Feb 17, 2013 - 1st Stop - Kaikoura - Sperm Whales!

It was an early start on the Kiwi Experience, the guide, Mac, was very loud for 7.30am but I’d rather that than that than a miserable bloke. Amy and I wasn’t sure what to expect but quickly everything was explained and the group that we were with on the coach were quickly being split, half of us were going to do the southern island and as the 2nd half had already done it so were heading up North. The bus journey between Christchurch and our first stop was three hours and everyone was really chatty and I knew once we were with our whole...

Feb 9, 2013 - Picton to Kaikoura

We had a leisurely morning and some of the group decided to hike up a hill to get a view of Picton & the harbor. Barb & I decided to drink coffee, eat pastry, and go shopping. Picton is a really cute, small town that reminds of places on Cape Cod, MA. The bus we were on on the North Island did not cross with the ferry. We got 2 buses here on the South Island - 2 buses because if we all stayed on one bus, the bus is overweight. And I'm sure the police are watching Flying Kiwi. Barb, Rhea, Sharon & I got on the 2nd bus along with Uzi, Mario,...

Feb 3, 2013 - North to south and Kaikoura

Up early this morning to hit another market (yes, I found another one!) before we were to catch the interislander ferry from Wellington in the north island to Picton in the South Island. The market was quite nice, right on the waterfront with the cheapest fresh veggies and fruit we have found yet. Grabbed a coffee/latte and headed to the ferry. Good thing we booked this is advance, as it was quite busy the day after the 7s rugby tourney. Lots of people passed out all over the floor, some with their costumes and make-up still on from the...

Jan 30, 2013 - Whale watching

Today is a good day. We had to go to the Whaleway Station. This railway station was owned by the whale watching company and offered both trains and whale trips! After watching the video and a safety briefing we headed off for our journey. We were hopeful that we would see more than sea or dolphins, particularly as the day before an orca and humpback whale had been see. The uniqueness of the depth of the water due to the fault line that runs through the area meant that deep diving whales such as sperm whales are constantly seen in the area....

Jan 29, 2013 - Kaikoura

Kia ora. Today we left for Kaikoura ready for our exciting whale watching trip tomorrow. The day started off well, we were packed and ready to go, stuffed with breakfast and a tank full of fuel. We passed and stopped on several beaches on the way through Tahunami Beach, Wakapuaka beach and drove via the Whangamoa Reserve. We set the sat nav to go through Blenheim which are the wineries area for New Zealand. When we got to Blenheim we decided to stop for a coffee and I thought that I might change some travellers cheques. To my horror I...

Jan 28, 2013 - Golden bay

Today we decided to go to Golden Bay and have a splash around on the beach. Not before we went for a long walk to the Point headland where there were a couple of jewellery designers shops. After quite a long walk in the hot sun we came upon the design workshop of Nikki Johnson who creates Paua artwork which is lovely. I bought a pair of silver and paua flip flops to remind me of the holiday and Jan bought a silver and paua spray of flowers. The drive to Golden Bay took us to Abel Tasman National Park and through the mountains of the...

Nov 15, 2012 - Day 12 Kaikoura - Best Pelagic Trip Anywhere in the World

The morning was spent on a pelagic trip, out on the Kaikoura Canyon, where the water is 4,000 meters deep, in less than a 1/2 hour from when we left Kaikoura. We saw several new seabirds. The afternoon was free time for us. We spent the afternoon posting pictures on the blog at a local internet cafe. If you happened to check, it took two hours to post the pictures for the first week of the tour (no text.) We walked back to our motel.

Nov 14, 2012 - Day 11 Picton to Kaikoura - Head out on Marlborough Sounds/Queen Charlotte Sound; Stop at Motuara Island

The day began with a pelagic trip on the Marlborough Sounds and the Queen Charlotte Sound. The main target bird was the New Zealand King Shag, a rare endemic bird, with a population of only about 5-600 birds. While on the baut we saw several Dusky Dolphins. There were at least five pairs of Dusky Dolphins (momma and babies). One the newborns, you could still see the folds on their skin, from when they were in their mommas. Absolutely amazing! We visited an island sanctuary and saw the rare South Island Saddleback.

Nov 14, 2012 - tramping the east coast

Blue skies again this morning so we wandered about town trying to capture the essence of Hanmer Springs - don't think we did a very good job of it, but we tried! The trip cross country to Kaikoura was typical NZ topography - hills, plateaus, windy roads and amazing scenery. When we arrived in Kaikoura (on the west coast) we found little motels, one after the other, around the bay - very slow, peaceful spot. The hostel office was closed so we just put our stuff in the fridge, made & ate our lunch at the hostel and continued on around the bay...

Aug 29, 2012 - Kaikoura!

It’s spring break! (In New Zealand.. that is!) I am so excited that I am out of school for two weeks.. but let me tell you about my stressful/ fun vacation thus far… We started off busing to Wellington on Sunday night and spent the night there at Nomads, the hostel I stayed in last time I was there. It was great. They, once again, upgraded us to a four bed room! We paid for the 10 bed room… but hey, I’m not complaining. We didn’t even have another roommate this time.. just Steph, Viv, and I. We didn’t do much in Wellington…. OH… except we...

Jun 27, 2012 - Kaikoura

It was with mixed feelings that we moved on from Blenheim. We had such a ball with the wine tours and the absolutely fabulous food for both lunch and dinner. This place although not a children’s playground, was fabulous for the adults and we felt that we could have happily spent another day here sipping wine and feasting on great food. Alas the show must go on, because we had 5 restless kids on our hands. A very brisk Blenheim morning saw us waving goodbye to Peter & Shona at 9am, heading south towards Kaikoura (which in Maori means eating...

Mar 22, 2012 - KAIKOURA

Heading south down the east coast today, we arrived in Kaikoura. Passing thru soft, green & hay filled pastures, the coastal scene was perfectly framed by amazing majestic mountains in the distance. Stopped at a spot known to have seal pups (3 mos old) playing in a stream. We saw about 20 of them having a big time swimming & playing with each other. The trail we were on reminded us of the Kalalau Trial in Kauai. The turquoise water along the coast was just awesome. The smell was pretty strong with the kelp floating & the sea spray...