I greet everyone form a rugby mad, but depressed NZ. The Kiwis are still recovering from their shock World Cup defeat by the French. I don’t want to rub anymore salt in there wounds, but would like to say, better luck next time.
The past weekend Ian, Annalie and myself decided to cross the Cook Straight to visit the South Island. Our destinations were Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs. Kaikoura is beautiful seaside town that is surrounded with awe inspiring mountains and a crisp blue sea. Kaikoura is one of two spots in NZ where one can swim with dolphins and whales. Hanmer Springs is 135km inland from and is one of the adventure capitals in NZ. This serene town offers the adrenaline junkie with every kind of activity you wish to do. Jet boating, quad biking, river rafting, bungi jumping is some of the many things that you can choose. The only limit is what you wallet will allow.
We left Wellington Friday 18:15 for our fist trip on the ferry. Our feelings of nervousnesses was soon overtaken by feelings of expectation. The Cook Straight is world renown for being netoriously rough. Almost as the Cape Agulhas is back home. Everyone has respect for this piece of sea. Many has peril due to its wild character. Our journey went by without any obstacles or anyone incurring sea sickness. I was very impress with the facilities on board as well the seating arrangement. Very comfortable indeed.
A photo from the deck!
After a journey of three hours we arrived in a Picton.
Friday eve we slept in Picton in a backpackers called Atlantis, which cost us $19 per person. Very cheap indeed. We left Picton Saturday morning after picking up Sunny, our rental vehicle to travel to Kaikoura which is 160km south.
One of the scenic views on the way…
Our reason for going to Kaikoura was to have an opportunity to swim with the dolphins. Being a picture perfect day and the conditions looking absolutely wonderful we looked forward to this adventure. Unfortunately upon our arrival at Dolphin Encounters we were informed that due to a slightly rough sea the trip had to be canceled. The travelers were disapppointed but we agreed that this is only as mall set back for our spirits. After considering our alternatives we decided to head for Hanmer Springs. Hanmer is home to Thrill Seekers Canyon. An adventurers dream. Our first idea was to go Jet boating but after learning that we could not do that due to fact that the river was in flood, we then opted for quad biking.
Some photos of the journey from Kaikoura to Hanmer…
The quad biking was way more fun than what I initially anticipated. Since I was not used to gear changes on this form of transport, I had feelings of apprehension. Apart from one incident where instead of looking on the road I was admiring the beauty around, I crashed into Ian after he stopped. As in true South African style no one was injured. But I do not recommend that anyone should try it at home.
Hanmer Springs
