Cephalorhyncus hectori

Hector's dolphins.

Only to be found in the waters around New Zealand, and seen from the shore of Kaikoura while I was taking a walk along the beach this morning. A pretty fatal affair, seeing as I had literally just stepped on to the beach when I noticed a group of people looking intently at the sea with binoculars and cameras. These two chappies look like they're about the collide, but I'm fairly sure they didn't.

The rest of the day was spent looking at the Kaikoura shops and drinking tea until my bus came. Kaikoura's a lovely little town, but, like Queenstown, there isn't a huge amount to do. It was decent enough weather (I think I got sunburnt through the cloud) but the coastal breeze means it wasn't hot.

Back in the dingy hostel in Christchurch now, but feeling more chipper than I was the last time, having had my fill of marine mammal viewings. Tomorrow I will walk into the main centre of Christchurch and figure out what there is to do. My Lonely Planet was written before the earthquake so figure it's little use now. I also need to find some kumara chips before Wednesday, so anyone who knows of a place in Christchurch who does them let me know.