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Lets take this gig global!!
Kia ora to y'all,
Well after a very brief overnight stop in C'church it was back on the road again on the short drive upto Kaikoura.
I arrived early doors and checked into a fairly nice hostel, the Dusky lodge, before setting off for what intended to be a days walking. However, after popping into the tourist info site for some maps I got stuck watching a DVD and chatting to the friendly lady in there and changed my mind and decided to do a whale watching boat trip instead!! I wasnt planning on doing it at first mainly due to the cost but after seeing the video I realised that there werent many places in the world where you can do this kinda thing and thought what the hell....Why not hey?!!
And you'll be glad to know that it didnt disappoint. In the two hours we were out we saw 5 sperm whales (the 3rd biggest whale in the world) and got to watch 3 of them diving down (where they lift their tail/flipper right out of the water!) which was great and on top of that we were engulfed by a pod of about 100 dusky dolphins doing all sorts of acrobatics and basically trying to show off- the little b*****s are so quick though thats its almost impossible to get a picture!!
Then we saw a Wandering albatross, the biggest seabird in the world with an average wingspan of 2m!! It flew right past me, so close I thought it was gonna pat me on the head!! Then to cap the day off, two NZ fur seals cruised past as if to wave us goodbye before we headed back in. So defo money well spent!
Relaxed back at the hostel that night and made use of their spa and sauna facilities before getting an early night. The next day i managed to hitch a lift with a swiss guy and we took the scenic drive up towards Nelson. It was by far the most diverse landscape I have seen on this trip. From Kaikoura the road hugs the rugged coastline and for most of the way you have the coast to your right, lush green hills to your left and huge snowcapped mountains in front. Beautiful!
There cant be many places in the wolrd where you look to the right and see a seal starring at you then to your left and see a sheep!!!!!!! The road then heads through peak district type hills and upto the rich alpine forests of the Rai Valley. We passed through the wine regions of Blenheim and Picton too. Once in Nelson we checked into a sweet hostel called Paradiso then took a stroll into town to have a look around. So even though the most part was spent in a car, it was a good day nonetheless!
Going to spend a day or two here in Nelson before i head upto the north island and wellington.
well, I'll let you know how it goes. Take it easy
Dan
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