North Island

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Tuesday morning I boarded my Kiwi Experience bus, which was packed full, and we headed off to Kaikoura. It was about a two and a half hour drive with a couple stops in between. In Kaikoura I went whale watching which was a lot of fun. We were able to see 3 sperm whales and hundreds of dolphins that flipped and jumped around our boat. They were a lot of fun to watch.
Wednesday morning we left Kaikoura and went to Picton where we caught the ferry over to Wellington on the North Island. It took just over 3 hours to get there and it was quite a scenic ride. Today I visited the Te Papa Wellington museum and was quite happy to see the "Free Admission" sign. I'm not big on museums, but it was actually quite enjoyable. There was 4 different levels to explore, so there was a lot to see. I was even able to experience what an earthquake feels like, even though the real thing is about 50 times stronger. I sure hope I don't experience the real thing! Tomorrow morning I hop back on the bus to head to Taupo. It is supposed to be an awesome little city, so I've planned to stay a couple of days there.

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Photos

The Kiwi Experience Bus
Jerky Berky was my first driver. He claims his name is because of his jerky driving; we weren't quite sure.

Lookout Point
A quick stop for this lookout point before Kaikoura.

Sperm Whale
You actually only see the top 10% of the whale and their tail fin when they dive down.

Whale watching boat.
This obviously isn't mine, but it is the exact same thing.

Dolphins
They were called acrobatic dolphins, or something like that, because of the flips and jumps they do. They were quite amusing to watch.

Seals
A quick stop out of Kaikoura to see the seals.

Jellyfish!
All of those little blue dots are jellyfish! Good thing I was in the ferry.

Very ferry hair
I was on the sun deck (top deck) for the ferry ride, so this was what my hair looked like for 3 hours.

Mount Victoria Lookout Point
Quite a hike to get here!

Poor jelly.
A washed up jelly fish on a little beach in Wellington.

Little beach in Wellington.
Soaked up a little sun in the afternoon.

Comments

[Mom]

I'm Jealous
Although we are having a fun time looking after Mateo while Mom and Dad are in Cuba, I wish I was with you seeing some of these great sites. Sounds and looks like you are experiencing as much as you can fit in, which is great. Enjoying your blog, e-mails and phone calls. Take care! Love Mom and Dad

[Conni]

jealous
Well i have always wanted to go to Australia, but it is almost as nice doing it vicariously through you(not), but much cheaper I think. Keep up the wonderful and beautiful blogs so I have the full experience Oh minus the sun and tan. Love auntie Conni