17 January:
We purchased a camera today, a Canon A590 IS, incase anyone is interested in that kinda thing. It takes pics & vids so that's what matters.
We met up with Ed & Sara and took our first trip as a 2 car convoy up to Kaikoura. We picked this spot for the simple fact that it was a preferred spot to swim with the 'Dusky Dolphins'.
It was roughly a 2 hour drive with ever changing scenery & never a dull moment. It's like driving into a postcard, constantly. When we arrived we booked straight onto tomorrow morning's Dolphin swim then checked into a very basic campsite ready for our first proper night on the road.
We checked out the town & beach in the afternoon then chilled at the campsite. Kaikoura is a beautiful place.

18 January:
Knock knock knock was the first thing we experienced this morning. Ed was standing at the window of our van telling us to get up because the dolphin swim was in 40 mins. We went into panic mode & got ready in record time & shot straight to the Dolphin centre. We made in good time in the end as the boat didn't even set out until nearer 9 than 8. All drysuits, flippers & snorkels on, we headed out on the boat towards the pod of 'Dusky'dolphins. It took around 20 mins to reach them, in which time 2 people were so seasick they couldn't face entering the water.
The dolphins were overly excited, flipping out of the water & circling the boat. It was their way of saying hurry up & get in! Then without hesitation we were plunging into the freezing ocean, hundreds of metres from shore. It was a unique & memorable experience. 12 people splashing around with 30 or so wild dolphins, all making stupid noises & scrambling to get as close as possible.
We spent about 40 minutes in the water & loved every one of them. When we got back on the boat Carly & Sara felt ill. Were we given hot chocolate & biscuits then took the boat to a larger pod, maybe 200 strong. It was a great chance to get some pics & it was amazing to see so many dolphins all in one place together. They were flipping out of the water, spinning in mid air, sychronised jumps & generally putting on a good show for the paying visitors! Us.
When we arrived back in town, we stopped for lunch in a small fish & chip shop then planned the route from Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs. The drive didn't take as long as we thought, so we booked in at a campsite at around 5, then headed back towards a thrillseekers centre we spotted on the way up. They have all-sorts of activities for adrenalin junkies & the one we picked was the jet boat ride through the gorge & along the river. We do that tomorrow morning, can't wait.