Well, this is a big post to write and so I am going to cheat slightly here and add a link to the three day Kaikoura Coastal Track that we embarked upon. It is one of New Zealands finest private walks which takes you up, along and over coastal terrain. With it being a private track, you get your pack transported to each overnight lodge ahead of you, meaning that you only have to carry your daily supplies with you as you hike. Each of the daily hikes covered 13km with some steep climbs at times.

As we arrived at the Staging Post, an idyllic wooden lodge, we met up with our fellow hikers, Sam and Julie from Aspen, Colorado, and Eric from Germany. Linda, our first host, transported us to our starting point on our first day as we headed off into the forest covered hillsides. Lunch stops are part of the track and so it gave us all time to recuperate under shelter and enjoy hot drinks and our food on all three days of our hiking, our first being at the windy Skull Peak shelter offering sweeping views of the distant mountains, rolling hillsides and ocean. Our second nights accommodation was with Heather and Bruce at The Loft, a place with chickens, an amazing vegetable garden, an abundance of sheep and numerous dogs. Julie and I even got to ´run the dogs´with Bruce. This involved taking the sheep herding dogs along the beach for a run, along with their two other smaller, ´house dogs´ Bella and Gnash…..we were on a 4×4 quad at the time

The second day took us along the coastline, past wild seals and although dolphins could have been spotted, we saw none. After this 13km trek, which for the first two hours was tough hiking through shoreline pebbles for two hours, our accommodation was at The Whare, hosted by Sally and David. Another quaint wooden lodge to accommodate us all with a log burning stove nestled within low lying grass pastures used for their sheep flock. More friendly dogs and chickens with a sweeping backdrop of hillsides and distant mountains.

The last day took us back to the Staging Post, the steepest climbing of the trek, winding up though fir treed forests to the peak at just short of 700m. The descent took us through autumnal coloured trees with clear blue skies, a perfect end to a wonderful three day hike.

The people that we met during this time were great, the hosts so accommodating and friendly and our fellow hikers, fun! It was nice to chat to people from other countries. Feet, not as sore as expected….it is soooooo worth doing this trek if you get the chance. All lodgings are cozy and warm and the scenery is fabulous…….!