Whale Watching - well for one of us

Being in AKaroa is starting to feel like GroundHog Day to me, its time to move on.  God knows what being back in Leigh-on-Sea will feel like!  Steve wanted to stay (the whole weekend) and catch more fish, but I'm getting bored.

In retrospect we should have stayed as Matthew loved it there, and we had a sure fire way of keeping him occupied at the beach.

Steve caught 4 or 5 sharks

I drive, the first time I have driven any great distance.  We decide to give Arthur's Pass a miss (an east to west coast scenic drive) as we cant face the distances involved, and head northwards to Kaikoura.  The drive takes most of the day, even though its only about 150K, mainly due to the speed of my driving and the frequent stopping for lunch, baby feeding, etc.  I'm usually a fast driver, but this motorhome is no fun to drive, and I'm slightly paranoid having 2 babies up front.

Fri 23rd March - Kaikoura

This is a whale watching town, not that Matthew would have cared, as long as it has a playground he isnt bothered.

Actually one of the first things we do when we hit a new town is find the playground, or ask at the i-Site if we cant spot it.  The campsite we stay at has a terrible playground, a bit like the old ones in england with a slide, swing and see-saw.  Not enough to keep Matthew occupied, and far too much for us to do to help him!

Steve goes fishing at 7am.  This means we are all up at 7am, which is just great.  Apparantly Steve caught 4 or 5 sharks (cant recall which), bigger ones this time.  Sounds a bit hairy to me, trying to remove the hooks from these

things, though he had some chap help him on the first 3.  The ocean drops off to 1.6km deep quite close to the shore, and has some abundant marine life.

Kaikoura itself is a bit of a funny place.  The shops are all on one street, and are mainly made up of restaurants/takeaways, internet type places, and backpacker motels.  It isnt great.  On the plus side I find a 2nd hand bookshop and manage to get a book for 9 dollars (£3.50), still a rip-off for a 2nd hand book, but cheaper than 10 quid for a new one.

Steve gets his second treat of the day and goes whale watching for 3.5 hours.  They wont take the kids on the whale watching tour (bloody ridiculous), as they dont have life jackets for them.  Good excuse for them not to have screaming kids (!) if you ask me!!!  Not that Im too bothered, I've been feeling pretty shattered these past few days, so going to watch whales doesnt really appeal too much.

Steve has a great time - see pics, and fascinates (aka bores) me with facts all evening, in his kind way trying to make up for me not going.  God I'm so cynical!

Sat 24th March - Kaikoura

Is it really Saturday?  This week has flown by.  We are meant to head off today, further north.  We have to decide whether to stay on the south island or go back to Wellington.  Personally I'd like to go back to Abel Tasman and the Nelson region, so we shall see what happens.  Steve is fishing again, this time with Matthew, as Matthew decided to throw a tantrum at 6am when Steve got up, thus probably waking the whole campsite.

Lloyd is changing daily now.  He is quite interactive, and interested in whats happening around him.  When he wants to sleep he lets me know, especially early evening where he just likes me to lie down with him.  If he wants to be awake he also lets me know, crying until I put him in the right position (more often than not propped up on a pillow with a view of the world). He is an interesting little person, seems quite alert and less laid back than Matthew.  He seems quite a happy chap still, which is good.

Only 4 weeks left in New Zealand.  I am missing home a bit, especially this last week for some reason.  I think its because we have a big drive northwards ahead of us, it seems a bit daunting at present.  I'm also missing little things like the shops, Sainsbury's.  And I miss chatting to people.  Conversations here tend to be fairly short, as often I have the kids in tow.  I have spoken to a few women in parks and stuff, mainly about children (of course).

It would be nice to have a conversation about something else... And Steve just talks, thinks, and breathes fishing now, trying to get anything sensible out of him is difficult.

I'm coming to realise it doesnt really matter where you live, its how you live your life that is important.  It's easy to get in a rut (as Im sure we all are to some degree) and just amble by day to day.  If you are happy in this  rut then fine, but if you want more it is there, and I dont think you often have to go far to find it.  Certainly not if you live near to stuff like me in Leigh.  I have the coast nearby, the city, countryside, friends, family.

Even mainland Europe and places like the Lake District are there for me to explore.  I'm realising that you dont need to travel to the other side of the globe to find happiness and excitement. Living "the Lifestyle" as they call it hear can be done anywhere, with a little bit of imagination.  Being away has given me lots of time to think about what is improtant to me, and how I can make the most of mine and my family's life.

I've also realised that London is quite important to me.  I like the buzz of the city, and living near to it.  I like my city friends and colleagues, and having the ocassional drinking session in the city bars.  I also miss being nearby to the art galleries, the museums, the sights and sounds of London.  Its a bit weird as I never realised I was so attached.

Must dash, Matthew and Steve are about to come back in from their fishing expedition. More tales from the sea beckon.... :)