New Zealand South Island, Week 5

Our decision to head inland proved to be a good one and the journey to Hanmer Springs bought clearer skies and we arrived at the mountain resort in glorious sunshine. In the summer months the main attraction of this town are the thermal pools where the mineral waters reach temperatures of 42 degrees. We spent a very indulgent day splashing around in these pools and to Dave's horror holding our noses at that all too familiar sulphur pong! Feeling very relaxed from our day in the spa we headed back to the coast and Christchurch and unfortunately back to the rain. We explored a wet and soggy Christchurch and realised that there wasn't really that much to see, so the next day left the city behind. Our next destination was the Banks Peninsula, which is comprised of the eroded remnants of 2 large volcanoes and is full of gobsmackingingly picturesque scenery. We took the scenic route via Summit Road which was well worth the extra kilometres for the magnificent views it afforded us back over Christchurch as well as the beautiful peninsula.
We arrived in Akaroa, a french inspired village a few hours later and wandered the streets named Rue Jolie and Rue Lavaud soaking up the atmosphere.

Having missed out on the dolphins in Kaikoura we booked ourselves onto a Dolphin Swimming trip for the next morning and crossed our fingers that the sun would shine. Apparently these dolphin types are early risers which meant we were up and out at the crack of dawn the next day, but were rewarded with the most gorgeous morning to try and track down some Hector's dolphins, which are some of the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world. We were kitted out with wetsuits and jumped on board a small boat to start our search.

I'm a pro at getting into these wetsuits!

We made our way out of Akoroa harbour and into the huge swell of the Pacific Ocean and it was not long until we spotted a pod of the dolphins. We watched them leap into the air in the distance and then come in closer to the boat and surf the bow wave for a while.

It was then time for the main event and the small group of us who were getting in to the water climbed down the ladder and waited to see if we were interesting enough for the dolphins to come and investigate. I had been given 2 stones to click together to attract their attention and within seconds I was surrounded and the dolphins were swimming between us and circling us with curiosity. For the next 30 minutes they jumped and splashed and generally played between us, resulting in one of the most amazing experiences of our travels so far. On our return to the harbour we decided to check out another of the beautiful bays on the peninsula so headed over the hills to Okains bay.

The campsite was situated in a pine forest just metres from the beach, not a bad spot. We enjoyed the beach and also did a spot of fishing from the rocks, although Dave spent most of his time trying to teach a clueless Swiss man the basics of fishing! We scoffed a Sunday morning fry up before reluctantly bidding this exquisite part of the coast line farewell and setting our sights on Lake Tekapo, inland once more. Our journey took us through rural Canterbury and into tranquil towns such as Geraldine; not much time to linger though and we soon arrived at the incredibly turquoise glacial melt waters of the lake.

We set up camp on the water's edge and braved the icy waters for a limb-numbing swim before dinner. The next day we scaled the heights of Mount John where we got our first glimpse of the Southern Alps in the distance, as well as fantastic views down onto the lake. The descent was a hot one with no shade on offer, so by the time we returned to camp it was time for another swim to cool down. Having worked up an appetite with all that activity we had barbeque for dinner and watched the sunset over the hills in the distance.