Last week in Kaikoura!

Dusky dolphins are one of the most aerobatic cetaceans in the world! This picture proves you can get some really cool shots with limited time in the dolphin capital. These were part of a pod that must of been 100 plus.

Its a dangerous time when Gio picks up the sissors and starts laughing!!!! Lee had to have a a cup of tea when she was finished to calm his nerves, but she didn't do a bad job at all.

The queen of fishing caught another monster! Although we took it to the fish monger for identification he said "ye we catch them in our pots but I don't know what it's called, possibly a cross between 2 fish". It tasted good anyway.

Rach here trying to take a picture of the beautiful schenery of Kaikoura from the lookout point. I wonder why it didn't come out?

Is it a Grizzely bear or a New Zealand fur seal? Yep the flat feet gave it away, its a seal. Oh and the giant piece of coral its standing on is infact a rock. This seal decided to dive the 4m into the sea after this photo was taken.

There is three things that Rachael loves. The first is of course Lee, second cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and the third, puppies!!!! She has it all in Kaikoura.

Oceans and Rivers and Getting soaked in both!

Sunday - A bright, sunny morning with some banks of cloud, was summer finally returing? Well your guess is as good as mine folks! Still we decided to make the most of the mostly sunny weather and calm waters and rented some wetsuits, flippers and snorkeling gear.

Laura was not feeling too great and was unable to go to work or join us! Poor chicken!
She and Mum dropped us off on the Northside of the Kaikoura Peninsula and while they went shopping we intended to snorkel along the coast to the point of the peninsula and meet them there.

First task was to find some water deep enough to snorkel in, ths invloved walking over rocks in less than a foot of water in our flippers - we must have looked sooooo silly!
It was not long though before we were in the water and taken to a completely different and mysterious world... The water was pretty cool and murky as we swam over forests of kelp swaying with the tide, in varying shades of greens and browns. Attached to the rocks were pink and white encrusting seaweeds, then the seabed would drop suddenly disappearing into the gloom... All over the place were marine snails, large and small, plus all kinds of unusual limpets clinging to the rocks. Dashing in and out of the kelp were small fish, sandy brown in colour with one large black spot.

As we swam over areas barren of seaweed we often saw much larger fish like the Banded Wrasse, a blue or brown colour with paler patches that looked like stripes. There was also a beatiful fish that flashed metallic blue in the sunlight.
Shafts of light would penetrate through the gloomy bluey green water from above, illuminating the greens, pinks and browns of the seaweeds and glimmering off the scales of the fish as they flashed by.

It is a beautiful world down there, best of all were the anemones we found attached to the stems of kelp. They seemed to be made up of hundreds of tiny, individual pinky, purple sacs which then surrounded orange tentacles that spread into the water column searching food. Beautiful, mysterious and intriguing creatures....

Once we'd reached the point at the tip of the peninsula where the seal colony is, we hauled ourselves out of the water and clambered over the rocks to where the campervan was parked in the car park. After a wonderfully warming cup of tea, we relaxed in the sunshine before returning to the water around the point with the aim of swimming with the New Zealand Fur Seals.

The water was much deeper here and much more murky so that you could see very little when you looked down, but it was very cool to swim past and look up at the sleeping seals. A couple of White-fronted Terns flew low over the water just a short distance away and one even dived into the water in front of us; the most unusal view either of us have ever had of a feeding tern!

As we rounded each little inlet we kept an eye out for seals in the water and soon we found a small bay with quite a few seals relaxing on the rocks around it and one or two swimmng through the kelp along its margins.
We approached carefully and slowly so as not to startle them. Unlike the dolphins the seals were not too bothered about coming over to investigate and play with us, they'd continue meandering through the kelp, turning over and over or popping up to scratch their noses. The water was so murky we needed to be pretty close to the seals before we could actually see them underwater, looking under the water you would be unable to see anything then you'd look up and just a few meters away was a very large seal! As you got closer the general shape of a seal would appear out of the gloom up ahead and we could watch them swim along before they dived down, bubbles streaming from their mouth and noses, and zoom past close by before disappearing into the murk.
Sometimes we would look down to see a stream of bubbles coming up from below, and we knew the seals were swimming just underneath us!

We spent a long time mingling around this bay watching the seals resting and sometimes following one under water. After a good while we found ourselves joined by four large seal, again we carefully approached them and watched them under water. Rachael found herself lying on her tummy, head in the water watching one seal as he hung upside down, with his hind flippers sticking up out of the water, starring straight back at her! For what seemed an age they just hung there checking each other out through the gloom before the seal surfaced and swam off, twisting and turning through the kelp.
One of the seals even lept right out of the water right in front of us!

It was awesome swimming with these seals, they are so graceful and agile underwater, gliding slowly and then one flick of their flippers and they speed off with no chance of us catching up. A little scary with those large teeth visible as they come up to breath! Although they were not as curious about us as we had expected it was still a pretty cool experience to swim with wild seals.

Back on dry land we dried off and warmed up before joining Laura, who was feeling better, for a walk around the base of the peninsula along the pebbly beach. We walked until we came across another part of the seal colony, mainly yearlings here. We watched them lounging on the rocks, squabbling amongst themselves, swimming in the surf and even porpoising clear of the water. Then we headed back as the tide started to swallow our path across the rocks with swirling water.

Monday - As the early morning burned off with the rising sun it became obvious it was going to be another glorious day in Kaikoura. Again we decided to make the most of the stunning weather and calm sea conditions to take part in one of Rachael's favourite activities....DOLPHIN WATCHING!!!

A week ago we'd had the magical experience of swimming with Dusky Dolphins and today we were going on just as spectators to this stunning wild spectacle! A no less special experience.
Rachael could hardly sit still in those two hours we had to wait...

We meandered through town munching on a rather tasty icecream and went up to the look out on top of the peninsula to take in the panoramic views of the peninsula, bay and mountains beyond. It was an absolutely stunning day, clear blue skies, green lush mountains with only the smallest hint of snow and best of all a beautiful, azure blue ocean spreading out to the horizon.

12.30pm and we were once again watching the briefing video and boarding the bus to take us to the boats waiting in South Bay. Quivering with excitement we were soon heading out in search of Dusky Dolphins. This time the dolphins were very close in to shore, where the canyon comes right into Goose Bay and so it did not take long to find them. We then spent the next 2 and 1/2 hours in paradise, sitting on the bow of a boat, watching 50-60 dolphins surface all over the place, family next to you - perfect!

At first the dolphins we still resting, not too interested in the swimmers, surfacing casually and moving around quite a bit. They soon picked up a bit of speed and porpoised off towards South Bay. When we caught up with them and dropped the swimmers again then the dolphins really started to play and interact, and not just with the swimmers!

Up on the bow it felt like we were in a different world, oblivious to the action of the swimmers, a world filled with beautiful sunshine and acrobatic, magnificent dolphins. It was magic once again watching them do back flips, front flips, somersaults, tail slaps, porpoising, leaping, twisting and turning....and bowriding...They would come so close you could lean over and be within a whisper of 4 or 5 dolphins, calling out in delight would only make them more curious so that they would turn on their sides and take a good look up at us!
By the time the swimmers had finished there were over 100 dolphins around the boat breaching only meters away, glorious! One dolphin was even playing with a piece of seaweed and even the tiny, young dolphins were getting in on the act launching themselves clear of the water!

It was perfect, all of us together watching a spectacular display of wild nature at its best!

We did not want to leave but alas it was soon time to leave the dolphins and head back to the real world, not before visiting Barney's Rock where a colony of Fur Seals live, except at this colony the vey young, very tiny, very cute seal pups are found!

'No matter how many times we go out on these trips I can never get enough of whales and dolphins, I feel priveledged to witness just a small part of their fascinating lives in their own environment and on their own terms and it inspires me to follow my dreams of working with them in the wild' - Rachael 22.01.07

Tuesday - Could it be? Another beautiful day? Well woke up over heating in the tent with the sun shining through the canvas! Today we hoped to walk to Lake Rotorua where there are numerous birds including the rare Crested Grebe.

As we got ready to go the wind picked up blowing in big banks of clouds and cooling the day, still determined to go for our walk we packed up and drove down the coast to the mouth of the River Kahutara. We aimed to follow the river inland before veering off along another trail to the lake itself.

Of course we scanned for birds on the shore and out to sea, and once again Lee spotted find amongst the frey wind swept waves. Dusky Dolphins! about 20 of them surfacing close to shore, at rest now but as we left the beach and headed along the river we could see them starting to breach and somersault offshore! =)

We followed a gravel track along the river not really knowing where we were going as there we no signs and we did not have a proper map...The scenery is again stunning, despite the cloud cover, up ahead the mountains rose up covered in a patchwork of green fields and forests, interlocking to form valleys through which the river meandered.

Further along and the road seemed to disappear, crossing the fast flowing river and leaving no path of our side. Determined to keep going Lee grabbed giant rocks and threw them into the shallow edges to create stepping stone, of course with his supreme Spiderman-like agility he crossed with ease. Rachael and Laura were not quite as agile or balanced and ended up getting their feet wet! Walking along the river bank over huge, fallen trees, through tall grass, scrambling down banks and climbing over rock faces the adventure continued...

Eventually we came to a point where the edge of the river split creating a small island in a bend with two streams seperating the bank of the river - if we were to continue we would have to cross. Again we used the tactic of placing large stepping stones and again some of our feet got more than a little wet! We'd found the point where the trail is supposed to veer away from the river and head towards the lake. After a while spent figuring out where the start of this trail was, we decided we would have to turn back as time was catching up and the mist was coming down the valley hinting at rain. So we headed back to that island in the edge of the river that we had just crossed.

Joking how Lee had yet to get his feet wet, Rachael was the first to cross. One foot on the first rock, then the next foot, she wobbled for a moment before both feet slipped out from under her, both legs airborne she landed with a splash in the water! Laura immeditaely burst out laughing while Lee burst into action, splashing through the water (yes getting his feet wet) and grabbing Rachaels bag containing her camera, lifted it up and out of the water, checking luckily it was dry! All the while Rachael lay stricken with laughter and a bruised knee half submerged in water!

Finally hauling her soggy backside out of the river instintively she checked her pocket, by some stroke of luck her phone was in the left hand pocket which had remained completely dry!
We made it back to the van just as it started raining, without further incident, Rachael squelching along side the others still sodden and dripping with water. Back at the camp we had another tasty meal of fish and reflected on what had been a day of giggles...

Wednesday - Rather windy, misty morning but we decided to try some more fishingm this time from the shore. After borrowing some rods and a net, buying some tackle and bait we headed 27km up the coast to a small outcrop of rocks where we were told it was good for catching Paua (shellfish with a beautiful, irredescent shell used for jewellery) and Crayfish.

We made our way to the egde of the rocks, weaving around the rock pools and slumbering seals and started to fish in one of the deep inlets. Little fish darted amongst the kelp and we watched them nibble at our bait as the sun finally managed to put in an appearance, burning away the low cloud. The ocean was transformed into a shimmering deep blue, with white caps whipped up by the wind.

A short while later and Laura managed to catch a Dwarf Scorpion Fish, we were completely unprepared for actually catching a fish! As Laura swang it round towards the rocks, Rachael made a dash for the bucket, filling it with water before heading back to find Laura holding the fish down with her disposable underwater camera, the fish had managed to wiggle loose of its hook and this was the only thing stopping Laura's prize from flopping back into the water! We now had to get the fish into the bucket, easier said than done as we both could see the poisonous spines on its fins and body. Plastic bag in one hand Rachael kind of pushed the fish into Lee's mask and lifted it into the bucket.

Boosted by Laura's catch we all returned to our perches and continued fishing. Lee soon returned with a decent sized crab and then started to fish at the edge of the same pool as Rachael and Laura. The tide had turned and waves were washing into the pool moving the kelp back and forth.
Suddenly Lee spotted a huge, black fish swim into the pool and at the same time Laura watched it swim under her bait! Lifting her line carefully she dropped it back in front of the fish in the kepl, and Bang! The massive fish clamped down on the bait and hook, rushing off into the weed bending Laura's rod right over! Under Lee's instruction she managed to bring it away from the kelp as he grabbed the net and scooped it up!

Laura, the cheeky pumpkin, had gone and caught one huge, mean looking fish, well over a foot and a half long it had a massive flat head, bulging eyes and fat lips. We decided to keep it and find out whether it was edible and so as Laura hauled her heavy catch back over the rocks, Lee and Rachael grabbed the rest of the gear and followed.

Mum had been busy collecting Paua amongst the rock pools and was just as pleased to show us her catch as we were to show her ours.
With the tide coming in fast covering the deep rock pools that had been our fishing grounds we headed back to one of the other beaches in Kaikoura to try our hand at surf casting. We stopped at Peketa beach but no sooner had we cast out our tackle got caught on submerged rocks in the surf. A couple of sharp tugs and the line was lost, time to call it a day.

Back in Kaikoura we found that Laura's fish was edible and so with Lee's help Laura filleted the fish and we had a delicious meal of grilled fish and salad. The satisfaction of catching, filleting and eating your own fish made it taske even better!

Thursday - Off on an adventure to Christchurch with Mum today. As she has an Italian passport she was only given a 3 month Tourist Visa when she entered the country, which expires on Monday so she needed to go to the Immigration Office and apply for an extra 2 months Visa. Little did we know about the task ahead!

Laura was working and so would stay behind, and so waving good bye the three of us headed off along the coast and through the mountains to Christchurch. The sun was shining and despite a strong wind whipping up white caps on a blue ocean, it was a beautiful day.

By the time we had driven through the mountains and onto the flat plains around Christchurch it had clouded over and was threatening rain.

Christchuch is a very 'English' city, the style and buildings are very similar to somewhere like Oxford and there is even punting on the river. Street names include Manchester Street, Hereford Street and Salisbury Avenue!
Once we found the Immigration Office we hoped it would be a relatively simple, easy process, however once Mum had spoken to the guys at reception it became obvious it wouldn't!

With a huge form to fill in, some documents to find and the fact that they were no longer seeing applicants it became clear we would have to spend the night in Christchurch! and return to the office when it opened in the morning to hopefully speak with an advisor.

Leaving a lonesome Laura in Kaikoura with the the tent, a little money and one change of clothes, we settled into a campsite on the edge of town as the rain started to fall.

One thing's for sure, things are never boring or dull with Mum, she's like a whirlwind creating chaos as she goes. But she is very very loveable and its always a big adventure with her!

Friday - Interesting nights sleep with all three of us squisked into the campervan - put it this way it was certainly warm for Rachael sandwiched between Mum and Lee and no matter what Mum says she did not steal all the duvet covers! Mum had her own sleeping bag and two fleece blankets!

We made sure we were at the Immigration Office dot on 8.30am only to find 70 people queued ahead of us! Some people had been there since 6.30am, it was not looking good as the office only see a limited number of people!

The only option was to put the completed form and documents into an envelope and place this in the box upstairs to be dealt with in usually around 2 weeks. This was fine except Mum's Visa expires on Monday and for those two weeks, technically she would not be allowed to remain in New Zealand! Plus she did not have a permenant address to post the Visa to!We were all not sure what would happen as we waited to see the lady at reception.

Finally Mum spoke to the lady who was able to help with the questions regarding the form and explain that as she had put the application in before the Visa expiredshe would be fine for the next 2 weeks, and yes she could come in to collect the Visa in person - phew!

Relieved we made our way out of drizzly, overcast Christchurch and headed back to Kaikoura, oh the place never looked so welcoming! What an adventure!

We're still at Kaikoura

This is our home for our time here. Me and Rachael are in the tent to the right of Laura and Gio has the 5 star accommodation in the van. We've got a quiet corner near the river where the ducks and Red billed gulls come to beg for food.

It's hard work being a Pied Shag. After about half an hour fishing this bird came ashore in the evening light and dried off before flying to its roosting tree.

New Zealand Fur Seals are quite common here and don't really mind you coming within 10m of them. They are very laid back and use to tourists and you can go on special trips to swim with them in their natural environment.

Dusky Dolphin!!!! Rachael managed to get this shot out of the mass of 200+ dolphins surfacing all around her. They feed in a deep trench that runs near Kaikoura. This is the best place in the world where they come so close to land, though only in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dolphin Dreams and Whale Delights

Monday - Days like this don't come around too often... Today we did something Rachael has wanted to do her whole life, ever since that first encounter with a Bottlenose Dolphin that sparked a lifelong passion for whales and dolphins... Today we swam with dolphins!

When she first started reading about whales and dolphins Dusky Dolphins, along with Orca, caught her imagination more than any other with tales of acrobatics and a playful nature...today Dusky Dolphins lived up to all her expectations and more, it was mind blowing, enough to knock your socks off...in Rachael's case her flippers!

It was an early start as the trip started at 5.30am and we awoke to find the whole of Kaikoura shrouded in thick fog, a little disappointing but we were determined not to let anything ruin this morning. First task was to get kitted up in our thick, buoyant wetsuits, hood, mask and snorkel, then after a quick briefing we were taken out to the boats by bus. Mum, Laura, Lee and Rachael were all on the small boat Kotoku along with 9 other swimmers, our guide Emma and skipper Hank.

We headed out to sea, despite the thick fog the water was like glass and as we travelled along we would go through clearer patches in the fog where the sun was beginning to break through turning the sea from silvery grey to bluish green, then it would close in again and sea and sky would merge into one grey, murky mass.

20 minutes into the trip and we'd come into a clearer patch when Hank cut the engines, we all looked up in anticipation. Just ahead a lone, very young Dusky Dolphin was surfacing regularly. We were all more than a little concerned particularly when we saw that one half of its tail fluke had been bitten off, possibly by either a shark or Orca. The young dolphin did not seem to be in too much distress but on its own it would stand no chance of survival. Fortunately a couple of minutes later we spotted an adult Dusky nearby, likely its mother. Relieved we headed off in search of the rest of the pod, dolphins are pretty robust and can survive with such injuries, with its mother nearby this young one had a fighting chance of survival and once it regains it strength should rejoin the main pod.

A short while later Emma announced those words Rachael has waited such a long time to hear "we've located the pod of Dusky Dolphins, get ready to swim guys"
Heart pounding, adrenaline and excitement coursing through our veins, we put on our hoods, masks and snorkels, made our way to the back of the boat and sat ready to slip into the water. Just ahead the pod came into view...there were hundreds! Groups of dolphins were surfacing everywhere, some were porpoising, some breaching right out of the water just in front of us!! The water was calm and it no longer mattered the visibility was poor, we'd found Dusky Dolphins and were about to get in the water with them!

The horn sounded and we slid into the ocean, if it was cold we hardly noticed. Immediately we swam over towards the dolphins and start making noises through our snorkels....and there they were right next to or under you, swimming within inches of our fingertips, so close you could see the nicks and scratches on their bodies! Our of the greenish gloom a dolphin would appear, swim towards you, take a look and then disappear again...

Squealing with delight and happiness we swam through the water with dolphins all around us, it was an awesome, amazing experience and yes Rachael did lose her flipper, twice in the excitement! (fortunately she managed to retrieve them immediately!)
The best bit was when you made eye contact with a dolphin and then swam in circles following as they swam around you....

As the dolphins moved further away we climbed back on the boat to catch up. That first time we got back on board Rachael was a wide eyed, hyperventilating, bubbling mass of excitement as she tried to describe in one breathe everything she had experienced =)

The second time we slipped back into the water most of the dolphins hung around only for a short while before disappearing again, one dolphin, however, kept returning to swim amongst our group every time someone dived under the water. He would rush back, swim amongst us all, interacting with each swimmer before disappearing briefly. Its quite unusual for one dolphin to pay such attention to a group of swimmers when the rest of the pod moves off, it was mind blowing to think this dolphin was actively choosing to stay and play with us! You'd be swimming along and suddenly the dolphin would appear surfacing next to you or swimming under and around you, he would pause and slowly cruise past checking you out before disappearing again. The interaction was breathtaking!

The third time we entered the water was with another large group of dolphins, we spent a long time swimming around with groups of dolphins all around us. Thinking she'd heard a horn calling the swimmers back in Rachael lifted her head to see the guides pointing frantically in the opposite direction. She turned and what she saw took her breath away... The whole pod was porpoising quickly towards and through the swimmers. It was a stunning sight with the dolphins midair and the swimmers bobbing below! As you looked down loads more dolphins were rushing past beneath, the dolphins were heading somewhere, fast! Its a memory that will last forever, we were all speechless...

That was the end of the swim but not of the encounter, we dried off and headed off to catch up with the dolphins. When we reached them they had slowed down and were milling around, now was our opportunity to take some photos and we had even found a clear patch amongst the fog. The dolphins were stunning to watch in the water and beautiful to watch from above, body slapping, breaching time and time again, porpoising, bow riding all close to our boat. There were even tiny calved popping up next to their mothers or launching themselves through the air like miniature missiles!

All too soon it was time to return to Kaikoura, for Rachael it was one of the most special and exhilarating experiences of her life and she was so glad to have shared it with Mum, Laura and Lee.

By afternoon the fog had lifted leaving a gorgeous sunny and warm day. We were all still buzzing from the mornings adventure and so decided to go for a walk along one of the many creek beds in the nearby mountains. Later on as the tiredness crept in we relaxed by the beach watching the calm waters of the bay and mountains beyond, reflecting on the wonderful memories created by a wonderful day.....

Tuesday - Back out onto that beautiful, blue ocean again today. This time to go deep sea fishing. With the sun managing to break through the clouds it was another glorious day and with only a slight swell conditions were good for fishing.

The first job was to haul in the crayfish pots, while the machine was working Lee and Rachael scanned the surrounding water for anything of interest. This paid off when lee spotted a couple of Dusky Dolphins! Although we did not approach we watched as a mother and calf surfaced a little way off the boat. We wondered whether it was the same calf we had seen yesterday, if it was its good news: the calf is still alive and as we left Lee saw another couple of dolphins surface with them which could mean its gaining enough strength to join at least one part of the larger pod.

With the two pots up we had a good catch of reasonably sized crayfish, including one massive one! Now we headed to the edge of the canyon, into waters about 120m deep and started fishing.
It was very easy and good fun, we'd drop the line right to the bottom and almost immediately get a bite and have to haul it back up. We mostly caught Sea Perch, a large, bright orange fish, but both Lee and Laura also caught Spiny Dogfish and Rachael caught a Red Cod (both not good eating though). Mum was the first to catch what everyone was hoping for, tasty Blue Cod and then Laura followed suit by catching a really large cod.

Last cast of the day and Rachael also had a beauty on the line, but she had also got tangled with another line and while waiting for the line to be untangled that darn fish got away! Gutted!!

Fishing over we headed back to shore and on the way saw a magnificent Royal Albatross gliding just above the waves...
Back on dry land we collected our share of the catch - 1 crayfish each including the giant one! and around 25 kilos of filleted fish! We had fish coming out of our ears and will be eating it for days!

That evening we had a superb meal of crayfish and tasty pan fried cod =)

Wednesday - This morning we woke up to the sound of rain on the tent and emerged to find another dull, grey and rainy morning, with no sign of those glorious mountains or of it clearing...

Today it seemed would be an indoor day, 'indoors' being Mum and Laura's tiny camper van. Well at least it was warm, dry and the company ain't that bad either!

We watched a couple of DVD and did a little reading. Laura got to be Queen for the day, not having to lift a finger to make tea or food, as she had won the competition the day before as to who could catch the largest fish! Laura, naturally, made the most of it =)

Thursday - An absolutely gorgeous morning! Not a cloud in the sky, what a difference a day makes!

Today we headed off to do the Mount Fyffe Forest Walk, which we had attempted last week but been defeated by low cloud, not a chance today, with the clear skies came glorious, panoramic views of Kaikoura and the peninsula.

It was a strange sensation walking through the forest, it was very warm and yet we could see our breath steaming in front of us... The forest was beautiful, steep slopes covered in trees and ferns of all shades of green. It felt like walking through an ancient rainforest...

We had some close encounters with some of New Zealand's small forest birds, the Tomtit, Brown Creeper and Fantail - all of which seemed to find us just as interesting as we found them, coming in to investigate and them flitting off into the forest.

That evening, once we had collected Laura from work, we headed to Ohau Point to take some photos of the New Zealand Fur Seals as they lounged, squabbled and played in the evening light.

Friday - Wow! Another beautiful day! Maybe summer has finally arrived in Kaikoura....

After a short walk to a cool, small waterfall in Half Moon Bay Scenic Reserve, just up the coast, we headed out on our third boat trip of the week! This time to try and get a look at those magnificent animals the Sperm Whale.

Despite a bit of swell it was a glorious afternoon and the fast catamaran we were on literally flew over the waves as it headed out over the canyon to where the whales spend their time. Within minutes the guides had spotted a male Sperm Whale at the surface and we headed over. Only male Sperm Whales are found in the waters off Kaikoura, they come here to feed before heading to the breeding grounds when fully mature and old enough to compete for mates.

We got great views of this magnificent animal logging (lying at the surface) breathing regularly with its distinctive blow. A beautiful, long brownish grey back and head, just the dorsal surface visible amongst the swell and waves. Of course we were all hoping to see that classic tail as the whale dives deep to hunt for prey in the dark depths of the canyon. But after a while this whale simply slipped under the waves and disappeared. And so it continued, we would all go back inside, sit down while the boat raced across the waves and up to another whale, we'd all get out and watch it log at the surface before gracefully, quietly disappearing. The whales this afternoon were sleeping, not feeding.

We'd seen about 4 or 5 whales when we came across three all logging together at the surface, possibly some of the same individuals we had already seen, a sure sign these whales were resting as they are solitary feeders. It was pretty cool to see three of these impressive whales together, and to watch them turn under the water to show the white of their bellies and chins under the water, lifting just one side of their tail flukes into the air giving us a brief tantalising view of that tail! another even spy hopped, sticking the very tip of its head out of the water to check us out =)

Admittedly it was a little disappointing not to see them diving deep and raising their tails, but we both understand, better than anyone, that these are wild animals, that we were watching natural behaviour and that whales need to rest as well as feed. We both appreciated and respected that and were just thankful to be in the presence of such awesome creatures.

Back on dry land we met up with Mum and Laura and went to eat dinner with the New Zealand Fur Seals at the tip of the peninsular. Here in the evening light, we watched waders feeding and seals relaxing amongst the rock pools and ate another delicious meal of fish =)

As the sun dipped behind the mountains, touching the sky with pinky purple light and turning the water silvery blue we left the seals and headed back to our campsite.

Saturday - Definitely spoke too soon about that summer! Rainy and misty again this morning and a good opportunity to write this blog entry =)

Kaikoura, the place of whales and birds...

and well named biscuits.

With a name like Shrewsbury we had to get these biscuits! They were pretty good too.

This juvenile Pied Shag was amazingly tolerant of us. We managed to get with in 1 meter from him and to our surprise he decided to go to sleep. He must know keen bird watchers when he sees one.

Many birdwatchers come to Kaikoura for this reason, to see an Albatross. This one is a Salvin's Albatross. It was hugh and we got some really close views.

After the Albatross watching trip the guide to this picture of the happy weary saliors. Notice the different hats with Laura and Rachael, our way of telling them apart.

The road signs here in New Zealand are to the point and encourage every one to drive slower and not to drink.

Family Reunions

Sunday - A very nervous day, today was the day we aimed to buy ourselves a car, the rest of our plans in New Zealand hinged on todays purchase...and as usual Rachael was worrying about everything...How much should we pay? What about the mechanics check? What if the cars fails that? What if we don't find a suitable car? Ok so she may well have been over reacting but it was still rather nerve wracking!

In fact it turned out not as bad a we thought, doesn't it always! We found a car we like, negotiated over the price and even got the seller to pay for the new plugs it needed so that now she purrs like a cat! All for around 400 pounds! I even passed the mechanics test with flying colours and with a little TLC we may even be able to seel it for more than we paid. Bonus!

Now we are the proud owners of our own Automatic Nissan Primera, a little beauty.
That afternoon, while looking on the internet for cheap car insurance, we worked out that it would actually be cheaper for us to fly to Kaikoura to visit mum and Laura, then fly back to Auckland rather than driving down - which would take 2-3 days to get there, over $200 for the ferry one way, accomodation and food along the way, plus at least 3 tanks of petrol one way, of course then we would have to do it again to go back up to Auckland for our week volunteering on Tiri Tiri Matangi.

Our minds at rest that we would have a car ready and waiting for us when we return to the North Island in a months time, we booked ourselves onto a return flight to Christchurch. Then in true New Zealanders style, and to make the most of the beautiful day, we headed to the beach and had our first swim in the Pacific Ocean.

Monday - Al and Cath were back at work today, bless 'em, while we had an afternoon flight. We spent the first part of the day sorting bits and pieces for the car and packing.
At 4.15pm the Super Shuttle came by the house to collect us and take us to the airport, a very nifty little service that's cheaper than a taxi! Once we'd checked our bags in it was only a short wait untill we boarded the plane and were up in the air for the short flight to Christchurch, South Island. We passed over the massive expanse of Lake Taupo, only up here to you truly get an impression of the size of this volcanic crater, then over Cook Strait between North and South Island, past the Kaikoura Ranges and then down into Christchurch where the flat coast spreads inland and the abruptly rises into the impressive Southern Alps.

Even before we had collected our bags we found Mum and Laura waiting for us, we rushed over and gave them and MASSIVE hug! It was soooooo good to see them! As we collected our bags, headed to their cute little campervan, had some dinner up the coast and drove the rest of the way to kaikoura, we chatted and chatted and chatted..... By the time we arrived at the campsite in Kaikoura it was gone midnight and pitch black, fortunately mum and Laura had already set up the tent and we all collapsed in bed all talked out =)

Tuesday - Despite a beatutifully, clear night, we awoke to high cloud. It was still warm, so we decided to rent some bikes and went for a ride through Kaikoura Town, along the sea front to Kean Point at the tip of the peninsula, here you can get quite close to a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals that haul themselves onto the rocks to relax.

After a late lunch we drove along the coast to another Seal colony at Ohau Point, a little less touristy. The coastline here is so different to the sandy, white beaches that we have seen in North Island. Here steep mountains covered in dark green trees and bushes, drop straight down onto a rocky, pebbly, grey beach, since it was overcast the sea was a greyish, milky turquiose colour. The seals here were a little more active, squabbling between themselves on the rocks and swimming amongst the forests of kelp, some were even leaping right out of the water. There was also a colony of Spotted Shags and White-fronted Terns making the most of the sheltered rocky shore.

As we headed back to Kaikoura low, misty clouds descended on us completely obscuring the mountains and it started to rain...

Wednesday - Up and at it at 5am this morning, ready to go on the Albatross Encounter trip. It was still rather misty and raining lightly, but fortunately there was little wind and only a slight swell. We headed out over the Kaikoura canyon with our guide Alastair.

The deep canyon less than 100m offshore of Kaikoura is the main reason it has such a diverse range of amazing marine wildlife. In this canyon warm and cold currents converge creating upwellings which bring nutrients to the light rich surface waters. creating ideal conditions for plankton and zooplankton (the basis of the marine foodchain) such as Krill which attracts larger fish, squid and of course whales and dolphins! The deep waters of the Kaikoura Canyon provides excellent opportunities to see animals that are usually found very far offshore, such as Sperm Whales, Dusky Dolphins and oceanic sea birds like Albatrosses.

Today we were searching for those magnificent sea birds, the Albatross including the Wandering Albatross, with the largest wingspan of any bird in the world!

Once over the canyon we dropped a ball of frozen fish over board to attract the birds and then sat back and watched. Immediately a few birds started gathering, we moved around a little (flying birds are a very good indicator to others that food is around) and more and more birds started arriving. They were mainly gulls and petrels untill Rachael spotted a very latge bird flying towards the boat....Albatross!

In total we saw 14 species of sea birds, 8 new species for us including two different species of Albatross - The New Zealand White-capped Albatross and Salvins Albatross. Although we didn't manage to find any of the larger species of Albatross (we reckon they used the current bit of wind to get back to their chicks to feed them) we did have some amazing views of the birds that did turn up particularly the Salvins Albatross, a beautiful bird with its clean white head and dark, dusky eyebrow.

Back on dry land the rain came in, so we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon relaxing in the little campervan. By late afternoon the rain had eased and we ventured out ro get yummy fish and chips. We ate them at South Bay, just on the other side of the peninsula, in the company of numerous Red Billed Gulls that squabbled around us over the scraps.

That evening the misty rain closed in again so we headed back to the campsite for an early night.

Thursday - Laura was back at work this morning, and it was yet again another misty morning with low cloud obscuring the mountains. The rest of us headed north to a town called Blenheim.

Once we passed the mountains it was as if we'd driven into another world. the clouds cleared to reveal a beautiful, sunny and warm day. The transformation in the ocean was stunning, no longer a greyish, milky turquiose blue, it was now a patchwork of shimmering, bright turquoise and deep deep blue. There was little wind and the water was really calm lapping gently at the pebbly beach.

We were now in the foothills, the rounded hills, stripped of bush and trees, were covered in dry yellowy, green grass that rippled across the slopes. Nestled in the midst of these hills, inland was Blenheim. We did a little shopping and had a little lunch before heading back to Kaikoura to pick Laura up from work. It was still sunny and warm but on the horizonwe could see clouds still covering the Kaikoura Mountain Ranges and as we drove back into the mountains the clouds and mist descended, and it cooled off.

Kaikoura was still overcast but a little brighter with lighter patches of sky bursting through to turn the ocean silvery, purpley grey. We drove round to South Bay to eat some dinner and watch the changing colours of the clouds, bluish grey to purpley grey with white wispy bits.

Dinner was almost ready when Lee uttered those magic words "I think I see an ORCA" The rest of us rushed to grab our binoculars, scanned the calm water and then.... Whoosh...we saw the blow and then the tall, dark dorsal fin of a male Orca!!!!! We watched him surface quite far offshore a few times, but with the aid of the telescope were able to get really clear views.

By now dinner was more than ready, we sat at a picnic table to eat still buzzing from seeing an Orca, Once we'd finished Rachael could not resist taking another look, just in case...After a couple of scans she announced..."ah guys, theres two of them now!" The others rushed back over and we spent the next 15 minutes watching 5 Orca surface regularly, then dive deeper before reappearing a little further along the coast. It was so calm you could see the blow hanging in the air, drifting away. Within the group there was even a young calf and its mother, you could just about see a smaller whale surface very close to one of the adults! Although distant it was an awesome sight, both Laura and Rachael we bouncing around in excitement! Soon the Orca disappeared into a bank of low bluish cloud that was creeping on from the mountains and it was time for us to head back to camo, tired but very very happy.

Friday - Yet another murky, misty morning....
Mum drove Lee and Rachael a few km down the coast to check out potential walks. We pulled into a carpark opposite the golf course, as we walked over the grassy crest and onto the dark pebbly beach the mist closed right around us so that you could not see more than 50m in any direction. However just off the shore, was a massive group of Hutton's Shearwaters feeding very close in. Mixed amongst the shearwaters were noisy Black backed and Red billed Gulls and silent, graceful White-fronted Terns. Swimming in the midst of all this activity was a cheeky, New Zealand Fur Seal.

Back in Kaikoura mum headed to work while we explored the town, investigating what activities there are including the possibility of diving.

Once Laura and mum had finished work we visited the local, small, cinema to watch a movie...very quaint.

Saturday - Yet again a murky, misty, rainy morning...more than a little frustrating I must say, as we headed to explore the local market.

By the time we got back to the campervan it had cleared and brightened quite a bit and so Lee and Rachael decided to try the forest walk up Mount Fyffe. As we drove higher however we entered the layer of low lying cloud and as we arrived at the start point for the walk we could not even see the trees on either side of the track, have to save that walk for a clear day we think....

Instead we walked over the peninsula from Kaikoura Town to South Bay. Not a bad walk with quite a few birds and nice scenery to admire. We met Laura at South Bay and after a quick cup of tea decided to head to Goose Bay, just south along the coast.

We stopped at Paia Point, the sea was calm and though the mist hung low over the mountains behind us the ocean was quite clear and bright.
We were just sitting in the van looking out to sea when Lee, who had been scanning with the scope, said...DOLPHINS! Boy he's on a roll!

Laura and Rachael jumped out the van with their binoculars and sure enough quite far offshore you could see dark bodies and fins breaking the surface. The view through the scope was crystal clear...Dusky Dolphins! There were so many surfacing together we estimated there had to be more than 200 out there!

Squealing with delight we watched as the fun began...the dolphins started leaping out the water, body slapping, tail slapping, somersaulting, back flips, front flips, twists and turns...even tiny little dolphins were getting in on the act! We watched for over an hour as they made their way back and forth along the coast until our eyes went squiffy from looking through the scope for so long!

Rachael was soooo excited, positively bursting with delight at watching these stunning creatures leap clear of the horizon...

At the same time closer to the shore a New Zealand Fur Seal was flinging around what looked like a piece of seaweed, closer inspection revealed it was an octopus that it had caught and was now whipping it from side to side to tear chunks off! The wildlife of Kaikoura simply blows you away!

Sunday- Sunshine! Blue Sky! Mountains!

The weather in Kaikoura is so funny and unpredictable, after 5 days of calm, misty, rainy weather we finally have a beautiful, sunny albeit a windy day. Then around lunch the cloud once again rolled in over the mountains and ocean, but this time straight above the sun bravely continued its battle to shine. A couple of hours later and as quickly as the mist had arrived it disappeared from the ocean, the sun bursting through to brighten and warm the day.

Just a relaxing and chilled day today, reading and writing the diary... early night tonight for an early rise tomorrow when maybe, just maybe that dream of swimming with dolphins might come true....

New Zealand: Sun, Sea and Sand Surfing

The view from Mount Maunganui, this is the beach where we had our christmas BBQ and Lee and Al got sunburnt and Cath went for a swim...oooo chilly!

Lee and Rachael standing near Diamond Geyser at Orakei Korako, the Hidden Valley

Rachael standing in the tropical like forests of Orakei Korako, we even found some Silver FernsAlgal blooms in the hot pools at Orakei Korako

Alan, Cath and Rachael overlooking Aratiatia Rapids

Lee zooming down the sand dunes at Te Paki...look at the speed he's going!

City of the Inca's

This is Cusco's main Plaza, the buidling is the main catherdral. This is where we were hassled by people to buy things so we scooted past pretty quick.

Here is Lee standing by a giant, multisided stone carved by the Inca's at their temple called Saqsaywaman.

An old women dressed in traditional Peruvian clothing with her Llama. All over Cusco there were women and children dressed in this clothing and with their Llama's and Alpacas.

These are the ruins of the Inca temple Saqsaywaman.

Our first view of Auckland as we flew over in the plane

Northland

Saturday, after finishing last weeks Blog we headed up the coast to Mangawhai to meet some of Alans friends.

Sunday NEW YEARS EVE - Despite a very noisy campsite we woke feeling refreshed, a big cooked breakfast also helped. Once we'd packed camp we headed for the beach at Mangawhai Heads, where we relaxed for a while and played rugby in the sun. We then started off further north again. When we reached a town called Waipu we took a detour off the main road to find some nearby caves. A short distance into the cave and natural light had all but gone, it was dark, very very dark. However as our eyes adjusted the caves roof and walls gradually revealed their secrets....glow worms, hundreds upon thousands of worms glowing an eerie green glow. It was beautiful, like the night sky with the milky way stretching overhead.

A couple of hours later we arrived at our destination, HiHi (pronounced He He) in Doubtless Bay. Here we met up with some more of Alan's friends and the New Year festivities began....Just after 11pm we headed down to the beach where there was a large bonfire and fireworks to bring in the New Year. In the end there was three seperate countdowns which was really funny, as one group of people counted down by their watch and then another two minutes later with theirs and then third! It was pretty cool being on the beach with the fire and fireworks for New Year but it was wierd to think that while we were celebrating 2007 back home it was still New Year's Eve 2006!

Monday NEW YEAR'S DAY - A very quiet campsite today, we definately were not going to be driving anywhere so we contented ourselves with exploring the Bay at HiHi. It was sunny and warm, with quite a strong breeze and the Bay was very pretty as we scrambled round the shore over rocks. The rest of the afternoon was very chilled and relaxed, that evening we headed a short way up the coast to Mangonui to taste their famous fish and chips. Back at the campsite we headed to the beach to watch the sunset and the bay looked even better in the golden glow of the sinking sun, we then wandered around the shore a little more looking for Kiwi's (thought this could have been good habitat for them) but we didn't see any. Still it was a clear night and the stars were stunning. And so ended the first day of 2007...

Tuesday - Woke to a beautiful morning, the were singing, the sky was blue and even the wind had dropped a little. After packing up we continued with our journey up north. First stop 90 mile beach! Although not actually 90 miles long this beach is actually a state highway, you can drive along it although they recommend you have 4 wheel drive and avoid it 3 hours before and after high tide! Fortunately we arrived two and a half hours after and so only had a short wait before we ventured on in Al's truck.
What a drive! The golden beach spread out for miles in front and behind us and the turquoise ocean seemed to merge with the deep blue sky. Most of the time there was not another soul in sight, then a truck would emerge from the hazy horizon, zoom past and then disappear again.At the end of the beach the road off follows and cuts through the Te Paki Stream, and this is why they don't recommend cars driving this route...sinking sand! We were fine in Al's truck as long as we kept going and it was great fun splashing through the water.The 'road' led away from the sea and into the Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes. Giant mounds of golden sand rose up either side to meet the endless blue sky, it was like something from The Mummy! There were hundreds of people on the dunes sand boarding and we all decided we really wanted to give this a go!

First we had to get some cash, so we headed to the main State Highway 1 and to the last gas station in the north to rent some boards and get some food. Driving back to the sand dunes was a strange sensation as the main state highway turned into a gravel road!We climbed up onto the dunes and headed first to a shorted slope to try out our boards, we even tried standing up on them, a little more tricky but good fun. Then we headed for the massive slope! Walking up was a nightmare! It was extremely steep and the sand was constantly moving under your feet, Lee raced up the slope effortlessly with Rachael struggling on behind! Once at the top we stopped to take in the view, and let Rachael get her breath back! then we got on our boards (on our tummies, was not goin to attempt this slope standing up!) and zoomed down the slope in a whoosh of sand! It was brilliant fun, sand got everywhere but we didn't care! We walked up that slope a couple more times before it got the better of us and we could climb no more.

Once we had returned our boards we drove on up the gravel state highway 1 to the most northerly point of mainland New Zealand, Cape Reinga. We were greeted with a blast of wind that could have knocked your socks off if we were wearing any! But the scenery was stunning, rocky cliffs and beaches of golden sand met the Pacific Ocean that was deep blue and the Tasman Sea that was more truquoise, where these two water masses met the sea bubbled and sprayed despite the relatively calm conditions.

It was time to head for a campsite and we chose the one that was in the next bay, Tapotupotu, which the guidebook described as 'beautiful and sheltered'. As we set up camp we realised that although the site was very pretty it was by no means sheltered as the wind whistled down the valley.

Wednesday - Despite the ton of sand we desposited in our tent and the windy conditions it was a comfortable night sleep. Before heading directly south we visited the next bay along the coast, Spirits Bay, and what a beautiful bay it is.
Down a winding gravel track which lead to the valley floor, here a meandering river wound its way between the forested hills towards a bank of sand dunes before dropping down to a wide, sandy beach and deep blue ocean.
Spirits Bay has to one of the most beautiful bays we have seen and the bird watching here was great too! We saw 4 new species of bird including two different types of dotterel. Best of all, though, was the small group of White-fronted Terns that allowed us to get really close and take photos.

We now started our main journey back south towards the Bay of Islands which will be our last stop before heading back to Auckland. On the way we passed the 'purest silica deposits in the worlds' brilliant white mounds that were in stark contrast to the brilliant blue sky. Late afternoon we arrived in Paihia and the beautiful Bay of Islands stretched out before us. We were staying in a Backpackers tonight as tomorrow we were going to be getting up early in order to go....Dolphin Swimming! Rachael was a nervous ball of energy that evening with the anticipation of fufilling a life long ambition of swimming with dolphins, its amazing she got any sleep at all!

Thursday - Rachael was awake early, unsure what had woken her so early, perhaps the excitment, but she had been unable to get back to sleep due to the fifth person that had arrived late last night and was now snoring like a freight train! Still it was only an hour later that the alarm went off and we all had to get up!

By 7.30am we were at the offices of Dolphin Discoveries and by 7.32am at the pontoon waiting to board and by now Rachael was bouncing around like a flea with a nervous twitch. 8am and we were off into the Bay.
It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, not a cloud in the sky and a calm sea, perfect conditions despite the glare. There are 144 islands scattered around the Bay of Islands, hence the name, and as the boat cruised around them we all searched the sea for any sign of a dolphin or a whale. There were numerous seabirds around including the very cute Blue Penguins that would pop up beside the boat.

An hour and a half into the trip and the boat slowed near the mouth of the Bay, one of the guides came out and said they'd had a report of a whale in this area and for us all to keep our eyes peeled! Five minutes later and guess who shouts out 'Blow!'....
Rachael! who was extremely chuffed to have beenthe first to spot the whale out of the 55 people onboard. Slowly we headed over to where the whale had surfaced and sure enough it surfaced again close to the boat. A Bryde's Whale, similar to a Minke Whale but bigger and has three ridges by its blow hole. We were then allowed to go onto the bow and got some excellent views as the whale surfaced 3 or 4 times before diving down deeper.

We only spent a short time with the whale before heading off to the other side of the Bay where there had been reports of a group of dolphins. We searched and searched, but still no signs of any dolphins. Time was catching up with us and soon we had to head back towards Paihia. A little disappointed not to have seen dolphins but very glad to have seen a Bryde's Whale, the crew were very generous to offer us a complimentary pass for a free trip! We'll definately be back up to take advantage of this offer but before that....Bring on Kaikoura and the Dusky Dolphins!

Back on solid land it was time to head back to Auckland. We stopped for lunch at Hururu Falls just outside of Paihia and then continued south. We broke the journey up by stopping at the A H Reed Memorial Kauri Park near Whangarei. The Kauri trees are New Zealands oldest trees, and this ancient woodland was well preserved with a canopy walkway to prevent erosion to the roots of these magnificent, giant trees.
It was still a beautiful day as we headed over the harbour bridge and the city of Auckland spread out before us. The two week camping adventure around North Island with Alan and Cath was over.

Friday - Alan's 24th birthday, Happy Birthday Al! He was heading off for a helicopter flying lesson at 12 midday and so Lee and Rachael decided to head for Auckland Museum.We spent 4 hours exploring the museum and only saw one out of the three floors! It's huge and jam packed with information.
We stuck to the natural history floor, full of information about New Zealands unique flora and fauna. There were sections on the land, coast and ocean as well as a gallery looking at dinosaurs in New Zealand and extinct ancient creatures such as the Moa (a huge flightless bird). There was also a really interesting section on volcanoes and their activity in New Zealand, including a simulation of what it would be like if a volcano erupted in Auckland harbour.

Before we left we also watched a traditional Maori performance of songs and games, including the famous Huka, which was really interesting and an excellent introduction to the Maori culture. We left with our brains almost popping with the amount of information we had put in!

Back at Alan's house we celebrated his birthday with a house party with a lot of the friends we had met in the last week.