From Scotland to Whales and beyond; the last days of NZ

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After Leaving Dunedin and heading north towards Christchurch we decided that as we had the time we would drive via Mt Cook and the southern alps (again), as although we could see both from the west coast and the glaciers, this time it would give us the opportunity to get much close and take a great scenic drive.

The weather was good so we headed inland and stayed close to Mt Cook village, where the scenery is stunning, and took the short drive up to the village (which doubles as base camp for most people climbing the mountain, and also homes the Sir Edmund Hillary centre). As we drive the alps became bigger and bigger and the view was breathtaking, that was until we arrived in the centre of the village and the clouds came over and the rain began to pour, and visibility became zero! We couldn't even see the mountain! Needless to say our planned trip onto the Tasman glacier (by boat) was canceled, as were the walks we planned. As a result we spent the day in the museum and were left to rue 'what could have been', but as we have reminded ourselves over the past few months, its always a great excuse to come back!

We continued our 'inland scenic route' north (virtually all roads in NZ are officially referred to as a 'scenic route'!), and drove north of Christchurch to Hanmer Springs, a town known for its resort of hot pools and spas, that wre relaxing as they sound although unbelievably busy for such a small place.

The main reason for us driving further north than Christchurch was to reach Kaikoura, a place more famous for what is in the sea, rather than what is on land. We were hoping to do some whale watching, although the area inhabits a variety of dolphins, seals and albatross. We opted to take a boat out to try and spot some Sperm Whales, and were not disappointed! We were picked up early afternoon and headed out about 15km off shore, to where there had been a few sightings that day, and on the journey out to see were lucky enough to spot an acrobatic dusky dolphin and a number of large albatross, and as soon as we arrived our first whale was spotted, and it was incredible to see such a large creature so close up (even though from the boats you can only see a small amount of the whale). We continued looking for more and over the course of the trip came across five different whales, and were lucky that one decided to dive right infront of our boat, meaning we got to see the tail and the whale rise out of the water. It was an incredible experience and we would both love to do it again in future.

From Kaikoura we headed to our final destination of Christchurch, and were greeted with blue skies and sunshine! Christchurch is a beautiful city with some old English style architecture and luscious gardens, and we spent our last days enjoying the area and even taking a tour of the local fudge factory, which was amazing (mainly for the amount of fudge we got to try!).

We left New Zealand for Australia and were really glad to have spent the time in such a beautiful country, and would recommend the place to anyone.

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Photos

Driving towards Mt Cook village
I dont think driving gets much more scenic than this

Sheep
Welcome to NZ!