Otago and Canterbury

From Dunedin we made our way up to Oamuru, a town renowned for a Blue Penguin colony. En route we stopped off at Moeraki Beach to see its famous boulders formed from mudstone that look other worldly. After a good jump on them and too many photos we travelled up to Oamuru. We had a walk around the town and then visited the wildlife centre where we watched them as they came ashore for the evening. It was a pretty cold evening but we managed to hold on and watched as around 150 of the world’s smallest penguins waddled up the rocks.

The next morning we drove North West and inland towards Mount Cook. From Lake Pukaki it was just possible to see NZ’s highest peak but only just! We also stopped off at Lake Tekapo and where the quaint Church of the Good Shepherd looks out over the lake. After this we made our way back to the coast and stopped at a town called Geraldine. We checked in at a camp for the night then walked around to the local cinema to watch a movie. The cinema was a real find with loads of character. It had old sofas instead of traditional seating as well as an interval half way through. After the film we even had a guided tour of the projector room where some bloke had been changing the reels throughout the film. You don't get that at Vue!!!

The next morning we had a long drive all the way up the east coast to Kaikoura in the hope of spotting some whales and dolphins. We booked on for a trip the next day and spent the rest of the day having a walk around the town. In the morning we set off for the boat trip at around 7.15. Despite the initial fear of fog we got out and spotted a Sperm whale, plenty of marine birdlife and some Dusky dolphins, however it was pretty choppy. I managed to just about hold it together while others around us lost the seasickness battle!!!

Once back on solid ground we set out to Hanmer Springs, an alpine thermal town, for some R&R. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the thermal and sulphur pools. We also had some fun on the waterslides however we were slightly older than most of the other “sliders” by about 10 or 15 years!! In the morning we drove south to Christchurch where we have been for the past three days. We had an emotional farewell with our trusty van Steve and have spent plenty of time walking around and enjoying the city, we’ve also both had a haircut and Laura even got her hair straightened which was a real treat as it’s been 3 months since it was last done!! Also we’ve been lucky enough to meet up with a few friends from home, Katy who I work with and James, Katie & Danny, Laura’s friends from med school.

Tomorrow we fly to Singapore for the Asian leg of our trip. We land on Friday evening and are spending the weekend with Si and Nic, some more friends from the UK which is quite lucky.

Will write again from Singapore!

Hope you are all well back home,

Love Stani and Laura