disembark for a few minutes to see the beach. They have a whale watch center that we didn’t have enough time to check out, but HERE is a lot of information about whale watching in Kaikoura!

Kaikoura is a small town with a big beach!!

We continued up the coastline, but looking inland was just as picturesque, with the Kaikoura Seaward range and the Kaikoura Inland range in the background!We crossed the invisible border into the Marlborough region, well known for it’s vineyards, as is the Canterbury region as well. We arrived at Blenheim, the largest town in the Marlborough region and checked into the Waterfront Motel overlooking the park along the Taylor river, a short walk from the train station.We went for a short walk into the main business district and found a place for pizza dinner and Guinness beer dessert! It was a toasty 84 degrees out and very tropical looking with the palm trees!

Today is a laundry, pack, relax day in preparation for our train ride tomorrow from Rangiora to Blenheim on the KiwiRail Coastal Pacific! It is one of the three Great Journeys New Zealand by rail through some of the most beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. We’re staying at the Beach Cottage Blue Bach in Waikuku Beach. There’s no real ‘town’ here, just a collection of holiday homes, camping parks, the Surf Lifesaving Club and a small convenience store. We  drive about 15 minutes to Rangiora for grocery shopping and we walk about 5 minutes to the beach for unlimited walking!

On the road into the community!