South Island of New Zealand

We flew into Christchurch but didn't get to see any of the city. We had organised to rent a car as the tourist board was advising people to stay out of the city. So we got our car and headed out to Hamner Springs. It was pretty late by the time we got there so we booked into our Motel and wet to the thermal baths. We soaked for about three hours, really enjoying ourselves and relaxing. It was a short stop as the next day we headed to Kaikoura. We booked some swimming with seals and went to the supermarket. We then went for a walk around some of the coast. Turns out there are seals all around the coast. We saw one all on its own in the first spot. Then we went out to a second spot with loads of them. We started walking out to the and realised there was one about 2 metres in front of us. They are quite camouflaged on the coast. That night we found out about the earthquake in Japan and the Tsunami warnings for everywhere with an ocean edge nearby. The next day they said the seal swimming was canceled because of the Tsunami. They said it was because they were so close in on the rocks but the tourist office said nothing else was canceled because we were on the other side of the island. In the end we book a last minute kayaking trip to view the seals. The tour actually turned out great. We had two person kayaks and Brian and me were together in one. We saw tiny penguins that continually dive down the whole time. Really hard to get a picture of as they don't stay on the surface at all. First we went to a big bay and saw a load of seals lazing about. They were everywhere. We got a few pictures and headed out to the next few bays. We learned a bit about the seaweed around us. Some of which is strong enough to destroy rocks. We got to sea some seals climbing up rocks which was quite impressive. The New Zealand fur seal is one type with two tail fins so they can climb quite well. On the way back Brian notice a seal splashing around as we went over we saw him eating an octopus. We got right up to him and he didn't mind It seams seals mind people a lot more on land but in water they aren't that bothered by people. So we got to see a seal eat an octopus up close and personal. On the way back in two seals came along and swam beside and under our boats. It was a really cool experience.