Woke late, to the sound of steady rain. Unbroken low cloud all around - definitely not beach weather! Discussed our options over breakfast, & decided to stay put for the day.

L set the rest of us a Spanish test (parts of the body), which spurred the kids into drawing & writing a bilingual comic for the next couple of hours. They (reluctantly) took a break for a while, when we went for a walk to the beach & then into town, to browse in a few shops (J bought a bone & paua shell necklace) & look for the library (no wifi). We came back to the cabin for a late lunch (avocado, bacon & tom sandwiches, again!), then L did a load of washing while the kids continued with their Spanish, & D cleaned the interior of the car.

Suddenly (a la Mr Benn) the manager appeared, & told us that there was a whale on the beach! We grabbed our cameras, jumped into the car, & drove (as directed) the half mile to the beach access. Just off shore, in the breaking waves, was a small whale, with an elongated toothed jaw, & a huge open wound on its side, through which its' internal organs were visible! We spent ~30 mins looking & taking photos, & decided to go back to the cabin for tea (tom soup, at M's request), then return at low tide (~7.30pm). J got very excited, as his dolphin & whale book said that beaked whales are the rarest variety, some species of which have only been discovered once the whale has been beached.

On our return to the beach, there were even more people there than on our first visit, including a DoC officer, who thought that it was a sperm whale, much to J's indignation! We stayed for ~20 mins, & were told that the plan was to attach a rope to the whale tonight, to float it inshore on the high tide, so that it could be pulled higher up the sand for taking away for disposal, tomorrow morning.

Back at the cabin, the kids got ready for bed, & D ended up chatting to a couple from Lancashire for half an hour, before returning to the cabin for wine, then bed!