We left Kaikoura on Monday and, as planned, headed north on the hunt for crayfish. We found it in a little shack called "Nin's Bin" at the side of the highway. Amazing spot right by the sea and the crayfish was soooo good!We then continued north, passing through some of the Marlborough wine region before stopping in a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite at Rarangi, just north of Blenheim, for the night. This was a basic (and cheap!) site next to a lovely little beach! Because of the clear conditions that evening, we were able to see right across to the North Island!

On Tuesday, we headed north and had a quick stop in Picton before the lengthy (and hilly!) journey up to Takaka in the Golden Bay area, just by the Abel Tasman National Park. We went via the Queen Charlotte Drive out of Picton and, as a result had a great view of the Marlborough Sounds. Given the limited stopping points along the roads, I've become quite an expert at taking pictures from the passenger seat whilst on the move!

On Wednesday morning we went sea-kayaking round the north tip of the Abel Tasman National Park. We had been told that this was extremely popular and to expect crowds of kayakers, but in fact we were lucky enough to one of only a handful of kayaks going around! We kayaked round the coast, stopping at some gorgeous deserted beaches along the way. Most of these were are only accessible by sea! We spotted seals and also saw a baby Oyster Catcher (bird) which we were informed was only a day or two old!

On Wednesday afternoon, we stayed in the Golden Bay area and trekked up to Wainui Falls. This waterfall was a lot larger than the last we trekked up to and an easier walk (apart from the swing bridge we had to cross one at a time!) On the way back to the campsite we decided to stop off at the Mussel Inn, which had been recommended to us (cheers again Dan!) One thing I'm yet to mention is how friendly the people are out here. This was proved once again in this pub. A couple sitting next to us offered us some of their mussels because they'd seen us ogling them (they were massive!) and they said they had to shoot off and therefore couldn't finish them. If this happened in the UK, I'm pretty sure I would have questioned the person's motives, but out here you come to realise that people are just friendly like that... so we tucked in!

On Thursday morning we headed 5 minutes out of Takaka to see the Te Waikoropupu Springs ('Pu Pu' Springs). These are Australasia's largest springs (one is over 1.5 mtrs wide and they release 40 bath tubs of water per second!) and also claim to be the world's cleanest freshest water! I can confirm that the water was very clear, but in order to keep it that way, no contact with the water is allowed, so I can't confirm how it tasted!

After this we headed back towards Picton, via the same route that we had taken a few days earlier. Just as we left Takaka, the van's mileage hit 300,000km! Whilst travelling up the mountain (again!) that is just south of Takaka ("Takaka Hill"), we were amazed to see that we were climbing above the clouds in the van! I stuck an arm out of the van to get photo proof!

After a lunch stop on Tuhunanui Beach, just outside Nelson, we continued back to Picton via Queen Charlotte Drive again. More photo opportunities from the passenger seat, but we also stopped at a lookout point on route.

Yesterday, we decided to venture into the Marlborough Sounds. We got a water taxi (aka a boat!) out to Ship Cove, where Captain Cook first landed on the South Island. He then used it as a base several other times whilst he was circumnavigating the world. There's a monument there to reflect this. We then walked the 15kms to Furneaux Lodge, where we had a well deserved beer! It was a great walk, taking just over 3 hours, with some amazing views along the way. We were then picked up from Furneaux Lodge by another water taxi, which took us back to Picton.

After a quick change in the van, we then hot-footed it over to the ferry terminal to catch our ride over to Wellington. We arrived in Welly late last night, after tackling waves of up to 6 metres over the course of the 3 hour journey! Not a pleasant trip! Alex's cousin, Briony and her husband, Geoff, greeted us at the ferry terminal and took us back to their place - our home for the weekend!

On Saturday, we woke to pouring horizontal rain and I swiftly learnt why Wellington is known as "Windy Welly". Luckily Wellington has a huge (free!) museum, over 5 floors, so there is plenty to entertain you when the weather is not so good! We got to see the huge "colossal" squid - they claim it's the largest one ever caught! We also saw the "Day in Pompeii" exhibition, which was really interesting, especially the 3D film which recreated the eruption of Mt Vesuvius! In the evening, we battled the weather again to head for a meal. It was well worth it! We had a great time with Briony and Geoff and want to thank them again for putting us up for the weekend. Alex is chuffed to have finally met his long lost cuz and her family! :-)

We caught the ferry back to Picton on Sunday morning and (thankfully!) the conditions were much better! We then started our journey to the West Coast where we are spending the next week or so.