The wildlife park was a standout experience. It’s not a zoo and it’s not one of those places you drive through but the animals are in very open environments with water being used to keep most of them from attacking the patrons. We got to see two Kiwis which are becoming very rare. They are nocturnal and very shy. To make them available to the general public they have them in a building where night and day are reversed, so the light levels are very low and until they fed them, they didn’t even come out of their hiding places. Introduction of alien species (weasels, stoats, opossums, dogs and cats) into New Zealand has decimated their numbers and many other species too. The entire park is devoted to endangered animals from all over the world including lions, tigers, giraffes, white rhinos, wild dogs, cheetahs, spider monkeys. For all those pussycat lovers here’s a cute fella.

The weather did not improve for the mountainous trip to Arakoa for the dolphin encounter. That didn’t diminish the experience. The dolphins they have in the bay there are called Hector’s Dolphins and are the smallest in the world at just over a metre long and only live off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island and like most native species here, are endangered. They put you in a very buoyant wet-suit and over the side you go into quite cold water. You then swim around in a group (seven of us) and make silly noises to attract the dolphins. I saw about half a dozen under water as they flash past you or come straight at you and then dive until you can’t see them below you. By the end we were all pretty cold and the hot chocolate followed by hot showers were wonderfully welcome. This link to the World Wildlife Fund will tell you more about these beautiful creatures: http://www.wwf.org.nz/index.php/new_zealand_conservation/species/hectors_dolphin/

After a final night with the incredibly hospitable Forrest’s and promises to meet up with them in Queenstown over the Christmas break, we headed out for the West coast through the Southern Alps, via Arthur’s Pass and more stunning scenery.

For our overnight stay we chose a parking area with washrooms in a little place called Dillmanstown, just a few kilometers from the West coast. Turns out it was intended for overnight campervan parking and all they ask for is a donation, so we obliged.

The next day (Friday the 21^st in NZ) we hit the coast and via Greymouth and Westport, visited the pancake rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki. It absolutely poured with rain while we walking round the trail so we gave up and headed up the coast road looking for better weather and somewhere to stay for the night. We found a place close to the ocean and fairly inexpensive, Mokihinui, where we got to see a fabulous sunset on the beach.

The next day, off we set again heading North on the coast road of the South island until we basically got to the end of the road at Kohaihai (the South Western tip of the Kahurangi National Park), where we took the opportunity to go hiking for a couple of hours.

However, the West coast’s notorious vicious teensy sandflies make living outside basically unbearable. We had a persistent visitor at our campsite there, it’s a flightless bird called a Weka and clearly gets fed by tourists.

We met a young guy from Switzerland on our walk who’d hiked from way up in the North and the next day gave him a ride South, as we started our journey back down the West coast. He’s been here several times plus most of South America – Europeans sure get the vacation time.

Right now it’s two days before Christmas and we’re staying in just about the nicest place so far. It’s called Gentle Annie Point and we’re on a beautifully landscaped campsite next to a river as it goes into the sea and I’m typing this sat in their café with indoor ferns and goldfish pond, plus free Internet.

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