Kaikoura, New Zealand - 14/7/10

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Hi!

Well, we've been busily ticking off things to do over the last few days. We didn't go to the glow-worm caves but we did go to Milford Sound which was, as pretty much everyoe who's been here before said, amazing! We were lucky enough to not only see the beautiful fiord (not technically a 'sound', something to do with the receeding waters and glaciers) but we saw some Bottlenose Dolphins, New Zealand Fur Seals (not actually that rare but reasonably entertaining nonetheless) and a single Yellow-Eyed Penguin, the first of the season apparetly, which was waiting patiently on its own for the mating season to begin!

The next day was a pretty intesive driving day, takig us from Te Anau to Haast. While all of the drive was picturesque the last bit, from Wanaka to Haast, was probably the most amazingly pretty bit of road I've ever seen, and once again Sarah had to put up with me stopping to take lots of pictures, includig the several-shots-into-one-long-landscape pictures that Craig from Brisbane told me about. Sorry!!

Haast was fairly unexciting as night stop-offs go, ad the pub shut at 9 which was a bit annoyig as we didn't get there until half past. Not good for a Friday night! We made our way up the west coast the next day to the Fox Glacier, which we walked near to, then the next day to the Franz Josef Glacier, which I walked up with a guided tour. It would be fair to say that I had a great day, and the climbing up ice in crampons was good exercise as well! We spent that evening i the hot spa-pools in the Franz Josef town which were lovely and warm while in them (between 36 ad 41 degrees C) but a bit chilly when you got out being as they were outside and the ground was icy in places. We also made frieds with Patches, the cat who lived at the motel which Sarah's Mum was staying at. It seemed very happy to play with us as long as it got the little milk pots in the fridge!

We then headed to Hanmer Springs (where we had a cheap voucher - can't let these things go to waste!), stopping for a night in Reefton which was an old gold mining town and showed it with several old buildings going back as far as the 1880s (quite old for here). The springs were a larger more commercial version of the ones we'd been to i Franz Josef, but fairly nice all the same.

The last 2 nights have been spent here in Kaikoura. The main draw of this town is the whale watching and while Eileen and Amada (Sarah's Mum and Sister) headed off to Hong Kong yesterday we went on the watchig tour, and what a tour! The sea was calm ad the weather good (apparently a fairly rare combination) and we saw 4 Sperm Whales, a pair of Humpbacked Whales, a pod of about 100 Dusky Dolphins and another colony of Fur Seals. All in all it was fatastic and well worth the cost. I almost did't go but it was definitely something I'm glad I did't miss, although I now have proof that I'll never be a wildlife photographer!

We're goig to head to Nelson now then up to the Golden Bay before heading to the North Island. Halfway through our time in New Zealand, and less than 2 months before we get back! Time is going far too quickly now!!

Tim

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