Another early start - need to be at Whale watch station for 06.45. Fortunately we were very close and only had to go through a hole in a fence and across a railway track and we were there. After usual safety briefings etc we were transported (about 50 of us) to South Bay where we boarded Aoraki a specialist whale watching boat. The weather was amazing - bright blue sky and little wind and the captain that this was as good as it gets and they were lucky if they ha...

By 16.15 we were heading south towards Kaikora. We continued to drive alongside endless vineyards before nearing the coast where the landscape become more barren. We stopped for a break at Wharanui beach via a rough track which had black volcanic sand. As we continued we telephoned ahead and booked a site for the night and also for a whale watching trip the following morning which was our main reason for going to Kaikora. The road then followed the dramatic coas...