From Duniden to Picton

3 of March, It is 5 AM and we are in Picton, waiting for the ferry that wil take us back to the North Island. 16 days ago we parked our bicycles and started touring New Zealand Tour by car. We started in Duniden to work our way slowly back to Auckland . It seems, however, that we are in a hurry because we do not want to miss anything.

First we went to visit the Otago Peninsula with its gorgeous bays and rugged cliffs and at the end of the peninsula there is an Albatross colony, one of few left in New Zealand. Afterwords we went to Kaka Point in the Catlins, where we met a couple from Girona that were cycling as well: Eli and Edgar, and we were the first ones on being told about Eli´s pregnancy!!! I felt very happy for them, we went for a walk with them to Nugget Point, with its lighthouse and penguin colony, and we waited there to see them jumping on the shore going back to their nest. We saw seals as well, bathing in the sun on the rocks. The next morning we went to Curio bay, another penguin paradise and one of the few places were you can still watch Hector´s Dolphins; they are the smallest ones in the world and they can only be seen in New Zealand waters. It is estimated that there are only 3 to 4000 left . We were located at Tukuku Bay at a Lodge from Forest and Birds; we enjoyed the walks all around this area. We wanted to go back inland to see the magnificent Mount Cook ( almost 4000m), the highest mountain in New Zealand and it is really awesome. We stopped first at Pukeko lake where you can stop at Mount Cook Lookout and we spent the night at Tekapo Lake just 30 km from the first one. Both lakes very nice places and the colour of the water is something between turquoise and white, the water seems thick and when you try to skid stones on the water, it´s as if they can walk over the water, it is really amazing. As in every lake here in New Zealand there all plenty of people doing a lot of water sports. It seems as if in this country every family has at least a boat and a caravan.
Back to the coast we went to Chrischurch which is a very big city, and much more like an European city full of life and plenty of activity with big buildings, a cathedral, and big parks. We stopped there for lunch and after a walk we went to Akaroa situated in Banks Peninsula, another amazing place you do not want to miss . Akaroa is supposed to be the last French city that still remains since the French Colonisation and it is quite funny to walk around this city with the names in French, even the shops and the restaurants.
We spend there 2 nights and we met a couple from Mataró, a city close to Barcleona. We did some walks with Ella to some hidden beaches and of course, we could not avoid to sit at a restaurant in the harbour; we wanted just go for a walk because we bought dinner but the aroma of good good tickled our noses and we had to sit for dinner in a restaurant which we really enjoyed (I can still smell the flavour of the fish in my dish).
Back to the main road we followed the coast and it was an incredible scenery all along to Kaikoura. This place is the most famous in New Zealand to go whale watching and known as well as a Green and sustainable Community.
We preferred to leave for Golden Bay, which was our next stop. Two days later we arrived at Farewell Spit, a long and very narrow strip of land inside the sea and a huge bird sanctuary with a gannet colony . On one side of the Spit is the east coat and on the other side the west coast which just a few 100 meters between them but the difference between them is amazing. I have to tell you that Wouter found a whale bone which made him the happiest man in the world, of course it is now in our luggage. We decided to camp in a place called Wainanui, a very windy spot and putting up the tent was not an easy job but the next morning the wind stopped and we could go for a walk on the beach ( where it is forbidden to bath because of the dangerous currents). We then went to Totaranui, in Abel Tasman National Park. A 32 km-long gravel road from Takaka takes you there and it is really worth it. We spent the next 4 days in a beach front campsite from DOC. We met a brave French dad who was here on holiday with his 4 children! Ella loved to have them around, and we spent the next days on the beach with them. It was the first day we spent on the beach since we are on holidays. One of the days we spent there we took a water taxi from Totaranui to Tonga Bay and we did a bit of he Abel Tasman Track. Many of the places in New Zealand you can only visit by walking there.
In this way, nature stays well preserved and I have to say that NZ are doing it great, because they provide you with the tracks and places to stay during the “Traverse” and at the same time they can keep preserving this areas and the people can enjoy it. Unfortunately, the time arrived to leave the South Island and we had to take the ferry to Wellington. Taking the ferry marked the end of our South Island adventure and I have to say that we miss travelling by push-bikes, we were used to feel every sensation, smell the air and suffer till our next destination, hear every sound…and by car you can just smell petrol and hear the engine and you pass that fast that you miss a lot of things on the way which makes me very upset and angry many times because I can not even read the traffic signals!!!!