After the excitement of Arthurs Pass, we decided to leave early to get to Kaikoura, which is where we are now. But, before we did leave, I found out why Arthurs Pass is named so, (after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, the first president of the New Zealand YHA, although I still don’t know how the pass naming came about. And I thought my name was bad…)

And even though I was hoping not to have to say goodbye to scary Deborah, I did anyway, because it would have been terribly rude of me otherwise. (Though I did run away quickly afterwards!! Paul says that he heard her walking around the room at 4 in the morning, which is rather strange….)

Anyhow, the journey today was distinctly average, lasting about 3 hours approximately, with nothing all that eventful or exciting happening along the way.

So, we are now staying in another YHA, the “Maui Kaikoura” which seems to be situated in a bit of a quiet area, again. After checking in, we did the customary thing of investigating the local area, and found the “town centre” ( a row of a few bars, resteraunts and shops, about 20 of them) to be rather deserted. But, it is a Sunday, so it maybe just because of that.

We did our good deed for the day today, as when we were in the local Internet café, we discovered (well, more like it was just sat there on the table next to us…) a filo-fax belonging to some German dudes, with all their Credit Cards and their personal details written down in the back of it!! Which is a pretty stupid idea at the best of times, even if you are not of a forgetful disposition, so heaven knows what those two were thinking!!

We handed it in to the shop owner, hoping that he would be an honest character that wouldn’t do anything nasty with the details. But, I doubt that they will even be back, anyway. They’ll probably just cancel the cards, get new ones, a new file, and do the same thing again!!!

Anyway…we went back to the Hostel, where I discovered some interesting info on Kaikoura. Apparently, the name means “to eat Krayfish” in Maori, as there are loads of them to be found around these here parts. Also, the place is particularly significant in Maori mythology, as it is the place where it is believed that Maui hooked the North Island from his Canoe, using the Jaw bone that was a gift from his Granfather, whilst he and his brothers were on a fishing trip. All very interesting stuff!!!

Mum and Paul decided to go on another walk after tea, but Im too tired, so I will just go to bed after this and get some kip!