Surfing Mangamunu Bay

Another day and another dolphin sighting!

Well our brief brush with overcast skies seems to have ended. The van was filled with light this morning as we woke and pulled the curtains aside to check the surf. There really are some pretty impressive looking mountains behind us! The Kaikoura Range, I'm told. They seem so big, yet so close to the coast. What ever they are called, they made a stunning backdrop for today's surf session at Mangamunu Bay.

We breakfasted outside by the sea (after lemon tea in bed of course), then decided to take a walk down the beach to stretch our legs. Even though we'd slept soundly, we were both a bit tired from yesterday's surf marathon so wanted a leisurely start. The beach was rocky, but we found a few Puia Shells. They seemed really rare in the North Island, and shops sold them as souvenirs for $12 a shell. Here we were tripping over them on the beach! We also sadly came across a dead penguin. As we took a seat to admire the view we saw a couple of Dolphins jumping around out to sea.

We had a bit of 'housekeeping' to do today, so after our walk, we drove into Kaikoura township to stock up on fresh produce, aquire petrol, fill our water tank and empty the waste 'grey' water. 

While we were there, we took a little stroll through the town and had a browse through some shops. We could easily have bought some pretty funky souvenirs, but had to keep reminding ourselves that we are at our maximum weight allowance for the flights already and still have plenty more places to see!

All stocked up, and after a bag of chips from the local chippy, we headed out of town and back to the beach. There were still a few waves rolling into Mangamunu Bay. The swell size had certainly dropped, but there was still enough for us to enjoy a sunny afternoons surf. Between the sets we just gazed at the splendid snow capped panorama around us. 

Coffee was then served at the van cafe pre-dinner. Wetsuits hung out to dry and feet put up to rest, we took in the views, then had New Zealand fillet steak for dinner! Nothing like roughing it at camp eh?! Ahhhhh....