We drove all afternoon to get from Mount Cook to the Banks Peninsula which is situated close to Christchurch. Due to the earthquakes in Christchurch we'd decided to give it a wide berth and as we drove through the outskirts we could see some of the repair works that were being carried out to the city's infrastructure. The quake is still massive news in New Zealand, as we travelled listening to the radio almost 70% of adverts were linked to the quake in some way or other.

Banks Peninsula is of volcanic origin and forms the most prominent volcanic feature of the South Island. The peninsula comprises the eroded remnants of two large volcanoes (Lyttelton and Akaroa) which have formed two harbours and many small coves to explore. An aerial view of the Peninsula shows why the scenery of the Peninsula is so dramatic. We stayed in the village of Akaroa which has a twee French theme running through it due to the fact that it used to be a French colony before the English took over. The harbour is just picture perfect and looks stunning during the sunset.

Gemma was here to do some swimming with dolphins, she booked the tour for the day after our arrival and was up good and early to see some hector dolphins, the world's smallest and rarest dolphins. We were given a short briefing about how the boat journey would go including the fact that the water temperature was 13C! (Gemma had already been a little chilly when diving in 25C). After getting suited and booted we headed out to the boat and were soon out of the shelter of the harbour. We hadn't gone very far before a pod of 3 dolphins came swimming along with the boat. We all quickly jumped in (it was jolly cold, so quickly was the only way), our guides encouraged us to splash about and blow bubbles as apparently these playful creatures should enjoy this and encourage them to swim closer to us. They darted among the group a couple of times but quickly lost interest in us. Back on the boat to see if we could find some more dolphins, we weren't disappointed when a pod of 4 joined us. Back into the water we went (no easier the second time!) with more splashing and bubbles this time they stuck around. It was a great experience to be in the water with wild dolphins, it made the cold all worth it.

After Gemma had dried off and warmed up (Craig had enjoyed a long luxurious breakfast of eggs benedict) we took a drive around the peninsula. The views were magnificent as the road rapidly ascended from sea level to 919 metres at the top of Mount Herbert to drive along the tourist road and take in the views. We visited three of the deserted coves (Pigeon Cove, Little Akaloa Beach and Le Bons Bay) on the north and east side of the peninsula and were stunned at their natural beauty. Each secluded cove had a tiny beach (unfortunately it was overcast so no swimming or sunbathing), but what was best of all was that we were the only people in any of the coves, no tourists, no locals, nobody! To get to each cove we had to drive up a steep road to the middle of the peninsula and then descend down the specific road for each particular cove. After three such journeys we feared for our campervan's health, it was an old converted Toyota Hi-Ace and we weren't sure it was meant for the punishment that we were meting out to it, making it climb 20% inclines. To make sure we made it to our next destination, the Franz Josef Glacier on the other side of the country, we called time on out drive around the peninsula.