Last time I wrote I was still in Christchurch which feels like months ago now! As you can perhaps see from the map I have covered alot of ground in the last week! The bus ride to Kaikoura all went very smoothly with some very scenic views over the bays until we arrived at the hostel and the bus driver realised that he had left the keys to the ha...

well the swim cost $150. Which is fine for John as he's on Holiday mode. It was great though, apart from drinking litres of salt water. The pod was over 100 dolophins. We went for about 5 swims with them. They seem to be board with tourists but i did have one good swim. Actually when i first got in, the girl on the boat was shouting "he wants to...

Kaikoura is famous for whales- sperm whales in particular, and we came here for some spotting up close from a boat. We were not disappointed, seeing three different whales on the surface for about 7 minutes each, as they recuperated after a deep dive hunting for squid. Was very special getting that close to the whales, the pictures dont do it ju...

I slipped into the water and the cold hit me so hard it was difficult to breathe. It's a good thing I took two puffs of my inhaler before getting into the ocean. I take deep slow breathes and now that I have my breathing under control I realise just how cold my hands are. brrrr... and I'm in a wetsuit!! God only knows what would happen if you fe...

Kaikoura - A Local Tells Their Secrets How many times has a traveler visited an area and really taken the opportunity to gab with one of the locals for an insight as to what the place is all about? One may be extremely lucky to be directed to Maurice Manawatu who owns and runs the Maori Tours with wife Heather. Maurice has roots in the area bac...

Well, i managed to go paragliding!!! it was so much fun and a definate thing i'm gonna do again. It was so easy and peaceful (except the bit where we did the twirly thing and started getting some g's, but that was still fun!!) I absolutely adore Nelson, it's my new favourtie place and I was really sad to leave! But I had to (because I had booked...

Hey all, I have fully embraced the panda look for the past few days. The swelling in my eyes is going down and I am feeling better. Im starting to look like a real person again. This morning I was blessed with opportunity to go whale watching! What a treat! I saw four sperm whales and got one great photo. I would upload the photo but the free in...

Kaikoura 8th February Jumped on the Stray bus for the last time, for a trip up to Kaikoura. Technically my ticket ran out at Christchurch but the drivers let you hop on for the run up the coast to Kaikoura, but you have to make your own way back. The bus was fairly empty when I hopped on, and when we went around the corner to Base to pick up the...

So off the christchurch it was but literally to just stay in the hostel for the night to head on to Kaikoura. Were in a gorgeous little hostel and at around 3am dermot wakes up and says ive been bitten and I go for feck sake not again - but sure we go back to sleep without checking the bed. So anyway get up the next morning and he had bites all ...

Another bright and clear morning on the south island and we're in Kaikoura heading off to do some whale watching. Although its clear skies and flat seas there's still a bit of a swell which seems to be affecting some of the other passengers... Over the morning we get to see 5 different Sperm Whales as they return to the surface for air after the...