I woke up at something like 6am - just briefly and saw the sun rise over the sea and it was beautiful! i was still half asleep so i didnt manage to grab my camera. I fell back to sleep again and woke at a reasonable hour! Once we had our breakfast we headed towards Kaikoura. We realised that the battery in for the lights and fridge wasn't working but as it was a sunday we couldn't do much. We were gonna have to wait until Monday and hope none of out food got bad!! Kaikoura is famed for its whale and dolphin watching but as were strapped for cash backpackers we opted out of the expensive boat cruises but we did head down to the local seal colony and spotted some seals lounging around. they were so close i couldn't believe it. We lunched with the seals and then went off on another walk! All we seem to do is walks these days we are such geeks! we walked up a mountain and tried to spy some whales from up high with no luck. I think we must be turning into such old fogies walking all the time but i've been assured its what everyone does in New Zealand!

We then drove along one of the copastal roads whcih took in some of the Marlborough Sounds- really clear water and lush hillsides. The drive is also really windy (as it lots of turns- not breezy!) and has some great view points along the way. We ended up staying in a place just outside the town of Havelock. It was a campsite which fronted onto the sea where people were jet-skiing, sailing and fishi0ng and was really nice. The only downside in Marias eyes was that we had to pay to have a shower!!! We even went for a run before dinner- we had a fitness kick which didn't last long!!

Next morning we set off in search of a new battery for the van. We ended up in Nelsonn and after a bit of'negotiation' we eventually sorted out the replacement and payment for it fromthe campervan hire company. Whilst they were fitting it we went for a walk and had a coffee. We decided that we wanted to visit the Abel Tasman National park the next day and maybe do a short walk so, as soon as the van was finished, we set off for Maharau. We stopped off on the way and rented some DVDs (we got a player in the van). This was fortunate as the weather got progressively worse as we moved on. By the time we reaached Maharau it was raining and it didn;t stop for about 24 hours!!

Our plan had been to get up early and take a boat up the coast into the National park and then walk back. However when we woke around 7am it was still raining and didn't look like it was going to stop all day. We cancelled the boat and decided to head off up the coast- into the storm it turned out!!!

Next morning we were up early as usual and off on the road again- this time heading out towards Tanaka, further up the coast. The weather just got worse though- the camper was being blown all over the road! We eventually arrived and parked up in a camp site. We ended up watching nearly all the DVDs we'd hired and sat the strom out. Later in the afternoon the weather did improve eugh fort us to drive up to some earby springs. They said that this was some of the purest water in the world and it looked it. There was an underwater gallery where you could see rigth across from one side to the other. We then took a stroll round town before heading back for dinner and the rest of the DVDs.