Once again we find ourselves in Kaikoura in the hope of getting out on a boat and seeing those magnificent sperm whales which can be found a few kilometres offshore. This is my fourth attempt over the years and Simon's third and all others have been cancelled due to bad weather out to sea so we are really trying not to get our hopes up to much. The weather has turned cloudy and is cooler than yesterday so who knows what it will be like offshore. After breakfast ...

We woke to another glorious day with sunshine and clear blue skies. We packed up and went for a walk round Havelock, ie up and down the main street. It is a delightful place, especially when the sun is shining, with several interesting restaurants and a small museum in addition to the beautiful marina which stretches out below. We drove away sadly, already planning another visit next time we are back this way. Instead of taking State Highway 6 directly to Blenhe...

After a very late night we were faced with a very early morning! We were feeling less than ready to get up at 6.30 am but were up, packed and even had breakfast in plenty of time to get a cab to the airport for our flight to Christchurch. We landed on time and went to pick up our hire car. Of course, if it hadn't been for the devastating earthquake we would have been in Christchurch already as that was where quarter finals 2 and 4 were due to be held. Unfortunat...