We woke to a stunning view at Kaikoura the next morning, the Southern Alps were a snow capped picture indeed. The rugged Southern Alps are the backbone of the South Island and extend about 650 kms (400 miles) along the western side of the South Island.
Snow glistening in the morning sunshine at Kaikoura
It was a 150km drive and took us up and over the Hundalee Hills, with plenty of sharp twists and turns, and with so many trucks on the road we were almost guaranteed to meet a truck on most corners. Luckily we survived this notorious stretch of road unscathed and then continued along the coast road. This road and the adjacent rail line was particularly hard hit and damaged in the 2011 earthquake and a lot of work has been carried out to put it right. It's always fun driving through tunnels and we went through two tunnels on this trip along the coast, cut through solid rock. What a job that must have been, back in the day.
Here comes a tunnel
After a short lunch stop in Amberley, we continued on, arriving at our destination about 2.00pm.
Kaiapoi NZMCA Park
Our previous visit to this camp was 18 months ago when it was newly opened. We were minor celebrities back then when we were interviewed for the local newspaper about our views on the new camp. Of course we were impressed. This camp is sitting on Red Zoned land after the earthquake, and many houses were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished. Further housing and commercial development is prohibited, and the land can only be used for low impact activities, such as this camp, community gardens and sports fields.
Our interview back then
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