Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

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Now that I have a car, my plans have changed slightly. Instead of heading straight to Kaikoura, I'm taking a detour into the hills and Hanmer Springs. The attraction here is the hot pools (including some sulphur pools) and spa. What I hadn't counted on was the scenery. Pulling off the main highway I drove into the hills, mountains, and valleys that lead to Hanmer Springs. I've never been to Alberta, but I'm guessing that what I saw must be something linke driving through the foothills of the Rockies. Just absolutely and utterly fantastic. I kept wanting to stop and enjoy the view. I did stop, but there weren't a lot of places to pull over and the (country) road had a speed limit of 100km/hr or had nasty curved sections.

After a few hours at Hanmer Springs it was back to the car and on to Kaikoura. More amazing views and even more twisting, steep highway. At last, Kaikoura. The big ticket here is whale watching (sperm whales), but I'm here for the diving. Unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow isn't good. Sure enough, I wake to a steady drizzle. The morning whale watching tours are cancelled. I called the dive shop and the diving is also cancelled (four meter swells and poor underwater visibility). Oh well, a lazy day in the rain. The rain stopped by lunchtime so I drove down to the point and watched the waves crashing in (and there were a few fur seals lazing about). A nice seafood chowder from a small booth.

Back in town I checked in at the whale watching office. Their three o'clock tour was a go, but with a strong sea sickness warning. I passed (I found out later from one of the guys in the hostel that they saw seven sperm whales, but they only got to within about 200 meters of them because the waves were so high...some bigger than the boat).

For supper I went back to the point and the place where I had lunch. This team it was a seafood platter. Oh yes, it was delicious.

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