After repacking our rucksacks so that we were prepared to make the change from campervan to saloon car, we had a quick wander round Akaroa town and browsed the little shops. We happened to be doing this at the same time as the passengers of a massive cruise ship which had just docked, so were surrounded by other tourists and tour groups. We bought a couple more souvenirs and Cerys bought a new top which had caught her eye, and then decided to head back to Christchurch to exchange vehicles. Once again, the weather was not with us, as we took the scenic route back, but spent a large part of it in thick fog. We also were playing chicken with the petrol tank, since Wicked campers, for some reason, start you off on empty and request the van back on empty. Still with the determination of students, we were determined not to leave any more petrol in the tank than was possible, but we decided to top up by $10 to make sure we weren't doing the last 10k on fumes.

We had some lunch en route of leftover potatoes from the night before mixed with a can of Thai chilli tuna, which was quite pleasant, and then got to the Wicked camper garage where we handed back the keys of our faithful little motor.
From there we caught a shuttle bus heading towards the airport, where we picked up our next vehicle from Jucy rentals - a Nissan Primera proudly emblazoned with 'el Cheapo' on the side. We drove this round the corner to the Antarctic Centre which we had bought tickets for the day before and spent the next couple of hours looking round there.
Although this was a fairly good attraction for a rainy day (which by then it was a very rainy day), we felt that, like a lot of museum-type places in NZ, it was a little over-priced, but still we got to see little blue penguins being fed and had a ride on a big snow mobile on tracks that they use at the south pole. We had a 4D cinema experience of a trip to the Antarctic - the fourth dimension mainly consisting of occasionally being squirted in the face with water - and generally learned a bit more about conditions in the bases in the Antarctic and how expeditions are organised from the nearby US base.
At kicking-out time we started the drive to Kaikoura in the rain.

We arrived a little earlier than expected, as our new car was easily capable of reaching and surpassing the speed limit (whereas the Wicked camper had been reluctant to go above 80 km/h). As we arrived at about 7:30, we started to look for accommodation straight away. The first stop looked like a motel at first sight, but turned out to be serviced apartments, which were out of our preferred price range. Seeing our car, the owner commented that we must be looking for 'el Cheapo' accommodation too, so kindly pointed us towards some more suitable places.
In the end we settled for a motel that seemed to have been built on the cheap in the 70's and never upgraded, but it had a certain charm about it - it felt like being in a large static caravan rather than a solid building, but it was clean and warm and best of all the beds were comfy.

After settling in, we headed out for dinner and Cerys had her first drive of the new vehicle, promptly reversing it into a wall, leaving the bumper a little bit cracked and bent. Thankfully though, we had plumped for the full insurance option when hiring the car.
Dinner was in the Green Dolphin - recommended by various motel owners, which was excellent. Stef's highlight was grouper in a ginger, coriander and soy sauce glaze.
Afterwards we went to the Strawberry Tree, a slightly lairy Irish pub with an enthusiastic guitarist singing folk classics. One drink later though, and it was time for bed, so we headed back for a bit of shut-eye.