Christchurch - Kiakoura - Picton

We are currently in Picton – work has finished (yes!) and we’ve had the obligatory drunken leaving BBQ and said our goodbyes to friends made while we’ve been in Christchurch. We are just waiting for the next Stray bus to take us to Abel Tasman national park! We are hoping (weather permitting) to hire out a kayak and camping gear and kayak around the national park for a few days.

So far the bus has been fine – today on the way to Picton we stopped at a ‘secret, just discovered’ seal nursery that I distinctly remember from the Magic bus six years ago – maybe secrets last longer in New Zealand?!

We spent the last few days in Kiakoura walking walks, seeing seals and watching whales. The seals were at the seal colony just out of town, lots of seals lazing around on the beach having their photos taken! We went twice and the second time did the coastal walk around to the other side of the headland and back over the top – very nice walk, with the normal spectacular views New Zealand seems to offer everywhere we go. The whale watching was great; we got to see two whales (sperm) and then a bunch of Dusky dolphins, which made the trip - not that the whales weren’t amazing, but they aren’t the most active of creatures!

We took part in a pub quiz on Wednesday night and managed a respectable joint-triple-second and last night we wandered down the campsite and had a few drinks with Nathan & Mel who are staying in Kiakoura for the long weekend (labor day or something).