Kaikoura - got the T-shirt

We woke up at six and left the Hickman's at 6.30am to drive to Kaikoura. We arrived at Dolphin Encounter for our first adventure of the day - a swim with wild dolphins. We got kitted out in wetsuits and were given a mask, snorkel and fins to take on the boat with us. A short bus ride to the pier and we hopped on a small boat to take us out to the dolphins. Within 15 minutes we'd found a pod of 200 odd Dusky dolphins, got our masks and fins on and were sat on the edge of the boat waiting for the sound of the horn. A short blast and we jumped into the water where we were surrounded by literally hundreds of dolphins swimming around us in interest. What's great is that they are completely wild and not led into temptation by tasty morsals. If they choose to stick around it's completely their choice. We had three swims with them in total and it was completely awe-inspiring. They were swimming all around you just centimetres away. Spectacular!!!!

In the afternoon we headed out on a second tour to go whale watching. This was an equally exciting experience. We saw three sperm whales, loads more dusky dolphins and some local fur seals. It was a fabulous day all round.

In the evening we headed to the campsite (with pool and spa I might add) and sussed out how to put up our tent and pump up the airbed before treating ourselves to a session in the pool and hot tub.

In the evening we headed out into the small town for a feed of crayfish (delicious) and the nightlife (or lack thereof as it turned out). We found a bar with a guy singing with a guitar then found a livelier pub where we met an American called Pepe who'd just come back from setting up oil pipes in Antarctica. A quiet evening but enjoyable all the same.