Tuesday, 16-09-2014. Day 27.

Jumping Pillows and Crayfish

Our day started with real coffee, an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from Peoples Coffee in Wellington, a welcome gift from Jon & Tanya. It was great stuff, and I was glad to be able to forego the instant coffee for a change.

We took Highway 1 out of Picton, heading further south. Once the road started to follow the coast, it was full of twists and turns. At one point, a big truck came around a blind curve well over the center line. It was the closest shave we'd had, and, well, it was really close.

We stopped a short time later to unwind at one of the beach-side rest stops along the way. We saw two seals hanging out on the rocks along with a whole flock of sea birds.

After our short break, we continued on to the Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park, our home for the evening. After we checked in, we walked into town and had a snack (and a beer) at a pub, then did some window shopping. A lot of places here sold paua shells (shiny, pearlescent shells that are gathered from the ocean just off the shore of the region) and paua shell jewelry. We also had great views of the Southern Alps.

It was too early for dinner, so we walked back to the holiday park to relax a little. Many of the holiday parks in New Zealand, and almost all of the Top 10s, have some sort of play area for the kids. The one at Kaikoura was one of the best we'd encountered. This is, after all, where we discovered the  joy of the Jumping Pillow.

Playing on this thing is a  lot of fun. (You can get your own for only $13,000).

A meal of Crayfish

The day had been reasonably warm, but once the sun started to go down, it got cold pretty quickly. And, after jumping around for awhile, we were getting hungry, so we decided it was time to walk back to town to get some takeaway.

I've been missing Indian food, and many towns along the way seem to have one Indian restaurant. Kaikoura was no exception. But in Maori, Kaikoura means, “a meal of crayfish,” so we felt obligated to get a crayfish from Cooper's Catch. So we did.

Notable Statistics

• Kilometers driven: 155

• Crayfish eaten: 1

• Close shaves in the camper van: 1

• Giant pillows jumped on: 1

Header image: The snow-capped peaks of New Zealand's Southern Alps