Willowbank Motel Kaikoura

... a whole another experience. They sold motion sickness drugs in the shop at the Whaleway station (not a typo, and indeed, groan).<br>We decided to head on to our next stop in Picton as it was unlikely that any further whale tours were going to head out that day. We drove along the coast and noticed some people parked by the beach so we decided to stop and investigate. There were around 20 large fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks and a couple of oyster ...

<br>Ever since we gave the Irishman, Pat, a<br>ride from Tongariro to Taupo and we heard him describe his &#8220;best<br>day in NZ&#8221; of fishing with a local in Kaikoura, we knew we had to<br>do it! Not that we're fishing enthusiasts...just adventurists. The<br>only information from Pat we had to go on was a boat named &#8220;Sophie<br>Rose.&#8221;<br><br>Lu ckily, the i-Site had a pamphlet with<br>a picture of the Sophie Rose, a modest sized ...

We left Picton and drove high up, with great views over the sounds, into the forest. The road turned to gravel and it was just us and the logging trucks. We had some lovely views down into little coves, and the further we got from Picton, the more exposed the land became, and the waves became higher and rougher. It was very rugged and wild. Eventually we turned a corner into a town, and paved road. We drove along the coast and through endless vineyard, to Blenheim. We carried on ...

... amp; we arrived too late for a serviced campsite, so we decided to park in a car park in the town centre, right on the ocean-front. BIG mistake! Early in the morning, the wind picked up &amp; we had no shelter from it. Our van took a beating &amp; we got no sleep that night. I was just praying that the whale spotting trip we had booked for the next day would still go ahead in this weather...<br><br>We woke up the next day to a beautifully ...

... estomac jusqu'a ce qu'on soit de retour sur la terre ferme. Je n'ai meme pas pu prendre les photos des dauphins qui sont attachees a ce blog... c'est un des organisateurs qui les a prise pour moi pendant que je me vidais dans mon seau... Mais le moment ou j'ai mis pied a terre mon sourire est revenu en un claquement de doigts!! quelle experience formidable (sans compter la partie vomissement bien-sur)!!! De retour a l'auberge et Jackie me montre les langoustes et ...

... 3 feet or so of water. I was really taken with the idea - the Japanese lad gave me one and I later cooked it and it was delicious!! You are only allowed to pick a max of 10 per day and are not permitted to wear scuba gear or sell the paua. We also bumped into Andy and Anne Armstrong, from Dunoon. We had no idea they were over here but as we slowed for a sleeping policeman in Kaikoura, Chris noticed him in a ...

... seabed drops to something like 3000m about 1km off shore. For the first 45 minutes we didn't see anything at all (whales spend about 50 minutes under water and then come up for air for 5 minutes) and then suddenly we saw two sperm whales. Although we were only about 50ft away we could only see part of their body at any one time so it was hard to appreciate just how big they were - 180 tons about 40ft long. But we did see them blowing ...

... the mist from the water he blew threw his blowhole. Finally we got our photo moment, the dramatic flip of their tails as they go back down to the ocean depths. All the cameras flashed, and we were rushed back into the boat because another whale had been sighted. The boat rushed off, and we were herded outside again to see it happen again. This time we decided to go to the top deck, and got a better view of the whale diving down... we also got more ...

... one in NZ! It was good to catch up with Kristina and Andy again, even though he has had a Forrest Gump haircut! good one mate. The sandflies are as bad here as anywhere else on the west coast but these one hide in wait by the swing bridges where only one person can cross at a time.... not at all British. Nelson was a neat little city and well worth a stop over. Next stop whale watching, he hopes and more bendy roads.... bring on the sick bag. Mac.

... down the coast to the seal colony. <br><br>This (to my great joy) turned out to be an area of massive rock pools, where I could leap around to my heart's content, like a big kid; it reminded me of our very happy family ...