The Ferry ride from the North Island to the South is not cheap (367 NZ$) for a 2½ hour journey, but is a great experience with spectacular (that word gets used a lot when describing New Zealand) views of Wellington and surroundings as you leave the North and equally spectacular views of the entrance towards the port of Picton in the South. The first picture is one side of the entrance into the South Island.

And this second one is the other side.

This is not a small ferry, there was an actual train on-board complete with containers.

We had lunch overlooking the harbour as our ferry headed back the other way.

From the arrival point we headed off down the East coast towards Kaikoura which is a hugely popular resort for Kiwis and tourists alike. On the way we passed a seal colony where we got quite up close and personal.

We stayed in a camp-site in Kaikura, making friends with a young couple from the UK who had given up their jobs to take a tour down under. They did the ‘swimming with dolphins’ thing and said it was fantastic – I must do it – Carol, needless to say, will not.

The next day we moved on again and ended up by the beach in a tiny place called Amberley Beach where we stayed at a remote camp-site where it cost 5 bucks on the honour system with minimum facilities, but it was fine for us.

I started the next morning with a swim in the Pacific – it’s even colder here in the South - the St. Lawrence in June cold – and then on to Christchurch to meet and stay with friends of our brother-in-law Tim. Jane and John and their twins Kirsten and James made us very welcome and we got to sleep in a real bed for the night. During the day we visited the botanical gardens as Carol wanted to see a Rose garden.

Today we are off to Orana Wildlife Park to use a couple of free tickets, since the weather has deteriorated to cold and raining. Tomorrow promises better weather and I have booked a place for a dolphin encounter in Akoroa, about 80 kms from Christchurch.

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