moving on

I've now booked the major part of my transport around NZ, starting Wednesday morning, and it's a little different to my initial plans.. I will be taking a specific route around the islands using the coach system, however I will first be taking the TranzAlpine train over the alps to Greymouth on the west coast, and then moving south and back up the east coast. I did seriously toy with the idea of buying a car and doing it all myself instead, and even met a guy who was happy to sell me his Ford Telstar for a grand, but I think I've made the right decision by bussing it around instead. Meet a lot more people that way, and if necessary cars are readily available for hire at around $35/day. I will probably be sharing the first part of my trip with a British girl from my dorm, who is doing the same tour.
So, what have I been upto the past couple of days? Friday, I awoke at 0530hr to go skiing on Mt Hutt only to find out that the ski fields were closed due to gale force winds.. Ugh.. I figured, I might as well make good use of my day so I took a 2-hour bus trip up the east coast to a small town called Kaikoura. It is a gorgeous little sea-side town, with a stony beach against the stunning backdrop of the snow-tipped southern alps. It was here I met a local family fishing for the tiny, seemingly transparent fish (maybe 1-2cm in length) called white bait, which are actually a NZ delicacy at around $100/lb. Whale watching is a big attraction in Kaikoura and I thought I'd better check it out.. The whale of the day was the Sperm whale, of which we saw four; we felt spoilt as it's never guaranteed that a single whale will even be sighted. They are such gorgeous creatures.. Not sure how the whale hunters do it.. (On that topic, half of the passengers on the boat were Japanese, and it was hilarious hearing our guide explaining how much everyone hates the Japanese for their whaling practises.. Particularly because none of them could understand English. Did you know that the Antarctic oceans are a whale sanctuary, however the whalers still come into these waters to poach them? And even the endangered Sei whales have been added to the Japanese's scientific research list this year!!!). On the way back on the boat, we happened to come across a small pod of around 6 Dusky dolphins who were dancing around.. Spectacular!
The next day, up again at 0530hr to have another crack at skiing, this time successfully. It was great being on a pair of skis again (I think the last time was when I was about 7). I decided (quite sensibly) to have a few lessons and now I am officially no longer a beginner.. I just have to keep up the practise. The fields were closed 2 hours early due to strong winds: at one point I was literally blown uphill on my skis! So much fun.. I want to try and get back up the mountains again on this trip, but I'm not sure if I'll get the chance.. Might have to settle for the Victorian alps when I get back.

Photos:
1. Mountains against the beach at Kaikoura
2. Looking good on Mt Hutt