Currently in a big ferry crossing the Cook Straits between South and North Island. I'd rather John was driving as the captain seems to be steering us towards all the bumpy bits. It takes 3 and a bit hours- an hour was spent just passing through the Sound leading out to sea. Wonderful scenery though not as grand as we saw further south. Bindy was up at the crack of dawn to give us a fab breakfast of homemade muesli, stewed fruit, yoghurt and toast. A legend in the B&B world.drove from Hanmer Springs to Kaikourou along the back road ( there are so few roads round here. You don't really need a detailed map and you certainly don't need a GPS. There's one road between A and B and that's good enough. Most of the little villages and towns are all along these roads an to either side there's wilderness and mountains. A whole different way of living. At one point along the road the people living there would have had to drive about 50 kilometres to get petrol. I think I'm hard done by if I have to drive to tesco's . After we got to Kaikourou, the road runs along by the sea and after a while we stopped to walk on the rocks of the beach. I was wandering about, breathing in the sea and the peace when suddenly I cam e face to face witha seal ( no, it wasn't a tall seal, it was on a rock). We looked at each other for what felt like ages- I'm sure I was the more stunned. Then he scooped himself up onto a higher rock and turned back to gaze at me. I gazed back and after a while he must have decided that I wasnt dangerous and he started to scratch himself on the rock. He then turned onto his back, just like Marley does and laid there with his flippers hanging loose. Back scratching followed and then he wriggled around until he was lying on his stomach with his chin on a rock just like a winsome starlet. Every now and again he'd check me out and give me a good old stare and then go back to the very serious business of relaxing and soaking up the sun. I could have stayed there all day, just watching him. John thought he might have been a young seal- he was a little bit fluffy and so trusting. Seeing him made my week. I now want to own a cow, a pig, some chickens, a koala, a kangaroo and a seal. It'd be like the United Nations of farming. Then back in the car and on to Picton and the ferry. You have to leave your hire car at Picton and pick up another at Wellington so here we are, foot passengers, with a table right next to the window at the front. Time to try the ferry tea..............