ROAD TRIP AS FAR AS KAIKOURA

We continued to celebrate the success of our skydive, then we headed off for a walk to the geographical centre of New Zealand, which is up a very steep hill on the outskirts of Nelson, through the botanical gardens.
For some reason it sent the three of us barmy and we felt the need to clamber up onto this concrete post and jump off it !!!


Good fun was had by all!!!.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Carolyn, as she was heading off to explore the northern island. Rachel and I were very excited because we were embarking on a road trip to
Christchurch.
We hired a car with automatic controls and headed off along the most scenic drive to our first overnight stop at Kaikoura on the east coast of the south island.
(outside the youth hostel in Kaikoura...amazing views!!)

It is a stunning town with a superb setting on a bay backed by the steeply rising foothills of the Seaward Kaikouras.The first European to settle in Kaikoura was Robert Fyffe, who established a whaling station there in 1842. Many people still visit to go on whaling trips.We decided against it because it is not a particularly good time of year to spot whales and the sea was quite rough.There are also people who are willing to brave the freezing seas to say that they have swum with Dolphins....again we decided against doing that !!!!But the views from the hostel more than made up for missing out on the activities.
I got up really early one morning to watch the sunrise and I was rewarded with the most spectacular sky I have ever witnessed in my life.
Also we went for a walk along the road from the YHA and we came across colonies of Seals just lying around the roadside. Rachel nearly stepped on a big fat male seal...he was partially hidden in the grass and she thought it was a rock!!
Kaikoura is a beautiful place to visit, so picturesque and peaceful. I loved our time there.But we had to hit the road again on our road trip.
This time we drove to Hanmer Springs thermal reserve. To reach it we drove over some mountain roads where the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. When we arrived at the YHA in Hanmer we headed straight for the thermal pools.
Visitors have been soaking in the waters there for over one hundred years. Local legend says that the thermal pools were formed by fires that dropped to earth when a mountain erupted on the north island. We had a good time , but the sulphur pools took a bit of getting used to, the smell was quite pungent. We also had a steam and sauna session. Feeling very relaxed and cleansed we spent the rest of the night just chilling out by the open fire a the youth hostel. Getting ready for the last leg of the car journey to Christchurch.