lake tekapo to kaikoura

hello all,

since leaving lake tekapo we spent two nights in christchurch and are now on our third night in kaikoura.

christchurch was a fairly pretty city but there isn't all that much to do there. we went down to the markets and had a look round the botanical gardens and that was pretty much it. it was still nice though.

we also got to see a replay of the united - boro game in a sports bar with a 10m squared screen.... HUGE!

after leaving christchurch we made our way to kaikoura. we will have stayed 3 nights in total, and really thats a bit too long to spend here. it's a tiny place and the only things to do are eat fish and chips and go out on boat trips to see the wildlife.

that brings us to today.... we swam with dolphins!!! it was incredible. we couldn't get any pictures of us in the water with the dolphins as we were too busy having an amazing time to get out and take pictures of each other.

it was so amazing because the dolphins were wild and in their own habitat. there was so many of them too... we're talking 100's.

the dolphins we swam with are called dusky dolphins, and are meant to be a lot more cheeky and playful than some others and are nicknamed the acrobats of the sea. it was great to see them doing flips and jumps in the water like you'd see in seaworld... but in the wild.

we could probably talk about the dolphins all day, and probably will do when we get back. it was an amazing experience and one of our favourite from the whole trip.

tomorrow we catch the ferry back over the the north island and stay in wellington for two nights. we might try and find the football club where kel used to play and discover if he really is as bad as everyone at home makes out.

we'll be back in touch soon... and back home too! x x x

lake tekapo

hello everyone,

on thursday we left queenstown and made our way to lake tekapo. on the way we stopped off at lake pukaki, which is a lovely turquoise colour and provided a great view of mt cook... the tallest mountain in new zealand. the lake is that colour because the water comes from the glacier which on it's way down, crushes bits of rock to form a powder. you might not be able to tell the exact colour from the picture but it was really beautiful.

we have spent the last two nights staying in lake tekapo. it's a tiny little town but it's been a really nice place to chill out for a couple of days. the weather has been great so we spent a lot of time at the lake, which was quite a bit warmer than most of the ones we have been in!

one of the sights to see in lake tekapo is the church of the good shephard. it's a tiny picturesque church right on the edge of the lake.

we only have five more stops and twelve nights and then we fly home!

at the moment we are waiting for the kiwi bus which is taking us to christchurch, where we spend two nights, before heading up to kaikoura.

we'll be in touch again soon. x x x