Flea Bay « Wotif.com's ultimate nine day Tiki tour of Canterbury, NZ

It’s hard to put into words my thoughts on the nine days I spent in Canterbury, New Zealand. Never before have I had such a jam-packed travel schedule where I’ve been able to experience so much about a location in a short period of time. And if you hadn’t guessed it from my other blog posts — I loved it. Yes, it was so busy that sometimes I didn’t have a chance to think, but it was one of the best trips I’ve ever had.

My itinerary made me truly appreciate the diversity of Canterbury. It’s not just Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains. It’s much larger than that, stretching from the blue Pacific to the golden hills of the Mackenzie Basin. Everywhere you look there are mountains, some snowcapped, some that men dream about conquering. It’s such a scenic place that I took over 3600 photos in the span of nine days!

Thrillseekers Rafting

Pegasus Bay Winery

Canterbury offers such a wide array of experiences as well. The adventurous will find plenty to sate their daredevil appetites –perhaps with a rafting trip down the Waiau followed by a bungee jump above it. However, there’s plenty for those looking for a slightly calmer time as well — it’d be hard to pass on wine tasting in the Waipara followed by a relaxing soak in the hot pools at Hanmer Springs.

Speaking of diversity, I tried so many different foods while in Canterbury that my stomach must have thought it had died and gone to heaven. Mexican, French, Asian, steak, lamb, seafood, fudge…you name it, I probably ate it. It was all delicious, and I’m going to struggle trying to find any meal better than the duck a l’orange I had in Akaroa.

And who can forget the wildlife? In just over a week, I was lucky enough to see three sperm whales, a pod of 200 dusky dolphins, many swooping albatrosses (and some other sea birds too), some fighting eels, many small pods of very endangered Hector’s dolphins, baby New Zealand fur seals frolicking in rock pools, eighty little penguins having a happy hour in the middle of Flea Bay, and a sheep in a hi-vis vest. Had I stayed longer in Mount Cook, I might have been lucky enough to see a cheeky kea — although perhaps only seeing a stained glass version was a bit safer, given their destructive curiosity!

None of these experiences would have been the same — or in some cases, they wouldn’t have been possible at all — without the people of Canterbury. I met so many interesting, friendly, and helpful people along the way — both fellow travellers and locals. Maurice’s Maori Tour in Kaikoura was truly a standout in this respect, because I felt like I learned more about Maori culture and the local people in a few hours than I’d ever known before. Elsewhere in Canterbury, I got a chance to sit down and chat with hotel owners, tour guides, and restaurant chefs about anything and everything New Zealand (with the obligatory questions about my braced knee thrown in). I heard so many interesting stories and got some great tips to help me along as well. With so many people to chat to, I never felt alone.

Which place had the best combination of all of these things? Which was my absolute favourite? It’s such a hard choice…but if I had to pick one, and only one, I would choose Tekapo. It’s such a spectacularly scenic place, but to top it off, some of the experiences I had there were mind-boggling. I’d been admiring mountains on every leg of my trip, but on the Grand Traverse flight, I got to look down on them, watching as the snow blew off their peaks. And everywhere I went, I’d been gazing at the stars, loving how many I could see compared to home, but in Tekapo, I got to see them in a whole new way — from the observatory. In no way did I ever think that I would see Saturn — rings, moons, and all — while I was in NZ!

That said, every place I visited — Kaikoura, the Waipara, Hanmer Springs, Akaroa, Geraldine, Tekapo, and Mount Cook — had its own charm. I genuinely enjoyed visiting all of them, and I often found it very difficult to leave. If I ever got the chance, I would pay each and every place a return visit. I’d love to go back and do some of the things that couldn’t possibly fit into my very full itinerary, but I’d also be happy trying some of the same things again (especially dolphin swimming — hopefully I’d actually be able to get into the water if I went again!).

So, even though it all seems like a faraway dream — something that must have happened to another person, even though I have the pictures and writing to prove it was me — it was such a good dream. It reaffirmed how much I love New Zealand and proved to me that Canterbury should always have a starring place on a South Island itinerary.

I’d like to thank Wotif.com and Canterbury Tourism for all the hard work they put into planning my Canterbury Tiki Tour. They helped me with any questions I may have had along the way and were generally just awesome!

: Pegasus Bay Winery

: Thrillseekers Rafting

: Thrillseekers Rafting

Today was all about seeing the local wildlife — this morning saw me taking a trip out into the harbour to swim with dolphins, and this afternoon saw me heading to Pohatu Marine Reserve in Flea Bay to see white-flippered little penguins. I was pretty excited about this, having only seen a few penguins in their natural habitat before.

The trip across to Flea Bay involved navigating a high pass on a gravel road. The views from the top across to both Flea Bay and Akaroa were stunning, as seems to be the norm for NZ! We didn’t have time on the way over to take photos, but on the way back I got to snap some beautiful shots looking down on Akaroa Harbour from above.

Once we arrived, I met the couple I would be kayaking with and my guide, Kevin. Because I was on my own, I would be in Kevin’s boat, which worked out well because I couldn’t use the left pedal in the kayak due to the position it put my knee in. Plus, he didn’t mind occasionally padding while I tried to snap a few photos!

Our trip started with paddling up the northern side of the bay, where the penguins make their home. The owners of the land here have put out plenty of artificial nests as part of a program to get the penguins breeding; apparently when they first put them out, they didn’t put enough and all the penguins started fighting over them! A very interesting thing about these nests is that they aren’t along the shoreline as you might expect; the penguins travel as far up as a copse of trees on top of a hill over 200m high, and they can travel as far as 700m inland as well.

Soon we were spotting more penguins than I ever thought I’d see. Hidden in amongst the rocks were quite a few groups of 2-4 penguins, peering out at us and wondering what to make of the giant yellow things outside their lairs. Occasionally one of the pied shags preening themselves on the rocks would stop, disdainfully look down at us, have a poo, and continue grooming.

Before we reached the end of the bay, we got to paddle a little way into a cave dug out of the soft volcanic rock by the relentless battering from the sea. I felt so small in comparison to what seemed like a giant cave. I couldn’t marvel for too long though because soon we were having to back out to make sure the swell didn’t push us too far into the cave.

Kevin thought it would be a good idea to say hi to the Pacific and I agreed, so we continued padding until we were well and truly in the waves of the ocean. For the second time today, I was treated to the view of the Banks Peninsula looking in. There were islands that had broken off the mainland and many larger caves than the one we had just been in.

The hardest work of the tour definitely came when we were paddling across the bay. Because Kevin wanted to make sure the other kayak didn’t get too far behind, he had tied a tow rope to it. I really noticed the weight when my out-of-shape arms were burning from pushing the paddle through the water! The crossing didn’t take all that long though and soon we were facing back into the bay and letting the waves carry us in.

There is a great divide between the animals in Flea Bay. As I said, the penguins live on the northern side — all but 70 of the 1063 mating pairs that lived there during the last census (as a side note, the census takes place every 4 years; the next one will be at the end of the year and they are looking for people to help count). The southern side is mostly inhabited by New Zealand fur seals. As we reached the area that Kevin said was the colony, we could only see one or two seals. I was thinking that it was a pretty small colony until we got around a rocky outcrop and could see them everywhere! Pups were splashing around in rock pools and adorably trying to scramble up rocks towards their mothers, while the adults lounged on the rocks looking as bored as possible.

Eventually Kevin pried us away from the seals by pointing out a line of white in the water. That line of white was not sea foam…it was a line of around 80 white flippered penguins, having what he described as their “happy hour.” In the late afternoon, they often gather on the water to socialise before night falls. I was amazed. I knew that they had said there were over 1000 mating pairs, but to see even 80 at one time was so cool. We made our way over to them, careful not to get too close or to make too much noise, and just watched as they floated this way and that, eventually dividing up into three distinct groups that floated off in different directions. What a way to end our trip!

Pohatu Adventures operates many tours around Flea Bay, including 1- and 2-day trips. Their kayaking tours run in the afternoon when weather permits and evening penguin tours are also available.