We are now in Akaroa on New Zealand's South Island, and we have certainly had a few adventures already. First we collected the van, filled up at the supermarket and headed out on to State Highway 1. First night was with the surfies at Raglan on the west coast, then on to the glowworm caves at Waitomo and the Tongariro National Park. This is Lord of the Rings country and we had a splendid walk in the shadow of Mt. Doom, sorry Ngaurehoe, for that is its real name. Next day was dull and misty, a bit like Scotland, so we moved on down to Wanganui and the Kapiti coast just north of Wellington where the sun was shining. However it wasn't shining next morning. What do you do on a wet day in Wellington? You go to Te Papa, the national museum, to see an exhibition about the Scots in New Zealand (and a few other things) then you get the ferry to the South Island. The next couple of days were spent at Kaikoura, the main whale watching centre. Again we went for a walk then, after a couple of false starts, we got out on a boat trip to see the sperm whales, which are more or less always around there. We also saw dusky dolphins, New Zealand fur seals and various seabirds including albatross. Now we're in Akaroa which is picture postcard beautiful, and a little bit French. Tomorrow we're off to see more dolphins, and we've hired a kayak. Should be fun!
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