From North to South .....

At 6am we were all in the shower and getting ready before driving to catch the ferry. We were all out and on our way at 7am, 10 minutes later and we were checking in the vehicle at the Interislander.

We didn’t have long to wait when we were directed aboard the ‘Kaitaki’ ferry. We headed up to the seating area and sat planning our next trip whilst enjoying our ‘Flat Whites!’.

We set sail at 8.30am and the crossing was fine, flat calm. The scenery was spectacular as we sailed through from the north island, across the cook straight and into the south island. We went on deck to get some fresh air, Ben and Dad saw some dolphins. I stood there for ages but didn’t spot any.

We arrived at Picton at 11.30am and waited in the car for 15 minutes before driving onto shore and heading south. We drove through the sweeping hills and down the windy roads as we took the ‘1’. It wasn’t long and we saw the Pacific Ocean again. The colour of the water was amazing against the blue sky. The road followed the coast and we all had our eyes peeled for wildlife.

Just before Kaikoura we pulled into a lookout and saw a NZ Grey Fur Seal Colony, right on the beach. Loads of them catching some rays. Some of them had baby seals, they were so cute! There was a pool full of babies playing in the water.

We decided to stop at Kaikoura for some lunch and found the local bakery. After loading up with pies we headed to the whale watching area, unfortunately we didn’t spot any whales. After eating we followed the road down by the Esplanade to see if we could see any more seals. We managed to get close to 5 that were chilling in the sun. We were probably 3 metres away from them, so cool!! ..... they’re super big! Careful not to get between them and the water, we managed to get some close up photos.

We drove on southwards wanting to make as much ground as we could. By 7pm we were booked into a motel at Ashburton.

We’re now sitting watching roadwars, whilst enjoying a Mac’s Gold Lager..... this is the life aye?!!