Kaikoura : Whale Ahoy!

The drive to Kaikoura was the first (and only!) time I have been breathalysed. Not because I was drunk – the Police were breathalysing everyone on that road. They held something close to my mouth, which I assumed was a microphone, and they asked me to say my name. I said my name and was expecting them to explain what was going on, and then ask to breathalyse me. However apparently that was it – they must have breathalysed me when I said my name – so it was done without me knowing what was going on. I was miffed about that, but didn’t think it was worth complaining – they could have made my life a lot more difficult! So I walked away. Well, drove away, as I was sitting in a car at the time.

We went to Kaikoura for the same reason most people go to Kaikoura – for whale watching! Apparently the ocean floor drops off sharply just off the coast of Kaikoura, so the water is extremely deep relatively close to the shore.

We took a boat out and I remember the guide saying that the ocean is so deep you could fit the Auckland skytower between the boat and the sea bed. Scarily deep!

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New York, New York!

This was my first time in New York but it felt so familiar, probably due to my proficiency in watching Friends and SATC. We stayed in a hostel not far from Times Square, and I just thought it was wonderful! It was so unlike anything I’d seen before, with the neon lighting and the Naked Cowboy!

The next morning dawned bright and sunny and we decided to make the most of it by walking the length of Manhattan. We soon found that it was a tad further than it looked on the map! However we made it and it was a great way to see all parts of the city.

We wandered south to Ground Zero and then caught the Staten Island Ferry (which, wonderfully, was free!) to see the cityscape