Relax

We left Christchurch in a blaze of morning sunshine...very sleepy after waiting up for the F1 the night before. Well, I tried, I actually just fell into an unwakable coma just before the race started and only woke up again at 9.30 the next morning...Alex managed to stay awake however, but missed the end of the race due to rubbish streaming site. Doh.
We trundled onwards towards Hanmer Springs, feeling that a soak in hot baths would re-energise our flagging energies. We arrived at Hanmer, a pretty ALpine-themed resort with spa and springs and after sorting out the boring stuff in the library (application forms and so on) we went into the spa. This was gorgeous! Apart from a few random sulphur pools they had tucked away in a corner (there is just no contianing that smell. Eurgh).
We sat in the sunshine, under the blue sky in 41 degree water, overlooking pine trees and the odd mountain fronted by palm trees. Very bizarre to be on a sunlounger in a bikini/shorts in November and actually feeling too hot!
We padded around between the various pools of alternate temperatures, avoiding the paths strewn with cold sprinklers - a cruel necessity, as they were in place to deter all the honey bees from landing on the ground and getting squished under bare feet. The minerals in the pools make your skin feel very smooth and soft and you can even choose which minerals you want by going to different pools!
We spent a considerable amount of time in the pools, but eventually we were forced to leave by rumbling stomachs. We had a snack and got underway with the driving again, leaving Hanmer bethind and heading towards Kaikoura.
We found a lookout point to park in for the night. This got bizarrely rowdy around 8, when all the drunken patrons of the races up the road (this week is the start of race season) turned up on their way home. At last, once we had finally seen them off we settled in for the night.
This morning, we managed to drive off in the wrong direction (my skill, I apparently have inherited my dad's directional ability. E.g. nada.) Once going in the right direction again, we got to Kaikoura. This was a lovely little seaside town, I rather liked it. We stopped and had fish and chips at a wooden cafe and then tried to think of ways to see the whales and dolphins Kaikoura is famous for without spending money on a boat cruise. (Well, I say Kaikoura is famous for swiming mammals - in actual fact 'Kai' = 'food' and 'Koura' = 'Crayfish' in Maori and that is what the place is famous for. Alex and I are freaked out by crayfish, which are angry looking giant lobsters.)
We managed to find a parking spot right on the beach and unbelievably, there were two dolphins playing in the waves about 20m away from the shoreline! We sat and watched them for ages, even managing to see them do four acrobatic flips! It was brilliant, although of course the moment Alex got the camera ready to capture their flips they stubbornly stayed beneath the water. Weird, as in my experience, dolphins are usually show-offs.
We then went on to a seal colony. This was so different from the seals we have seen before, from far away at the tops of cliffs or from the road. Here, you could walk onto the rocks among the seals and get within 10m of them! We admittedly defied the guidelines and went a little closer, although not close enough to be mauled by a giant fur seal. We got some cool pictures as these seals were definately posers and couldn't get enough of the camera shutter clicking. We skipped around the rock pools and followed rare sea birds in order to try and get a shot or two of them. They were not so cooperative however.
From the seals, we moved on to Blenhiem. The countryside changed into gently rolling, although still very large, hills carpeted in lush greeness.Then, suddenly, the landscape was so flat you could see for miles and miles without break! It was really odd to go from elevated to flat so suddenly. The flatlands were covered in strict parallels of vineyards. We had entered the Marlbourough region.
We whizzed through Blenhiem, as the only thing to do there is taste wines and this was going to prove either expensive or ultimately pointless as neither of us are massively fond of wine and I was driving anyways!
Onwards then, towards Abel Tasman! We have stopped for the night up one of the large mountainous bits on the edge of the Marlbourough Sounds, which are beautiful. We watched the sun set over the nearby town of Havelock from our vantage point and watched in amusement as the giant campervans that have been cropping up ever more often as the season turns from Spring to Summer attempt to turn around in the small space.
We had an interesting supper, as we are running very low on food and need to stock up tomorrow (it involved apples and baked beans. Together.) Then we have eaten lots of chocolate. Time for bed!