Monday, April 11, 2011

Whale Watching is like a box a chocolates...you never know what your gonna get...

Today we got to see two Sperm Whales and a swarm of dolphins off the coast of New Zealand. 

Last night Andreas and I had this great idea to sleep, in our camper van, in the parking lot of the whale watching cruise check-in building in Kaikoura, NZ. We backed in...past the NO CAMPING sign and set up shop about 100 meters from the building. We were also about 20 meters from the water's edge and 5 meters from the train tracks...AND we were "lucky" enough to GET two trains passing through town between 11pm & 4am last night. My nerves were shot...I was convinced, both times, that a tsunami was hitting the beach...only to wake up in time to see the train leaving the area. I woke up this morning...at sunrise, and Andreas looked at me and stated "that was the BEST IDEA EVER last night...I loved hearing the train's pass by late in the night." I did not feel the same...actually felt like I needed to check my blood pressure.
Good news is that our parking spot gave us PRIME views of the sunset at 6:30am. It was beautiful...and I have never seen the sun rise in the "wrong" direction before...really cool!

After the sunrise, we headed out on the whale watching tour...which was only the start to a fantastic day in Kaikoura and then onto Christchurch. 

Here are some photo's of the last two days...Enjoy!


Pretty sure this is one of the best photos I've ever taken! He's mine, I love him!

April 11th, 2011 Sunrise in NZ


Twins!

Happy Dolphin


They were everywhere!



Find the bird...

Sperm Whale

He waved goodbye!

mine...mine...mine...mine...mine

That bird was massive...gives you perspective on just how big that whale was...

Me & the Whale
Whale...behind him...not the lady...look further!!

I slept on that beach last night...well, in a camper!

Fast Forward...10 yrs...this will be Andreas (old man = walking stick)

Our home...she's a beauty!

stretching his legs on our van

I think we upset him when we asked him to move...typical male, doesn't take rejection well!



This place was recommended to us...just a little shack on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere...FANTASTIC Seafood!
At the Seafood Shack...enjoying the sunny day!
Great little winery on the way from Kaikoura to Christchurch. The people working in there were so friendly!


 A FEW RANDOM PHOTOS FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS:
The Beach!


Andreas and I liked this car! "I have a strong will but a weak won't"

We hiked up this hill to see what we thought was something great...there was nothing up there...not even something kinda good! So we had to come up with another picture moment.

His mad face!
No matter how far you go...Brooklyn is always just across the...street???

Andreas bought me a hairdryer two days ago...I LOVE IT! I will never take it for granted EVER again!
Ok...that's all I got! 
Its now 10:45pm and way past my usual NZ bedtime of...9pm. 
Hope you enjoyed the photos and Gute Nacht!

2 comments:

  1. Great pics and commentary! Glad you guys are having a great time! We miss you.

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  2. I totally get the hairdryer thing!!!!!
    Love the pics but the sub text is the best :)
    I'm exhausted...just got home after travel for 16 hours...but I COULD NOT fall asleep without looking at your update :)
    Call me tomorrow...Love you both!
    Meg

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