Whales and Sheep

The clouds have finally cleared in Kaikoura, on the east coast of New Zealand's south island - giving wonderful views across the bay to snow capped mountains.

Yesterday I went on a whale watching boat trip. We saw a sperm whale and a school of dusky dophins which seems to be a typical success rate. The male sperm whale (the only year-round whale here) is a solitary creature and only surfaces to breathe for about five minutes, roughly every hour. The dolphins are less elusive and much more friendly. The whale is called Tiaki, by the way.

I was supposed to go horse riding today, but it got cancelled because of rain. Then the rain cleared and instead I went to a sheep shearing demonstration which was very entertaining, and seemed much more particular to New Zealand than horse riding so it all worked out fine.

Tomorrow I head to Christchurch for my final night in New Zealand. I'm rather regretting not having more time here to go further south to the high mountains, but I can always go to Switzerland or Austria to see snowy peaks.