Bowow

Farm life: Marley (left) and her mom Lola

Lola keeping warm in the Mt. Wilson day shelter

If I were a little more dogcrazy I might write this story from the perspective of the dog. It definitely crossed my mind.

The Kaikoura Coast Track is another private track, and we spent our first night on the pleasant beachside farm Medina. With plenty of free time before we began walking, we befriended a pair of working dogs, Marley and Lola, who as you can see love to sleep on the farm's 4x4. As we set off on the track the next morning, we noticed Lola racing about 200 meters ahead of us, leaping over 4.5 ft fences, and sprinting through the surrounding forest. She wasn't running with us, but she was clearly heading in our direction. And by the time we reached the fresh snowfall of Mt. Wilson, Lola waiting for us to catch up from the top of the mountain, it became clear that she, a curly coated retriever, was leading the hunting expedition. Bliss!

Having no idea whether she had done this before, if she planned to turn back on her own or follow us the whole way, or if she would have a place to spend the nights, she became our responsibility and we became hers. For the next 30 kilometers, up two peaks, across rivers, beaches, and pastures, Lola led the way, chasing jackrabbits and possums, and we fed her what we could and let her sleep with us in our (again) awesome private farm accommodation. Lola was a remarkably loyal, loving, and happy guide on this memorable walk (set in the Hawkswood Range and on the coast, with the Kaikoura Mountains and Pacific Ocean in clear view).

Just north of Kaikoura, we took a ten minute walk from Highway 1 and followed a small stream to the large Ohau Waterfall and pool where hundreds of seal pups reside each winter. They are dropped off there by their moms (who return to the Pacific to hunt), making a sort of waterfall seal preschool, the pups free to socialize in funny and violent games in and out of the water. We were able to get as close to the seals as we, or they, felt comfortable with. I've never had such access to marine wildlife, nevermind fur seal pups. It was a waterfall full of playing seal pups! AHH!