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I left the bus behind and arrived in Kaikoura on Valentine's Day. I had previously booked myself into a place called dolphin lodge which has proven to be one of my favourite hostels so far, exactly what I've been looking for after the run of the mill hostels kiwi ex bring you to. I re met a girl I'd met in Franz Josef which was very cool and gained some Australian parents which my own parents will be glad to know I'm sure (they were checking I drank enough water, didn't read in dim light and such things!). This hostel has felt so homely and the people have all been so interesting and open. We've all eaten together every night and checked out what we were doing the next day which has been really comforting to have for this first part of the journey completely alone. My first and second day in Kaikoura were pretty overcast so I had to leave off the activities and do the peninsula walk and a visit to the seal colony which were both beautiful. New Zealand fur seals are incredibly inquisitive and cute, I just sat on the rocks feeling like they were observing me just as much as I was them! Today I was lucky enough to squeeze in my long awaited surf lesson and a swim with the wonderful seals. What a day! I have officially fallen in love with surfing and seals, the latter more than I had already! Surfing was hard going, it is certainly a high energy sport and very demanding of your upper body, but the buzz is something else when you manage to stand up for even a few seconds. Apparently I managed to stay up for 50 metres which really surprised me, so I'm happy! I had about an hour and half break before I hit the water again for the seal swim. We jumped in a lagoon quite near the rocks where they hang out to see would they come play and thankfully a few did. I was just floating on my stomach when one big male swam right underneath me and around in a swirl! It was immense! I was so close that I could see those big black eyes look right at me. They really are much more agile and fast than I had thought. It was really humbling to be a silly human in the home of these beautiful mammals, here is where we become helpless and they become most confident. It's funny to see how things change when we are not stood upright and dominant.
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JP Kate that is amazing, pricesless!!!! xx