Awesome

Whale
Originally uploaded by Johnnie Shannon.

It's the classic shot, but you've got to admit it's still impresive. After Iona left me, I headed up to Kaikoura, where whale watching is king.

Went out on the standard cruise, saw three sperm whales, loads of dusky dolphins and even some albatros, which was all good. Then decided to have another go in a plane, and took control round he skies above Kaikoura.

Next day I went up Mount Fyffe. Realy superb views (see pics on Flickr) but boy was it tough. Really sunny (good), hot (not so good) and unrelentingly up. I'd guess there was about four minutes of flat or downward slope on the way up, and as it goes up 1600m or so (5500 feet ish) then it's no real suprise I'm still feeling it now, quite a few days later.

Got a speeding ticket after coming back down, which was a bit of a drag. The officer was very nice about it, and all but suggested it wasn't worth me paying, but I'm a good boy and coughed up the 80 bucks.

And after heading down to Christchurch again, that's about it for New Zealand. Managed to do pretty much everything I missed out on last time, but I reckon it's still good for another visit sometime. Or maybe just emigrate to Nelson. Hmmmm ...