10 months on the road

bed count: 73

So - I have picked up a backpacker bug and am feeling very pathetic at the moment. Being ill on the road sucks.

Anyway - now in Kaikoura having headed down from Punakaiki via Hamner Springs. Managed to visit Pancake Rocks, the main attraction at Punakaiki, a few times and see the impressive blow holes at high tide. (Big wave washes into underground cave and water comes spurting out of a hole in the top). It's a nice place generally, but I am not sure that there is enough to do there for us to go back and work there again, though we have been offered a job.

Hamner was lovely. Much nicer than expected. And Le Gite backpackers was truly gorgeous - beautiful gardens, beautiful interiors, comfy beds, etc. Unfortunately, as often is the case, we got put in the room next to the open plan living / kitchen area and right next to the phone. Not a great combination, especially as any sound from the group having a noisy conversation at the kitchen table bounced off the beautiful wooden floors.

Such a shame. Would go there again, but would probably stay in one of their outside en suite chalets for the princely sum of 10 quid each instead...

As I was saying though. Hamner was lovely. Very 'alpine'. Kind of what Aviemore should be but isn't. We didn't head into the spa itself as I was feeling lousy, but I managed (again) to buy lots of earrings at the Saturday Market. Ahh retail therapy...

We were torn between the many activities on offer - pedal carts, crazy golf, mini tanks, etc, but eventually decided to have a shot at archery. Okay - so I missed the target a few times, but when I did hit it I was pretty good. Whilst Alec beat me on the number of shots hitting the target, I was the first to get a (fluky) bullseye and the closest to the X. I also have a nice pale purple bruise on my forearm today as a testament to the fact that I kept forgetting to bend my left arm to avoid the bow elastic. Ouch.

Kaikoura is the big place in NZ for whale watching and you can pay a good whack of money to go on a whale spotting expedition. I haven't felt up to much, and definitely not a boat trip, but we did take a drive up the peninsular to see the seal colony. On the way back Alec wanted a look in the shops so left me siting in the sun on the beach. I spent a happy 20 minutes watching Orca play in the bay - flipping their tails out, blowing their blowholes and rolling over to show their give-away white markings. Who needs a boat trip?

But anyway - today marks 10 months of our trip, which is pretty hard to get our heads around. But then, our concept of time has gone a bit wobbly since we left the UK.

And, just like us 10 months before them, Larry and Lesley head off to Singapore today en route to NZ. Really looking forward to seeing them. Bon voyage and pack that marmite carefully...