From air to water...

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After our awesome skydiving day, we spent the next day on the bus getting from Taupo to Wellington. Didn't see much of Wellington but don't think we missed much, or hope we didn't anyway. Pre booked our trips for Kaikoura and so hope to do Whale Watching on Sunday and dolphin swimming on Monday.

Caught the Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton on Saturday. Weather was gorgeous so had a good, smooth crossing which was a great contrast from when I did the journey six years ago when the weather was awful and really rough. On arriving in Picton we decide to head straight to Kaikoura. Our Magic Bus ticket goes anti clockwise around the south island finishing in Christchurch so we could do Kaikoura at the end of our trip, however all the guide books and recommendations from friends say to allow extra days for whale watching and dolphin swimming in Kaikoura as trips are often cancelled due to bad weather. By going there first, if the weather is rubbish then we can always go there again at the end of our trip. We catch the Trans Coastal Train from Picton to Kaikoura which makes for a lovely journey due to the beautiful blue sky and there is an open carriage which means you can take photos if you manage to stand still long enough while the train is moving! Stay at the Dolphin Lodge hostel which has lovely sweeping views of the bay and surrounding mountains.

Sunday 12th March - rudely awoken at 2am by the sound of a wailing siren. Sounded exactly like an WWII air raid siren which was very eerie. Got up to find out what was going on, but the owners weren't around to ask, just other bewildered backpackers. Tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, fire, escaped convict were all suggested as possible reasons! Went outside and couldn't hear any commotion so went back to bed although don't think any of us felt that comfortable not knowing why it had sounded for five minutes. Would have felt really stupid to wake up the next day to find out that something awful had happened, but that we had just ignored a warning and gone back to bed! Discovered the next day that Kaikoura have a volunteer fire service and the siren tells them to get out of bed and go to fight a fire. Seems bizarre to wake the whole town though - have they never heard of bleepers?! Got up again at 7.30am in preparation for our whale watch trip, but the weather was awful so phoned ahead and disappointingly found that our trip had been cancelled. Re-booked for the 1.15pm trip and spent the morning praying that the weather would improve, but it didn't so booked again for the following afternoon. Rather than waste the day, we walked to the seal colony to see the seals lazing on the rocks and then carried on along the coastal walking track to South Bay and then back to Kaikoura. Took about 3hrs and was very windy, so got back to the hostel windswept and tired, but soon recovered after a soak in the outside spa pool with a beer in hand! The hostel hosted a BBQ that night so got to sample local fresh fish followed by amazing homemade warm chocolate orange muffins with ice cream.

Monday 13th March - 5am start for our 5.45am trip with Dolphin Encounters! Kept fingers crossed that this trip would go ahead and not be cancelled like yesterday. Our prayers were answered, the weather improved and we got to go. Donned thick wet suits, hoods, flippers, masks and snorkels (my didn't we look attractive!) and set off on the boat. Our early start meant we got to witness a fantastic sunrise and after only 10minutes of being on the boat, saw our first glimpse of dusky dolphins. We slipped into the water and start making silly high pitched noises as this apparently attracts the dolphins (either that or it just gives the organisers a good laugh!). Sure enough it works and suddenly the dolphins are swimming around you, practically nose to nose they are so close. It's amazing! It's so tempting to touch them but you're asked not to as they are wild dolphins. They're beautiful creatures and I almost lost my snorkel a few times by grinning with surprise when they appeared in front of me! The first swim was with a small pod, but then we get a report of a larger pod of 200 dolphins further out at sea so we move sites. It's unbelievable to see so many dolphins at once and we get back in the sea again. Awesome! You're so in awe of the experience that you don't realise how cold the water is until you get out to change back into your clothes. Once changed we hang around to take photos of the pod. Hundreds of dolphins leaping high out of the water, doing somersaults and back flips. Always thought that the postcards of dolphins must have been digitally altered, but now know that they really do leap that high! Another fantastic experience. It's still a beautifully sunny day when we get back to the hostel at 10am, but the wind has picked up by the afternoon so fear the whale watching may be cancelled again. But no, luck is on our side and the trip goes ahead. The boat takes us about 7km out to sea and an ecophone traces and tracks the whales. We find one before long and head to the site. An humungous sperm whale is just at the surface where they stay for about 15minutes before diving underwater again for approximately 45minutes (although they can stay under for up to two hours). There's not to much to see while they're at the surface but then you get to see the magic moment of the dive with the classic postcard tail shot. Just about managed to catch it on camera! We move sites and see three more whales. Fantastic trip, but for anyone who is short on time, if I had to choose between the two experiences I would recommend swimming with dolphins. What a day, and turns out we were very lucky as all trips after 3pm were cancelled due to the strong winds!

Get Intercity bus back to Picton on Tuesday and rejoin the Magic Bus there in order to travel on to Nelson. As we spend all day travelling, we treat ourselves to a meal at Sukothai. Fantastic food, not quite Thailand prices, but for only six quid and BYO wine still worked out to be a bargain and reminded me of my time in Thailand!

Wednesday 15th March - go on a catamaran which sails from Kaiteriteri to Anchorage Bay. Eat our pack lunch on the beach and then hike back to Marahau along part of the Abel Tasman National Park track along the coast. A lot of the track was tree lined but when you did get full views of the coast they were great.

Thursday 16th March - Another early start with a 6.35am pick up to take us to Abel Tasman Kayak centre in Marahau. Our instructor/guide is a local called Daz who gives us our instructions on how to kayak effectively and what to do if you capsize. We have to wear attractive "skirts" which attach to the kayak and the obligatory lifejackets. Hmmm this obviously isn't just going to be a leisurely paddle! We're in two man kayaks and Jenn and I are paired up with two Swiss guys which is fine by us as it means there is some muscle to help out with the paddling! Cruise along the coastline and then stop at Appletree Bay for morning tea. Then back out again til noon when we have lunch at Observation Beach. We're retracing the route we did yesterday on the boat, however it's a gorgeous sunny day and the views are so much better when you're so close to the shore. Sally from Oz persuades me to join her for a swim after lunch but it turns out to be more of a "dip" than a swim as it's freezing! Rather than paddle, we sail back to Marahau! The four kayaks raft together i.e. line up side by side. The people at the front and back of the outer kayaks each take a corner of the sail, hold it up to catch the wind and away you go. It was great as there was a strong wind and so we were zooming along. Hard work holding on to the sail though, and that teamed with three hours kayaking means that no doubt I will be aching tomorrow! Have decided to spend an extra day in Nelson tomorrow so that we can have a lie in and spend the day sorting emails, photos, flights etc (the stress of NZ means that Jenn is now coming to Fiji with me for a weeks holiday!) and just generally chill out! From water to mountains should be the next installment......

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