Well this was it......what i (lou) have wanted to do for well ever! Whale watching! And here in NZ this is the place. Why?? Because in Kaikoura they have year long whales and as a bonus its right in the middle of the migration track! You dont know how excited i was and how much i am still buzzing! On the way here from the farmstay we stopped at a particular spot (thanks colin) that is home to a wild seal colony. Their were hundreds and in their natural habitat. Brillant! The drive to Kaikoura was magical....it seemed to get more and mountainous thus i got more and more excited. Like a kid at christmas! When we arrived we booked on the 7am whale tour the next morning but we were warned that we may not get out as the seas have been rough and are only meant to get worse. And it was cancelled! So we booked on the following morning and sucess but were warned that sickness was probable. I didnt care and Pete bless him..... well he suffered!! I wont bore you all with the ins and outs of the trip but it was of the best experiences of my life. We saw 3 whales, rare hector dolphins, wild seals and albatross. WOW!!!!!! On receommendation from colin and judy we drove to hamner springs......an alpine town in the mountains. Here we went too a open air thermel reserve where we lazed in hot and mineral pools for a couple of hrs surrounded by mountains! Not bad eh???? Next we are heading to Christchurch.....as Pete suffered on the whale watching trip we are going to watch a pro rugby game at the Jade Stadium.