Wellington was barely a few hours stay. Reached there in the night, slept the night over, and early next morning, headed for the ferry that was to take us over to the South Island, and to Picton, to be precise. The ferry was an amazing experience, large, several hundred people, and the very large number of vehicles on board, and the many views one could get by walking to different sides of the ferry. And the restaurants and the coffee shops on board. On reaching Picton, we did not stop, but rather, carried on straight away, to our first stop in South Island, which was Kaikoura. Some pics from the ferry ride, and till the point that we reached Kaikoura..
Kaikoura is a small town (one of the many that we visited), best known for the whale watching opportunities that it provides. We reached by afternoon, and it was supposed to be well in time, for the afternoon whale watching trip. However, as luck would have it, due to the weather conditions in the Ocean, they were not taking out any trips that day. And we had half a day in town, with nothing major to do. We did drive around town, and did a few things like seeing a sheep shearing show, watching seals, and hanging out at a pub in town, and drinking Guinness beer there. In short, it was an easy going afternoon. Our hope was that the next morning opened a little brighter, and we got the chance to do the whale watching trip. And that was exactly how it turned out. We went on the whale watching trip in a catamaran, and managed to see two sperm whales from real close. We got even more lucky to spot a whole pod of Orca Dolphins, also known as killer whales. It was an awesome experience to spot them from real close. The catamaran journey, at high speed with huge waves, was a rocking one, and nearly 50% of the 48 persons tour party, threw up on board. But apparently, this was quite usual to happen, as per the organisers, who had ensured the necessary facilities to handle these situations! Here are some photos from Kaikoura..
Next up, we would be criss-crossing the country. From being on the East Coast, we will drive across the breadth of New Zealand, to go to the west coast, with our next stop being Greymouth.
Random Musings 