The grape harvester started well before dawn this morning - sunrise is around 7am here. Since I was awake early I decided to forgo my usual instant oats in favour of a hot breakfast at The Store at Kekerengu, about 13 kilometers to the south.

Riding back out to the highway I noticed a roaring sound that the wind had drowned out yesterday, and on reaching the highway was surprised to see the Pacific Ocean was only a short distance away, with views along the coast for many kilometers.

I was surprised that there was little traffic on the highway, before realising it was Sunday, so there were far fewer commercial vehicles on the road.

It seemed likely the expected southerly change has already arrived, the wind had died down and it was cloudy and cool. These were great conditions for cycling and a little more than an hour later I was cosying up to the fire in The Store and enjoying breakfast.

Back on the road, the wind was starting to pick up from the south, eventually becoming quite blustery, and I feared it would become another epic day riding into the headwind. But at Waipapa Bay where the mountains crowded up to the sea the wind eased.

The scenery along this section of coast is stunning, with the highway and railroad squeezed into a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the ocean. At places it seems likely the waves would actually break across the road in bad weather. 

As I rode, I thought I could hear children calling, and looking down at the rocky shore saw many seals and a nursery of seal pups at play, cavorting and squealing in the rock pools below.

There are a number of ramshackle shops selling crayfish along this shore, and I stopped at one called Nins Bin. I briefly considered having crayfish for lunch until I saw the prices - around $80 for a good sized one, and settled for a bowl of hot chips instead.

With only 23 kilometers to go the day looked to be all but done, but dark clouds were settling on the mountain tops and rain looked imminent. I pushed on to Kaikoura trying to beat the rain, and made it to the outskirts of the town just as the first drops started to fall. 

More rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I've booked into a backpacker room for two nights. I'm only three days ride from Christchurch now, the tour is almost over.

Click here for a Doarama visualisation of the route.