SPOTTING SEAL PUPS AND ROYALTY IN KAIKOURA / OUR NZ ADVENTURE

The second destination in our New Zealand road trip was Kaikoura, a small town on the East Coast of the South Island.

If you're looking for something to break up the drive, we stopped at Pegasus Bay Vineyard on the way through and it was absolutely gorgeous, with a beautiful garden and sculpture trail.

When we were planning our trip (more on that soon!), Kaikoura seemed like the obvious stop between Christchurch and the port town of Picton. As we ended up discovering, New Zealand is so rural that the map made a small seaside town seem like a large bustling city.

We stayed for three days, though in hindsight this was perhaps one too many if you do not undertake an animal spotting excursion. Kaikoura is well known for whale-watching, dolphin tours, albatrosses and seals. These vary in price, but most will cost at least $100, and in all honesty, the wind we faced while stood at the shore was already making me fear seasicknesses, even without one foot on a boat.

We had quite a surprise when we arrived to discover that Prince Charles was in the town visiting that afternoon. Living in the Royal Borough my entire life, it was quite amusing that the closest I've been to royalty was on the complete opposite side of the world. To our amusement, the crowd he drew was nothing like the reception he would get in England; perhaps 20-30 locals turned up to watch him leave via chopper.

Apart from Prince Charles, the main attraction of Kaikoura for us was the promise of a fur seal colony on the peninsula. From the Point Kean Viewpoint Car Park, you can see an outcrop of flat, pale rocks before the sea begins. In a fun, slightly risky and potentially-ankle-twisting way, we began to leap between the crags in the rocks and made our way towards the sea on the lookout for seals. While there is no physical barrier between you and the seals, visitors are warned to stay 10m away from them so we don't disturb them.

The further around the peninsula you walk, the more seals you will begin to see. It was so magical to watch them all snuggling down to sleep, just like our cats do on our sofas at home.

For a panoramic view of the peninsula and coastline, head to South Bay and do the short (but steep) walk to the first lookout. You can't see the seals from there, but the bay is pretty spectacular.

Worth the walk for the chance to spot the fur babies!