On the way to Kaikoura we stopped at Yealands vineyard, world famous for their organic wines. The grounds were enormous and stunning - the vines went all the way up to the coastal cliffs and there chickens and sheep roaming free! Very unique as a winery. Further along our journey to Kaikoura we stopped at Ohau Falls where seal pups are frequently seen. We were in luck and there was two young ones playing and swimming in the water. They are such gorgeous animals. Once we arrived in Kaikoura the weather had gotten even worse and it started hailing! We had walked in to the town centre so were taking shelter under the awnings and in the shops. We had some dinner in town before making a dash back to the B&B. The weather got progressively worse throughout the night and we were a bit concerned as we had a whale watching trip in the morning and I was supposed to be swimming with seals...

Unfortunately both tours were cancelled the next day due to very bad conditions at sea. It was more frustrating because the sun had come out and it appeared to be a nice day but apparently it was too rough, marginal they called it. We had a nice drive out to a local lavender farm and walked around the gardens. We then decided to do a walk around the peninsula where we saw lots of fur seals as there were a couple of colonies out there. We were able to get very close to them, less than a metre away which was incredible! Further around we could see them off the cliffs and there were so many! More than a hundred I'd say! It was a lovely walk, rather windy. We had a lovely dinner at the Green Dolphin where we sat on the terrace overlooking the sea, beautiful.

I had re-booked my seal swim for the morning. When I showed up at the office they said that the conditions still weren't great and there was a slim chance of swimming with them, but we could go if we wanted to... Seeing as this was my last chance to go I thought I had to do it, even if there was a slim chance, better than nothing. And thank goodness I did! We had a lovely, bumpy, boat ride round to the seal colonies with some gorgeous views. Once we'd anchored up (there was only 3 of us on the trip who had still opted to go) our guide said we may as well get in the water and see if we can encourage the seals to come join us. We ended up being on the water for nearly an hour! There was one young male seal in particular who took a lot of interest in us and came up very close and put on a bit of a performance. Showing off his moves and swimming skills. They are so elegant and beautiful, very different in water to what they are on land. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before and the only place in the world you can do it. Just amazing. With snorkel gear we could see them underwater and on the surface too. Just wow.