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Hello from New Zealand!
We arrived on Tuesday after spending 2 days on a plane, (????), as a result of crossing the date line. We spent 2 days in Auckland and have now rented a car called Splodge and brought a tent called Sally!!! (she actually does have her name printed on the side!!). Therefore we are camping it round NZ!!! Firstly in an attempt to save some money and secondly to get out of hostels which were getting a little crappy as we were going for budget budget options!!
We thought this was a fool proof plan, us, Splodge and Sally, but I have some news that will cheer you all up back home...................................................it is FREEZING here!!!! and I dont mean a little bit chilly, I mean bloody freezing!!! on our 2nd night in the tent we had 2 hail storms, not little b*****s either!! The park owner very kindly came round and offerend the lounge to sleep in which was all warm and cozy. But oh no! Leigh was staying in the tent as he didnt want to wimp out!! brilliant! Thank god Sally the tent didn't leak! and the camping isn't so bad as we open the boot of the car and we have a fully stocked mobile bar and cafe! (Leigh is putting the photos on).
So, what have we been doing? Well, after we left Auckland we pretty much bombed it down to Wellington with an over night stay in Taihape. We put the car on a ferry and crossed to the South Island and spent a night in Picton, (this is where golf balls made of ice fell out of the sky!!). We then left for Kiakoura which is on the east coast. We stopped along the way to see some Seals on the beach and eat a massive slab of cake in a cafe over looking the crashing waves. We got to Kiakoura yesterday and it is a lovely little place. It's a tiny place by our standards with 4,000 inhabitants, but in Kiwi terms this amounts to a town! The town is here for the sea attractions and at 6.45 this morning we went Whale watching!!!!! Because of the bad weather over the past few days, (today has been the first sun since we got here!), we were warned as we boarded the catarmaran that we, 'might feel a bit quesy' because of the swell. Hummmm, swell? The waves were MASSIVE, the boat was very fast and went flying up one side of the 'swell' and lanched its entire length into the air before hitting the sea again! Great fun! Although you can imagine that some people didnt agree and there were a few sick bags being used! As I was turning to find myself one the guides told us to go outside as they had spotted a Sperm Whale. It was incredible. We couldn't see much of it but it was big! it blew some water into the air a few times and then ducked beneath the surface. I was gutted as I thought that that was it but the Whale then dived, lifting its enourmous tail out of the water. Incredible!!!! After that we went to find another Sperm Whale and he did much the same as the first and I forgot all about my sea sickness!!!! Then it was time to go back. However, the best was yet to come. As we were heading back into shallow water we came accross a pod of Dusky Dolphins. I can't really put this into words. It was so incredible I nearly cried!!! There were hundreds of these dolphins all around us, all playing around, somosaulting and splashing. There were also mothers with tiny little baby dolphins!!!! It was beautiful!
So that is us up to date, we are now waiting for the pub to open so we can eat some onion rings as we are craving junk food!! We hope everyone is ok back at home and all looking forward to xmas, don't think we will be having the BBQ on the beach after all!!
Loads of Love, Gemma and Leigh x x x x x
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