We arrived in Kiakoura last Friday after a two and a half hour ferry journey from the North Island, followed by a two and a half hour bus journey from Picton. It was a chore of a journey, so when we finally arrived, I instantly loved my 'accidental' choice of town and very over indulgent choice of motel.

Clearly planning last minute when I was about to lose the last of the free internet was a good thing, given the beauty of our new surroundings. However, given that this course of action resulted in a ferry booking that was incorrectly made for the day before, (thankfully, after some deliberation, the authorities took pity on us and allowed us to continue on our way), confirms that leaving the planning until the eleventh hour, is by no means, 'plain sailing'.

We took residence in a small studio room, which boasts a double bedroom come lounge/ diner, a small kitchen and a newly furnished private bathroom. We both loved it immediately and felt quite spoilt and excited about having out own 'pad', especially after our last hostel, which had a communal kitchen and meeting point right outside our door. Not the best option when you need to be up at 5.30am and there's a group of young women sounding like cackling geese until the early hours.

We soon discovered a more practical benefit to our new pad after waking up to our first full day to discover the weather resembling a very wet autumn day in the UK. Having a TV was something I had no desire for on this trip, but at this point, a TV with a fully functioning movie channel was more than welcome.

The weather also prompted us to book another day here, on the off chance that we got to see Kiakoura in the sunshine. However, such luxuries, basic or otherwise, don't come without some sort of financial penalty. In this instance, that penalty took the form of the evening meal and our square meal looked distinctly less square and more rounded in the shape of beans on toast!

The following morning was beautiful so we were up and out early walking the short distance to the seal colony. We arrived to find a host of tourists and only two seals basking in the sun and posing for the cameras, we immediately followed suit and starter snapping away like some sort of seal paparazzi, hoping to get that one great shot. I was just a tad disappointed as we had been lead to believe that there are so many seals that they use the parking area as their own overspill seal park!

Our mild disappointment was soon forgotten as we climbed the path to the top of the cliff, were we were hit by views that were so panoramic, they were almost breathtaking. To our right were miles of snow capped mountains that posed as a backdrop for Kiakoura, whilst to the left was the most stunning coastline, marked by rocks covered with seals and costal birds basking in the sunshine, it was incredible and felt a million miles away from normality.

We followed the coastline and made our way down a very steep path to join the many seals and birds we had viewed from above and were immediately greeted by two very big threatening sea birds who atempted to chase us away, even Ronnie was ducking and diving to avoid their pursuits. Clearly, this was a nesting area so we moved on at some speed.

The seals we viewed along this path were incredible and allowed us to photograph them at ease, it was like no other experience we had had and above all, it was free!

Our memories of Kiakoura will be mixed, they range from the highs that include the sheer beauty in and around Kiakoura to the lowest ebb possible, when Ronnie lost all his money, including credit cards, which made the fact that I now resemble a slightly overweight red lobster, sun tanned and sore, really quite bearable!