Whales or no Whales

No whales!  Tour was cancelled due to rough seas:(  We woke in the morning on Saturday to clear skies and little wind.  The waves were a lot smaller than they were the day before and it looked great.  We went to the tour place to check in and they said there was a sea sickness warning for our tour.  I bought a pill and took that and then we waited outside until it was time to go in to the briefing room.  We sat down and then the announcement came that the tour was cancelled.  The wind had picked up and we could see white caps out on the ocean.  We got in the line and re-booked for the next tour at 1:15.  Drove down to the end of the road in Kaikoura where there is a seal colony and ate our lunch by the seals.  Went back to the tour office and waited in the briefing room.  Another announcement came that the tour was cancelled as well due to the rough seas out by where the whales were.  So we did not get to see any whales.  Insead we went back to the seal colony.  There is a walk around the Kaikoura Peninsula and we walked up to the lookout point at the top of the hill.  There were some great views of the snowy mountains that provide a backdrop to the town and also views out over the water.  Then we spent a good hour or so sitting by the seals.  Some very rude young boys were walking right up to them and poking them with sticks.  We were hoping a seal would bite them, but no luck.  Most just swam off to find other places to sleep.  There was a smaller looking one and we were waiting for it to get up, but it didn't and we were getting cold so we headed back to the hotel.  Ended up getting a nice dinner of toasted cheese sandwiches and chips which we ate by the water.  The sky was clear and we saw a few stars.

This morning when we woke up, it was pretty chilly.  There was ice on the windshield and the car said 2 degrees.  That's Celcius, not Farenheit so not below freezing!  But the sky was clear and it eventually warmed up as we headed inland.  Our route today took us along the coast for a bit, then headed in and south to Christchurch.  There we found the Pirates Cove Mini-Golf (yes, for all you campers, it's the same kind as the one in Sister Bay!) and we played a round there.  No pirates hanging in trees, but still a nice mini-golf.  Once around Christchurch, we headed west to Geraldine and then to our stop at Lake Tekapo.  The road became hillier and windier and we could see snowy mountains in the distance.  Then we came around the curve into the town and there was the lake surrounded by beautiful mountains!  Our hotel room has a lake view, which is excellent.  We walked on the path that leads to a small church and then down by the water.  The lake is a turquoise blue color due to the rocks that are ground up by the glaciers at the top of the lake.  It's pretty nice!

Tomorrow we head southwest to Queenstown where we will spend the last 4 nights of our trip.  Hopefully the weather remains as nice and we are able to take in all the beautiful scenery.  I'm getting very good at driving on these mountain roads, but I still don't like all the twists and turns!