Kaikoura

Kia Ora! That's hello in Maori :)

Grrr I am very sad to report that I wrote a fabulous blog about our New Zealand adventures and it somehow got deleted. So I was boycotting blogger for a while.

But now were back!! First official post from NZ!!

New Zealand is gorrrrgeous. Just like everyone pictures. Well actually maybe people don't think about NZ but they should because its so pretty!

We flew into Christchurch and spent a night there before beginning our bus tour around the country. We didn't see much of Christchurch because we were only there to pick up the bus but it was the main area that was destroyed by an earthquake in 2009. A lot of the city has been rebuilt but many hostels and hotels and restaurants are still damaged. They are still working on rebuilding the roads and putting new water pipes and power lines in. They've come a long way but there is still much to be rebuilt. Christchurch also gets an average of 1,000 mini earthquakes a year or something ridiculous like that! A lot of the tour buses no longer go through Christchurch because the roads aren't suitable for buses but eventually it will be a thriving city again!

So, we met our bus tour by the airport and joined 30 other backpackers and headed to our first stop, Kaikoura. The bus company is called Stray and it's a hop on hop off bus where we can travel around and stop wherever we want for as long as we want. Our bus driver's name was Dippy...not exactly the brightest bulb in the shed as his name might suggest!

Kaikoura is a small town know for its marine life. There isn't much to do in town itself but there are loads of whale watching, dolphin swimming and fishing tours. Apparently it's one of the best places in the world to whale watch and they guarantee you see a whale every time or else your money back! They also supposedly have the best fish and chips in the world but I forgot to get them :-/

It was our first day and we wanted time to relax so we opted to walk around the town and see some seals instead. It's crazy, you drive down the street and there are dolphins playing and seals basking in the sun. The whole coast is like this, huge mountains going into ocean and animals frolicking in the bright blue water! Gorgeous!

That afternoon we wanted to sit in the common room and guess what was playing on tv...yup you guessed it, LOTR! Of course I fell asleep five minutes in so I have yet to watch it. Some day!

Not much to do in Kaikoura for nightlife so we played trivia at the pub in our hostel with our new Dutch and Finnish friends. Here's some trivia: What sport uses a piece of equipment that's 8ft x 13ft?!? Answer to come in a few days!!

Also. Funny phrase from Finlandia. Apparently in Finland, when you say "I'm angry," the literal translation is (excuse my language) "I have a penis on my forehead." Awkward!