Tried to do the full Cable Bay walkway but it was very, very steep - we went up 1200 feet in a mile and a half and the clouds were getting dark so we turned round and came back again.

Had a great meal at The Boatshed on the quay at Nelson.

Drove from Nelson to Havelock for a not very nice coffee and then took the route from Havelock to Picton along Queen Charloote Sound. Scenery was superb, best so far, we thought !

Train journey to Kaikoura was OK (you can tell Anne writing this) - passed masses of vineyards, even high up. Kaikoura is a lovely place. Had fingers crossed for whale watch trip as we had heard that the past three days had been cancelled.

Managed to get on the 10.00 trip on Sunday. Big catamarans and we all had to sit until we reached the first sighting of a sperm whale. It was the first of five that morning. We watched them spouting and then the staff knew exactly when they were about to dive and flip their tails, so we were able to see each of them dive. Then we were taken to see a few of the NZ grey fur seals with their pups and then they said they would try and find the dolphins. We were right in the middle of a pod of about 150-200 as they frolicked, somersaulted and dived under the boat. Truly amazing!!! The whales are in this region all year because of the good feeding off the huge canyon about 3-5 kms off shore, which goes to a depth of 1.8kms. The youngsters stay in the area for the first 8-9 years of their life.

Had another good meal at the White Morph restaurant. Not able to get crayfish however because all of the fishermen have used up their quota and are unable to fish for them again until the 1st April.

Did a good coastal walk up and around Kaikoura to South Bay and back via Whalers Bay where they used to bring in the whales with a row boat. Fyffe House is built on a foundation of Whale Bones and is the first settlers house. Stopped at a roadside hut and had crayfish fritters and a scallop sandwich. Brilliant.

Continue to check on cafes and cappuchinos which are excellent with only one bad one in Havelock- but they use white cups!!!!!- Kaikoura cafes use brown so it continues in the South Island- I need to find out why ( Martin wrote this not Anne)