Arrived in a very nippy New Zealand on thursday night and checked into my hostel in Christchurch. Went to the mall next day to get myself a new camera (yey!) and some warmer clothes to stop me freezing to death! Had a little wander around the city and its such a shame that the earthquakes have caused so much damage. Much of the city centre is still closed and there are so many building cornered off as unsafe or being knocked down. The next day I started my Stray bus trip and hopped on to my 1st bus to Kaikoura. As recommended by a girl I met in Aus I signed up for the wild dolphin swimming there which was absolutely amazing...one of the best things I've ever done! You get suited up in winter wetsuits with boots, hoods, gloves and jackets to keep you warm in the winter water (I looked super sexy!) and then they take you out in the boats. Because of a rift in the plates out to sea (which makes lots of nutrients and smaller fish available apparently) there is an abundance of wildlife in this part of the coast which is why they are really successful with their whale and dolphin watching trips. We saw a small humpback whale and a sperm whale on our trip and also lots of seals and albatross's which was an added bonus...along with the hundreds of dolphins! Because the dolphins are completely wild they don't entice them by feeding them etc...they just drop you in the ocean with a snorkel where they are and if you look interesting the dolphins will swim around you! They encourage you to make lots of noise to encourage them and swim around in circles (we must have looked ridiculous to the crew!) but it worked and in the course of about an hour we had so many dolphins swimming around us, under us, jumping over us...it was amazing!! I would absolutely recommend it anyone coming to this part of New Zealand! When we finally had to get out of the water it was freezing so we had to quickly get changed and drink hot chocolate before going to take some pictures!
Back on dry land we stayed one night there before travelling over to Picton where I'm staying tonight before getting on a new bus tomorrow! The bus timetables are proving a little confusing but I hope I've got it all sorted now so that I can fit everything in I want to! So far the scenery has been absolutely stunning...picture postcard worthy shots around every bend in the road! Can't wait to see some more!
Lots of love to you all!
Ro
x x x x x x
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