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Some days feel like postcards. Others feel like movies.
Today in Kaikōura? It felt like both directed by David Attenborough, narrated by chaos, starring us.
🌅 Morning: Seals, Sunshine, and a Jellyfish Mystery
We woke up to blue skies and the promise of whales. But first a coastal walk around Kaikōura Peninsula.
The track winds above rugged limestone cliffs, where the ocean crashes below and fur seals bask like sleepy locals. Within minutes, we’d found them whole families sprawled across the rocks, yawning in the sunshine.
Further along, something caught my eye: a strange circular shape pressed into the rock. Fossil? Ancient imprint? Nope according to Ali, it was a crispy jellyfish, perfectly sun-dried like nature’s own glass sculpture. The kids were fascinated. I was mildly traumatised.
By 10 a.m., we’d already seen more wildlife than most documentaries.
🦙 Midday Madness: Llamas on the Lawn
Back in the car park , we stopped for lunch before our whale-watching trip. While we were tucking into sandwiches, a llama appeared.
Then another.
Two fully grown llamas on leads, just strolling through the car park like it was the most normal thing in the world. People gathered, laughed, took photos. Georgia and Dotty stared like they’d just seen unicorns.
Apparently, it’s “a local thing.”
Because of course it is.
🐋 Afternoon Glory: Whales, Dolphins, and Sky Kings
Then came the main event: whale watching.
Kaikōura is world-famous for it the deep ocean trench offshore brings nutrient-rich waters that attract giants. But nothing prepares you for seeing it up close.
A humpback whale surfaced beside our boat that sheer size, that slow grace it’s humbling. Every exhale echoed across the sea like a foghorn. Then came another… and dolphins, hundreds of them, leaping in the wake.
We even spotted Hector’s dolphins, the smallest and rarest in the world native only to New Zealand, with their cute rounded fins and playful sprints alongside the boat.
And then as if the ocean hadn’t done enough albatross swooped overhead, wings outstretched wider than a doorframe, while rare seabirds (Hutton’s shearwaters) followed the boat like our personal escort.
Nature wasn’t just showing off today it was performing.
🍟 Evening: Fish, Chips, and a Silent Bay
We rolled north afterward, stopping in Blenheim for dinner. Classic Kiwi combo: fish and chips for me, veggie burger for Ali, chips for the kids (because… obviously).
Then came the drive through twisting hills and the Marlborough Sounds the kind of route that makes you say “wow” every ten minutes and “how is this real?” every fifteen.
By nightfall, we reached Momorangi Bay, tucked into Grove Arm. The air was cool, the stars starting to appear. A line of campervans rested by the still water, reflections rippling under the soft glow of a single lamppost.
We parked up, and collapsed into bed exhausted, sunburned, and absolutely alive.
🌙 Reflections from the Road
In one day, we saw:
✅ Seals
✅ Humpback whales
✅ Dusky dolphins
✅ Hector’s dolphins (rare!)
✅ Albatross
✅ Endangered seabirds
✅ A jellyfish fossil thing
✅ And two llamas, because New Zealand loves a plot twist
Kaikōura didn’t just meet expectations it rewrote them.
It was one of those days that reminds you why you travel. Not for the checklist, not for the perfect photo but for moments so wild, they leave you grinning into the night.
Route: Kaikōura → Blenheim → Picton Region
Best time to visit: Anytime the whales say yes 🐋
✨ “Some days are just magic and today, nature wrote the script.”
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