HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONSTER

As the Monster already posted, we had a marathon day yesterday driving from Wanaka to Kaikoura. We took it in turns to drive (5 hours each) along twisty, winding roads that were often bordered by a steep cliff edge on one side. It was so nice to get back to Kaikoura. It is a beautiful place. The room in the White Morph Motel wasn't as nice as our first room, we mightn't have liked it so much if we had stayed there first off. It made it easier to leave this morning. We got a great welcome in the White Morph Restaurant. They wanted to hear all about our adventures and asked if we had met the rich dairy farmers. They had their Christmas decorations up and it looked very festive. Today is the Monster's birthday, and unfortunately we spent most of it travelling. The weather in the South Island was hot and sunny, about 23 degrees. It is the first time the Monster has had a hot sunny day on her birthday and it is the first day off she has had on her birthday for a while (excluding weekends). We popped out to the seal colony before we left Kaikoura and lots of seals came over to say happy birthday. It was lovely. Then we hopped in Yari for the last leg of our journey in that wonderful car. It took about two hours to Picton, which makes 3400km we have travelled in Yari since getting the car on the 12th November. It took 3 hours to cross to the North Island, Wellington being our port of call. The crossing was fine, but they had the world's most boring television programmes on to entertain us. Wellington is very different to what we have encountered before. It is a big city, much more like a European city and very populated. We have probably seen more people tonight than we have in our entire stay in the South Island. I prefer the south island so far. We managed to get rooms in a swanky hotel (got a last minute cancellation thank God) and we are both feeling really tired. On to Auckland tomorrow. We'll leave early in the morning because it is another 10 hour drive, but probably on motorways and stuff rather than twisty roads.

I don't like Milford Sound

Woke up this morning to the sound of someone running through the lodge banging on the doors - at 7.05am! Did not appreciate it. Had to vacate by 8.30am. Booked a place on the nature cruise for 10.30am and had breakfast. Muesli and yogurt, not as nice as the porridge yesterday. No sign of the keas. The ship was massive, with rooms for overnight stay and everything. Blair, our guide, gave very informative and amusing commentary. There were loads of waterfalls cascading off the rocks because of the rain and there not being any top soil. It was very very cold outside of the cabin. We saw some fur seals, some dolphins (a pod of 4, I think they were common or bottle nosed) and a couple of foirdland crested penguins. I liked it when we went out into the Tasmin sea, the rocking of the boat was very soothing. We played brain train. I felt totally miserable. We decided to go back to Wanaka and spend the remaining days of our holiday in luxury. When we got off the boat we saw that I had parked in a bus only parking space and we were blocked in. My only thoughts were of how much trouble I was in! Thank God we managed to get out ok and no one gave out to us. The Monster drove the first leg of the journey, the slippery slidy mountain roads from Milford Sound to Te Anu. The countryside was totally covered in mist. We saw 10 Harriers on the drive down yesterday. We saw 21 today, mostly in the Wanaka area. I drove from Te Anu to Queesntown. We stopped to pick up my meds, which I had left in the motel, then the Monster drove the last leg to Wanaka. It was about 6 hours driving altogether. It is really warm and sunny in Wanaka. Judith, the apartment manager welcomed us home and was really friendly. It is good to be back. I'm a bit disappointed (in myself) that we didn't press on to Stewart Island, but it is nice to be somewhere warm and comfy where we can chill out.

Bye bye Kaikoura - Hello Nelson?

left beautiful, wonderful, interesting, friendly Kaikoura today. Stopped at the seal colony and watched, through binoculars (because the tide was in and the seals were on rocks very far away) the behaviour of the seals. It was amazing, like a wildlife on one episode. Some seals were playing in the water (I'm sure they were fishing, but they looked like they were playing, lying on their backs with their flippers in the air) while others were climbing on the rocks. These guys can move fast on land, they aren't like our seals who wobble along in a cumbersome way. Think of the sea lions in Dublin Zoo and you are getting the idea of what these fur seals are like. most of the seals were basking on the rocks, and there was an enormous bull down by the shore. Anyway, a spat broke out between two seals and after a little fight, the victor chased the other seal towards the water, where the big bull stopped them. The poor little seal in the middle was stuck between a rock and a hard place and didn't know which way to turn. Thankfully the big bull and the other aggressor started to fight, so the one in the middle could slip away, and then all the seals on the rocks joined in and jumped into the water. it was amazing.

Drove north west today. Had lunch in Blenheim in the D'Urville hotel. It is in the heart of wine country, with vineyards all around and only local wine on the list in the hotel. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside in the balcony area. There wasn't much of a view - just the back of some buildings - but the sun was warm and there was a wall of water fountain which was pleasant. Blenheim was surprisingly big, but we drove on to Nelson, which is a city. I don't like Nelson. I don't know if it is because I am tired from the day driving, or I'm hungry or what it is, but I am picking up bad vibes. Had a wander about the city to find the church for Mass tomorrow. We could have been back in dundalk. There was a group of about 5 young girls in t-towels of skirts and very high heels, laughing and falling about the place. we walked on and passed a group of hoodies lurking about the Anglican cathedral, then further travels revealed young lads with cases of beer. I don't like Nelson, I can't wait to leave.

Kaikoura

The weather was absolutely glorious this morning, and I got terribly burnt on my arms, face and chest. the monster didn't get burnt, she says she is more used to the sun and that's why. Don't know where she gets to see it to be used to it. slept in today, had brunch in a little cafe on the main street. Wandered onto the beach - it is all pebbles but has a beautiful view of the ocean and the mountains. Bought some supplies in the supermarket and then drove out to the fur seal colony. We had to walk across this field of rocks. I think it was a lava flow as it was very smooth and flat like stepping stones. We saw one large seal, possibly a bull, rolling around out on a rock. I think he was showing off. Couldn't see any other seals. They are fur seals, so they are eared seals like sea lions, not true seals like the ones we have at home. We went into the visitors centre and booked a star gazing tour and whale watching for tomorrow. Got our washing done. Had dinner in a lovely restaurant. I had venison - first time - and it was delicious. The weather turned nasty in the evening and a storm front moved over the mountains. It was interesting to watch. The star gazing was cancelled as a result, but hopefully we will be able to do it tomorrow. we have to phone the whale watching in the morning to see if it is going ahead.

I've noticed some comments looking for photos. Unfortunately the monster has a problem up loading her photos onto pc's that don't have the correct software. it is annoying I know. Sorry folks.

Antartica, Willowbank and Kaikoura

We left Christchurch today. Collected our tiny toyota yaris from hertz and headed out to the airport to experience the thrills of the Antarctic centre. it was really interesting. They had lots of informative and fun things to do and see. the Monster and I got really excited at seeing some coal mined from Mt Crean (obviously named in honour of Irish Antarctic explorer Tom Crean). we got to dress up in Antarctic gear (lovely warm goose down suitable for winter weather in Ireland), watch Antarctic fish (weird creatures with massive heads & eyes and anti freeze in their blood) and pose with a stuffed leopard seal. The highlight for me were the little blue penguins - the smallest penguin in the world. They have a colony of 18 penguins who were injured in the wild and have found a home there. There was one called Elvis (because she likes to sing) and she was blind. She walked around the enclosure with her beak held out like a stick. her best friend is a penguin who was blinded and brain damaged by a fishing hook. The keepers said between them they had one eye and one and a half brains! The other highlight was going into the wind chill chamber where we experienced winds of -18 degrees. Reminded me of walking along the beach at port in December. I think they measure temperatures differently here, or else Ireland is colder than I realised. After the Antarctic centre we went to Willowbank wildlife reserve. they had lots of native and introduced animals. You could buy food and feed a lot of the animals and, as a result, they expected to be fed. The monster and I weren't feeding them, but they followed us all the same. At one time we had five ducks waddling after us looking for food. It was funny. As we walked along, roosters and ducks would come racing purposefully towards us. The scariest time was when a gosling raced after us calling, much to the dislike of its parents. for a moment the monster and I were afraid we were going to be attacked by the geese! we saw a wallaby with a joey in its pouch, tame eels (you could feed them too), lemurs (in a big huddle like in Dublin zoo) and hundreds of red eared turtles. The highlights for me were the native breeds (kiwi, tuatara, weiki, kea), petting a friendly sheep and talking to a sulphur crested cockatoo. we were walking past his enclosure and he said 'hello' so I said 'Hello, how are you?' he said 'all right.' I said 'We have to go now, bye bye' and he said 'bye now'. It was amazing. The kiwis were a bit more active than in Christchurch and I had the benefit of looking through my night shot camera. I finally saw the tuatara, couldn't see the third eye though. The weika, a kind of moorhen, were very curious and friendly. They had warning signs on the kea enclosure that they might land on you. the monster and I hoped this would happen, but they were too busy play fighting with each other to notice us. After willowbank we drove up to kaikoura, which was about 2 hours away on the coast. we got to see some of the 40 million sheep, and lots of interesting birds which I couldn't really look at as I was driving. the mountains were beautiful. think Long woman's grave x 100. at one stage the mountains were yellow were flowering gorse, it was quite a sight. First sight of kaikoura was amazing, driving down through the mountain pass seeing the snow capped mountains on one side, the blue green waters of the pacific on the other and the little town nestled in between. It is a small place with lots of whale watching, a fur seal colony and birds. we are staying in a lovely motel and I can hear the pacific lapping just outside my window (there is a road between the window and the sea). Looking forward to seeing loads of wildlife while we stay here.