Blogs from Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

Geo: -42.4023, 173.681Renee and I said goodbye to the North Island and hopped the ferry from Wellington to Picton. The journey takes about 3 hours and goes out of the water by Wellington, across the Cook Straight and into the South Island. As it was very windy and rainy, we did not sit on the top deck. Instead we found a seat right at the front of the ship in the food court. Our ferry was the largest of the ferries and had 10 decks in total and could hold 1200 passengers. The scenery was awesome, but I did discover that the open water caused some motion sickness! But I popped on my iPod and did some puzzles and waited for land again. The entrance to the South Island was beautiful and the sun chose that ... read more

After leaving Wanaka we got the short bus to Queenstown. We were recommended a hostel on the edge of town but when the bus driver suggested we should get a taxi, and after a very steep walk with all our heavy bags we were starting to think that it wasn’t the best recommendation. We were happily proved wrong once we got there. It was a lovely hostel with a nice room and a warm communal area with great views over the lake. Queenstown was much prettier than expected, Queenstown is know for its extreme activities like skydiving and bungee jumping but it is rarely mentioned how beautiful it is, situated round a lake with hills and mountains surrounding it. We got there late the first night so didn’t do too much but an American guy cooked ... read more

NZ day 12 So, I didn’t sleep well, ate toast for breakfast (as recommended by Nat) & took drugs....oh did I mention that I panicked- all night & all morning....and for the hour or so that we waited to purchase our tickets......& then did a double panic when they had up against our trip- sea sickness alert!!! Far flippin out- are they trying to make you cancel or what???? Apparently (after intense interrogation) it seems that that would be the normal message for a relatively calm day- it can get to ‘severe’ sea sickness alert. Uuhhhh what are we supposed to do? The weather forecast says N – NE with a swell of 2 meters....that is taller than me..... So, it didn’t look as tho things were going to get any better, any time soon, we ... read more

We weren't sure what to expect from Kaikoura apart from whale watching and dolphin swimming. Due to our laziness we went hardly any where apart from when the Stray bus took us to some scenic spots and to see the seals. The view over Kaikoura was amazing. You had the town byt the sea and huge snow topped mountains in the distance. The seals were alright, they were just lying around not doing much, until 2 started fighting. By the time I got my camera ready to take a picture or video they stopped. We all waited for my, but it never came, they teased us. Also managed to see a very small penguin. I think it was posing for us. The rest of my 3 night stay involved going on the internet and watching movies ... read more

After an early start from Methven and catching a sunrise, we made our way to Kaikoura. This place prides itself on been very green and has recently been awarded a Green Globe status. It is the second city in the world to be given this status. Green Globe is the world's only truly global tourism certification standard and arose from the principles of Agenda 21 (the United Nations action for climate change). It aspires to be a system that responds to the major environmental problems facing the planet as well as seeking to achieve environmental , social and cultural improvements at a global, national and international level. This was made very evident when we headed off to go and swim with dolphins. The safety video explains how the dolphins are there to check you out, and ... read more