We arrived in Christchurch just after midnight on 24th March. A shuttle bus service saw us at the hotel by 1am and another two hours forward on the clocks.
It was back to the Airport after breakfast to pick up the hire car to start our next road trip. The temperature has dropped considerably after overnight rain but we are soon on the road. By the time we stop for coffee an hour or so later, the sun is out.

Spectacular mountains (full of Goblins, Dwarfs and Orcs?) on our drive but no lookouts so you can’t stop for photos, which is a shame. An hour or so from Kaikoura we start driving up through the mountains which is as special as any alpine road in Europe. Heading down the other side of the mountain and we are on the coast and the sea is raging with tremendous waves piling into the shore. It’s much the same in Kaikoura as we start to explore. 

We are due to be heading out on the Whale Watch boats on Good Friday but the sea is so rough today that all trips have been cancelled, so our fingers are firmly crossed! We get in some supplies, take a walk in the late afternoon sunshine before settling down for a home cooked meal in our accommodation. This was a great decision as the heavens opened around 6pm and continued into the night.

Easter dawns with Good Friday and this side of the world, this Bank Holiday is dry and the sea is calm. Sweatshirts are required as the temperature are on the cool side but the catamarans are sailing!

Our first stop of the day is the Ohau Waterfall, where seal pups head to each year for general socialising and messing about. The young seals seem precisely in that frame of mind as we walk through the forest.

On the coast side of the road, the rocks are full of older seals resting on the rocks and the youngsters messing about. It’s a fabulous sight.

Our Whale Watch boat heads off at 1pm and travels 15 kms out to sea at high speed with plenty of ‘bouncing off the water’ which keeps everyone in their seats.

 There is an hilarious moment when our host explains that there is a toilet on the boat if anyone one REALLY needs it. If anyone does, please raise your hand and let a crew member know, they will then let the captain know and he will slow down the boat, so that you can walk to the toilet safely. NOBODY needs the toilet during our trip!!!

Sonar helps the captain locate any whales in the vicinity of the boat. We are searching for male sperm whales. These magnificent creatures surface for around 40 minutes to digest their food so, once located the boat heads in that direction with care on the approach. 

End result is that you then sit by the side of a whale whilst he blows water and after a time, raises his tail to descend back to the depths. The encounters (we had two) are just humbling. Such magnificent creatures there right in front of your eyes. 

The Kaikoura coastline is so special for marine life because it sits at the point where the Indo-Australia plate and Pacific Plate meet, pushing nutrients into the path of the inhabitants, which means there’s more to come when the boat stops by a shoal of Dusky Dolphins who are jumping all over the place on the way back to port, brilliant!

Back onshore its traditional fish and chips for tea before we head to the end of the peninsula where again there are seals within touching distance. Quite an amazing day and it’s only day two in New Zealand.