I am back!

Here is volume one of my travels in NZ!

We had an absolutely brilliant time, saw loads of wildlife and amazing scenery.

The flights there weren't too bad, but we were so knackered when we got off in Christchurch that we weren't much company when my half-sister came round for the evening. We had a cabin for the night, but were a bit taken aback by the cold. It was 30 degrees in Singapore but -2 in Christchurch!

We picked up the motorhome the next day, which was humungous but had ample storage for all the stuff we had brought. We spent the rest of the day stocking up in supplies and walking around Christchurch in the gloom with Eleanor. That evening we went round to Eleanors' boyfriend's parents for dinner, but again weren't much company, the jet lag still a factor!

The next day we went to the beautiful French colonial town of Akaroa, which was sited in a gorgeous location. It was here that we would hopefully swim with the Hector's dolphins, which are tiny and an endemic species. Us girls got kitted up and once on the boat we soon found interesting wildlife in the form of several Mollymawks, which are a species of albatross and were very curious indeed. We also saw a blue penguin and a seal, but so far no dolphins. With the waters a bit choppier outside the harbour, Mum started to feel cold and very ill, but was just about hanging on. Eventually, after about an hour and a half we found three dolphins who immediately swum up to the boat. Because we had to wait to see if the dolphins were sufficiently interested in us, we had to wait to swim. By this stage Mum had decided not to do it, and with the cold and only three dolphins, Steph decided not to go in. I, however, was determined to do it, and was quite surprised how warm it actually was (read: not freezing). I couldn't see anything under the water, but apparently they were swimming all around me. I could see glimpses of dorsal fins, so that was enough for me.

Moving on from Christchurch, we headed off to Oamaru to see little blue penguins in the evening! They are so cute, but you will have to take my word for it as photography was not allowed.

The next day we dropped Eleanor off in Dunedin 'International Airport' (very small indeed!) before heading off to see the fur seals, a spotted shag colony and even a Royal Albatross!

We then moved on down for a tour of the Catlins, which I will detail in my next update!