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02.02.11 Okiwi scenic Reserve via Kaikoura and then Amberley
We were up for the sunrise over the Pacific ocean, and the early morning freight rain before heading to Kaikora as Liz and Jim were booked on to a whale watching trip at 9.30am. The sea was very rough and it was windy but their captain decided to depart because the whales were in the sheltered bay (unlike for our trip!) There was also a school of 300 dolphins in the bay. These were so close in that Damian and I could watch them from the shore through our binoculars. They were fishing and jumping and somersaulting like crazy. Spectacular. Liz and Jim were up close and personal with 5 whales as well as the dolphins…oh well, some people have all the luck eh.
I bought some pure top quality merino 4 ply wool to knit baby Lewis a garment…nothing but the best for our grandson!
Damian and I called at our favourite coffee shop to relax whilst waiting for L&J. Had a great chat with a young couple and their 2 under 4s who were using the maternity leave to take 6 months to travel New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, then as we were about to leave a lady shouted my name, and blow me down , it was Joan, a now retired careers adviser who I used to work with about 8 years ago…she was waiting to swim with the dolphins and in New Zealand doing a 9 week trip as we did!!…what a small world.
We pulled in for lunch at the fur seal colony and managed to spend quite some time watching them, resting and generally enjoying the day before heading down the coast towards Christchurch and our evening stop in the Pegasus Bay of at Amberley Beach. This was a municipal camping site empty except for 4 camper vans and only 4 dollars each a night with hook up. Chatted to the other campers who were either Christchurch displacees or voluntary workers from Wellington.
The stars were amazing , I could see the milky way really clearly. It was difficult to pick out all the constellations from my aluminous chart mainly due to the intake of pear cider. I did however sleep very well despite extremely windy conditions.
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