This was probably one of our best days of the trip.

As we drove north, we checked out Ohau point which had a much more active seal colony than the one on Kaikoura’s peninsula.  There was a very young pup, and what appeared to be several active “teenagers”, and a handful of elders.

The waterfall we had heard so much about was another couple minutes up the road.  Then you hiked under the train trellis and about 5-10 minutes to the falls.  I kept expectations low because the signage in the area stated that the pups were only brought here between April and October.  What a pleasant surprise to see probably 7 seal pups at the falls!

Afterwards, Fred commented he really wanted a cup of coffee and his timing was perfect – The Store at Kekerengu was a few kilometers away. He said he felt like he was travelling with a local because I knew where the good coffee was – HA! 😉

The highlight of the day was going to Sawcut Gorge. The gorge must be written up in some sort of European publication because the only others there were 3 European couples, in three separate vans, not traveling together. Two of them asked us if they were going the right way and how far? Like we knew? Maybe we looked like we knew where we were going. It was really helpful to have a geocache placed at the intersection of Ure Road. There was a unique sign there and the caching site showed pictures of it, so I knew what to look for.

The ranger at the home at road’s end came out with a handdrawn map. He seemed surprised there were so many of us on this day. He explained the route, which isn’t a trodden trail so you have to follow the orange triangles. It was easy enough, as you really only needed to follow the river upstream. It was an adventure with 15 stream crossings going up, and the gorge was spectacular! We really never saw any of the Europeans while on the trail so it seemed like we had the gorge to ourselves. It was only on the return trip we crossed paths with one of the couples and it was fortunate because we had veered a little off trail.

We had intended to do some wine tasting in Marlborough, but arrived in the area at about 10 ‘til 5. The choice had to be made between wine tasting or chocolate and the chocolate factory won out! Matakana Chocolates is located on the same main road as the wineries. You can see them making the chocolate and they offer samples! We bought Macadamia nut toffee and chocolate caramels. We opted to drive the quicker route to Linkwater via Havelock. It gave us a chance to check out the view and find the geocache at Cullen Point.

I know Linkwater isn’t high on the destination list, but this gave us a taste of Queen Charlotte Drive enroute and Smith Farm Holiday Park is so highly reviewed. The reviews were spot on. Barbara was so welcoming and gave us great suggestions of things to do in the area. And the homebaked muffins were great.

That evening, we set off on a short hike behind the grounds to a waterfall and glowworms. We had to cross through several paddocks and bush. We found the waterfall and another couple from Holland there waiting. As it grew dark, glowworms appeared like something out of Disneyland. But the real adventure was hiking back in the dark. At the far end of the last paddock and right in front of the gate were about 15 pair of eyes (cows) reflecting back at us!

The Adventure Continues>>>