InterIslander

Jumping on the Bluebridge ferry from Wellington to Picton is not a cheap affair, but it does reap some really fantastic views of Wellington harbour with all the sailing boats tacking away (you like my sailing lingo) and mind blowing views of the Cook strait and the Queen Charlotte sounds on the way into Picton. I may not say that it is worth the $200 you spend per trip, but it must be done to get to either island by car so throwing in some fantastic scenery tends to cheer you up.

'Sounds' as they are called in this part of the world are actually more famously called fjords in Scandinavia. A fjord by definition is a long, narrow bay with steep sides, created in a valley, carved in a glacial period by a glacier moving from the top region of the mountains to the sea. It all sounds very simple (see what I did there), but it's something that should be witnessed at least once. The water here, has this dark rich blue colour, and in the parts that were not disturbed be the wake of the ferry and is as calm and silent as you can wish for.

Once back on Terra Firma, we headed down through the wine region of Blenhein and along the east coast towards the picturesque seaside town of Kaikoura. This town used to be a whaling station but had now turned its interests to a more humane sport, that of whale watching. The drive down to Kaikoura was fantastic and reminded me a little of Cape Town and the way the mountains meet the ocean. On the way we stopped off for some amazing apfel strudel and at a seal colony. They have j0ust had their pups and so naturally their were many photo opportunities.

Once in Kaikoura we booked our whale watching trip which guaranteed us a sighting of a Sperm whale or our money back. NZ also has a pod of around 200 Orca (Killer Whales) which circle the south island so the chance of spotting them here was better than in most places. After negotiating a couple Speights on happy hour we set off to find a campsite, easily done. The grumpy lady at the counter warned us not to pitch our tent too close tot he beach as the South Easter was due in that night and we could be in for some fun and games. Well that little gypsy was right, that night I feared for the life of our little tent, it almost blew horizontal. I lay awake for a few hours supporting the sides so the poles didn't get ripped out the ground. They fortunately never did, but we did awake to find half our tent pegs had been pulled out the ground by the menacing wind. I thanked my lucky stars that they had been such a curse to put in the ground in the first place.

That morning we headed off in the drizzle for Christchurch as there would most certainly be no whale watching in this weather.