Today we decided to get out of the campsite for a while, so we drove to Hanmer Forest on the edge of town and went for a walk through the woods. When we got back to the van, the sun was shining so we got our chairs out (a rare event during our time here!) and sat and read our books for a while, enjoying the good weather. We drove back to town and treated ourselves to lunch at the Monteith's bar - a massive plate of fish and chips for me (still no proper English ...

After a VERY cold night in the van with no heater (we later found out it had been 0°C during the night!) we were glad to get warm in the shower! Thankfully, it had stopped raining and was sunny outside. After breakfast, we went back to the Powerhouse café for coffee and wifi, and then stopped at a supermarket for a few bits and pieces before heading back to the TV lounge at the campsite to continue our 'classic' film marathon! First up was the second LOTR fil...

We had originally planned to go to the springs in Hanmer today, but after checking the weather forecast last night, we decided to put it off for a few days and wait for the weather to warm up. We woke up to pouring rain so it was probably a good decision! After breakfast, we drove into town for a coffee at Powerhouse Café and used their free wifi for an hour. Then we headed to the Four Square supermarket for some supplies - we'd decided to take advantage of the...

We had an early start today, as we had to be back in Kaikoura for 8:20, ready for our 8:30 dolphin encounter! When we checked in, we were told of the possibilities that we might not see any dolphins or might not be able to swim with them if they weren't behaving correctly…although both of those were highly unlikely - phew! We were called through to the changing rooms and were given our gear to try on - wetsuits, jackets, socks, flippers, hoods and snorkels! We...