Having driven 2,500km we have arrived in Picton. On the way since Franz Josef, we have stopped at the Buller Gorge and Murchison. Since there wasn't really anything in Murchison, we spent a night in Hamner Springs, an Alpine Ski Resort (when there is snow!).

The following day, we went jet boating on the river which was fantastic. We were taken up a gorge and the driver did his best to scare us by swerving close to the rock faces, skimming over rapids and doind 360's!! Fab.

We then headed back into town to go on an ex-military "All Terrain Vehicle". The Driver knew everything about the machine and was obviously in love with the thing. He took us off roading, up and down vertical drops. It was amazing.

Then a picturesque drive to Kaikoura. On arrival, we were too late for any whale watching trips, so we went to a Sheep farm to see a shearing demonstration. The poor sheep was looking pretty fed up at the end of it, as the farmer had made a couple of mistakes but it was great to find out about a working farm. We also got to feed a Ram which was pretty big!

Since we were unable to go and see the whales, we found a bar, then moved onto another which offered a game of "Toss the Boss". We had to find out what this was, and in a nutshell, you order a drink and the bar maid tosses a coin. If you get it right, free beer!! We stayed in there as long as possible, with Graeme winning all his beers, and Em losing all.

Back at the ranch after a tasty tin of Ravioli, we got chatting to a guy who was working on the Railways and watching Corrie. Apparently there only used to be 1 channel and Corrie was the only soap....

The following day, we headed out on the catamaran in search of Whales. We were pretty lucky, the guide said you normally only see 1 or 2 on the trip, but we saw 4 Sperm Whales and on the way back, around 100 - 200 dusky dolphins jumping in and out of the water. An amazing trip.

We are now in Picton awaiting the ferry to cross to the North Island.