From See to Sea

As I head north to the south island behind.  I take a detour through hammer springs.  Hanmer Springs is a natural hotsprings area in the mountains and popular with families on holiday.  I soaked i a few different pools.  The best were the natural ones without chlorine and smelled like rotten eggs.  There was also a pool with a strong cascading shower to sit under to massage your back.  The soak and shower were a great remedy from any stiffness I had from driving.

The drive too and from Hanmer Springs was spectacular. On my way out I see bungee jumpers on the bridge I am about to passover.  They turn out to be Americans.  Older people with kids in their twenties or thirties.  They were not too friendly.  Actually I realize now how friendly the Kiwis were.  Kiwi is the term for a New Zealander.  American people are much more guarded.

On toward Kaikora for Whale watching.  When I arrived to Kaikoura I witnessed this amazing beach scene.  The water was the most saturated turquoise that I had ever scene but the beach was black and it was almost raining.  The scenery in New Zealand is so unique, you really never know what to expect.

I went into to town and found a fish and chips place.  This was the second time I had fish and chips.  The first was in Littleton to a place that was supposed to have the best fish and chips in the Christchurch area.  I had waited to eat fish and chips as I don't normally eat fried food.  Fish and chips is a real staple here.  It costs less than $5 sometimes and that means it is in the $3 US range.  It so much food and tastes so fresh.  The trick is to eat at a shop and not at restaurant where it is not as good and a lot more expensive.

The next day I went whale watching.  The day before, they had to cancel because of rough seas.  The day I went it looked calm.  They tried to sell me sea sick pills before I got on but told them I had sailed a lot and did not get sea sick, boy was I wrong.  The waves were enormous.  The boat itself was very nice and the seats were like a first class airplane.  There were lots of families with children. These poor young girls got so sick and the staff kept talking about getting sea sick, which made you even more sea sick.  They had bags in front of every seat.   It was torture, I would have paid anything to get off.
There were no whales too, I thought we would never see any but then they said they think there was one up ahead and sure enough we saw the spout gushing and then the tail.  We saw two whales in all.  I would never do that again but it was one of those experiences.  At the end they actually gave us a partial refund.  Not sure if it was from the lack of Whales or how bumpy it was.