Christchurch to Kaikoura

We travelled across the northern Canterbury Plains towards Kaikoura, stopping for a quick toilet break and breakfast (chicken and sweetcorn pie! mmmm, yummy) at Cheviot and then continued straight on to Kaikoura so that we could make the most of the day - which was glorious, perfect sunshine and not a cloud in sight!

Kaikoura used to be the South Island's best kept secret but something as good as this can't be quiet for too long! Kaikoura means 'to eat crayfish' (kai - to eat, Koura - Crayfish). Its official name is Te-Ahi-kai-koura-a-Tama-ki-te-rangi (or Tamatea-pokai-whenua) - what a mouthful I know, no wonder its just called 'Kaikoura'!! Anyway, the full name means 'The great traveller stayed here and lit a fire to cook a meal of crayfish'. These days its the whales, dolphins, seals and fish 'n chips that Kaikoura is becoming ever more popular for.

I chose to spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town and admiring the breathtaking views from the beach and pick-up a few supplies for another group BBQ in the evening.

As I had chosen to skip a day ahead (by only spending one night in Christchurch as opposed to two) I had the following day to do activities and relax. Even though I had already done dolphin simming in Paihia, I had already decided that I wanted to do it again here, especially as Kaikoura is home to the world famous acrobatic 'Dusky Dolphins'. This time however, we were kitted out with wetsuits and I got an underwater camera in the hope of getting some close up pictures of the fast swimmers!

I can't explain how amazing this swim was, even the guides were amazed at how interactive the pod were and how many there were. Apparently they reckoned that the pod size was between 500 - 600!! And there were only 14 of us in the water?! It was outstanding and so much fun, unlike the bottlenose dolphins in Paihia, these Dusky Dolphins were up for playing and genuinely interested in having fun with us which made the swim all the more enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who goes to New Zealand, you wont find it much better than here I guarantee! Awesome and I really have now completed one of my dreams, I'm still smiling just thinking about it haha