So we’ve hit the road! We’ve hired a 2/3 (emphasis on the slash) berth camper van. They are small vans which have been adapted to fit a “kitchen” – sink, shelves, camping stove and a table and chairs which then turns into a double bed at night. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze with three of us in, but boundaries have been broken pretty quickly and we are now all bezzie mates!‘Wicked’ the company we hired our van from, have 300 all over the country, we did ask for a nice one and which they replied with one which says ‘sniff more coke’ and ‘enjoy
cocaine’ so we’ve had a few funny looks along the way! Although on the back it does say ‘hugs not drugs’ which is always our moto! But we’ve seen quite a few more dodgy ones than that, so I think we’ve been lucky! From Christchurch our first adventure took us to Kaikoura home of whales and dolphins. The Kaikoura coast has a large deep canyon a few miles out to sea and so it can support the resident whales and dolphins all year round and it’s the only place in New Zealand that has this.
After enquiring at the dolphin swimming centre and told they were booked up for 6
days and our only option was a 5.30am share swim in which we could only go into the water when someone else had completely finished. So kitted out with our two layers of wetsuits, hoods and snorkel gear (that we might not use!) we headed out on a search for the sometimes 500 strong pod of dolphins. These (pesky) Dusky dolphins are smaller than the more common (hence the name) Common dolphin and are very inquisitive.Fortunately for us the water was 15 degrees and so there were drops outs early on. The swimmers were designated 40 minutes swim time and so it was highly likely that we would get in. We were instructed to make noises through our snorkels and dive down (very difficult with the temperature
and buoyancy of the wetsuits,) to try and get the dolphins attention. The first few times we jumped into the water the pod of around 30 just swam on, but as we move around the coast the pods all joined together and we swam with at least 200 individuals! Making stupid noises and actually looking the dolphins in the eye you can engage them, spin around with them, make them dive down, where they will mirror image you by swimming with their belly up to yours. An incredible experience, the water temperature forgotten within about a minute!
After Kaikoura we travelled to the northern part of South Island and 
travelled around the coast. Following our noses around the wine trail of Marlborough Sounds. In the Abel Tasman National Park we divided and conquered, Holly took to the seas with her kayak and me and Sophie the mountains on bikes. On a very rare blue skied day we were driven to the top and taught a few skills before being unleashed down skree and stony tracks. Apparently balancing on your pedals, off your seat, then squatting down behind your saddle is the way forward, or rather down when mountain biking downhill. Also go as fast as you can, ‘momentum is your friend’ – guide/devil woman Anna, so if you feel like you’re wobbling, go faster! Hmmm…
Well it was very enjoyable, even if I did get off and walk down a few hill
s. We were shown around old marble mines, which were used in the buildings in Wellington, this leads us on nicely to the next part of our journey. We crossed the three hour ferry from Picton and came to the capital city; which compared to the other smaller, one road towns we had come across was really like a metropolis.
Rugby fever has really hit the country with the 2011 world cup being held here. New Zealand are high up in the IRB rankings as well as being the top international 7s competition at the moment. We visited the rugby museum which was very small but informative, though with an extra 50,000 people are expected during the world cup it had been given a $800,000 grant for improvements. Being big sports fan’s we went and watched ‘Invictus,’ the new rugby movie set during the SA world cup
at the start of Mandela’s reign. Truly a great movie but we were torn during the ending with the NZ vs SA final being surrounded by Kiwis, emotions stirred to the maximum with the Haka being performed in wide screen, Joana Lomu practically spitting at us from on screen. (Who I incidentally met in the toilets of the Rugby Museum, slightly off putting have a cardboard cut out of him leering at you on!)
So far we have covered around 2,500 kilometres and there is still Taupo upwards yet to do, our van is still in one piece and so are our friendships, though mainly due to Scrabble, Denominations and Rummy. We covered the Surf Highway of the west coast which due to poor weather and bad surf led us to no time in the water and chased us inland in search of clear skies. The summer weather here is the worst it has been in years and everyone is hoping for a change before autumn properly starts. We are now hoping for some walking tomorrow if the weather holds in Mount Doom country. We have the van until the end of the month and we hope to cover a few more miles and get a bit more sunshine.
travelled around the coast. Following our noses around the wine trail of Marlborough Sounds. In the Abel Tasman National Park we divided and conquered, Holly took to the seas with her kayak and me and Sophie the mountains on bikes. On a very rare blue skied day we were driven to the top and taught a few skills before being unleashed down skree and stony tracks. Apparently balancing on your pedals, off your seat, then squatting down behind your saddle is the way forward, or rather down when mountain biking downhill. Also go as fast as you can, ‘momentum is your friend’ – guide/devil woman Anna, so if you feel like you’re wobbling, go faster! Hmmm…Well it was very enjoyable, even if I did get off and walk down a few hill
s. We were shown around old marble mines, which were used in the buildings in Wellington, this leads us on nicely to the next part of our journey. We crossed the three hour ferry from Picton and came to the capital city; which compared to the other smaller, one road towns we had come across was really like a metropolis.Rugby fever has really hit the country with the 2011 world cup being held here. New Zealand are high up in the IRB rankings as well as being the top international 7s competition at the moment. We visited the rugby museum which was very small but informative, though with an extra 50,000 people are expected during the world cup it had been given a $800,000 grant for improvements. Being big sports fan’s we went and watched ‘Invictus,’ the new rugby movie set during the SA world cup
at the start of Mandela’s reign. Truly a great movie but we were torn during the ending with the NZ vs SA final being surrounded by Kiwis, emotions stirred to the maximum with the Haka being performed in wide screen, Joana Lomu practically spitting at us from on screen. (Who I incidentally met in the toilets of the Rugby Museum, slightly off putting have a cardboard cut out of him leering at you on!)So far we have covered around 2,500 kilometres and there is still Taupo upwards yet to do, our van is still in one piece and so are our friendships, though mainly due to Scrabble, Denominations and Rummy. We covered the Surf Highway of the west coast which due to poor weather and bad surf led us to no time in the water and chased us inland in search of clear skies. The summer weather here is the worst it has been in years and everyone is hoping for a change before autumn properly starts. We are now hoping for some walking tomorrow if the weather holds in Mount Doom country. We have the van until the end of the month and we hope to cover a few more miles and get a bit more sunshine.
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