We left a beautiful sunny Auckland (North Island) to be welcomed by pouring rain in Christchurch (South Island’s biggest city). This is a beautiful city with numerous heritage buildings, cathedrals and gardens, It is a lovely and the most ‘British city’ in New Zealand with petite and cute houses. We couldn’t explore the city as it was raining the whole day. So, instead, we enjoyed the rains while savouring hot fish and chips and playing cards and chatting in our impressive motel apartment. The next day, at 7 a.m., we had booked a train journey to Kaikoura, a haven for whales and dolphins.
The train journey was splendid; we were using one of the most beautiful rail routes in New Zealand. This train is called TranzCoastal which travels daily between Picton and Christchurch and vice versa. This journey is a scenic feast of New Zealand with Kaikoura mountain ranges on one side of the train and the rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean on the other
 The train was quite old and made squeaking noises as it propelled ahead but we were spellbound by the breathtaking landscape and pastures unfolding at every turn. We had so far crossed some 15 tunnels and 100 little bridges, this journey reminded me of my travels through south of France. This train had an open air viewing carriage which gave us an opportunity to marvel at the pristine nature and the verdure all around.
It was a perfect sunny day, as opposed to heavy rains the day before. We reached Kaikoura around 9.45 a.m. where we had booked a whale watch tour. The tour company is located just next to the train station. Before embarking on the cruise we were given a brief on what we would see, about our vessel, marine life in and around Kaikoura and New Zealand. There was a high warning of rough sea and related seasickness, I was a bit discouraged by the rough sea as I am prone to seasickness but I could not give up on such a unique opportunity to watch whales and dolphins, so I went ahead.
 
Our guide and all the other crew were very helpful and friendly giving a continuous commentary once we were at sea. The sea was not that rough at the beginning but as we went further and deeper into the sea, it became turbulent. We were advised to be seated inside the cruise and would be allowed on the deck only when a whale was sighted. It was after some 25 minutes that our excitement and adrenaline rose sky high as we were allowed on the deck and there I saw something black-blue shimmering in the aquamarine water.
 
Yeah, it was a whale. I had never seen one before and I was all excited.
There was an uproar of excitement from all the fellow explorers as this tour was a success. Usually, the tour company guarantees 99 per cent whale sighting. We travelled further and the water changed from aquamarine to turquoise blue and from nowhere there came a pod of dolphins dancing and jumping and just being merry! They were so adorable.
 
We returned back with a contented heart and smiles on our face as this encounter had left us mesmerised.
 
The map in the beginning of this travelogue would help you locate places from my past travelogues: Auckland, Rotorua, Waitomo caves (near New Plymouth) Christchurch, Kaikoura and places that would be explored later: Greymouth (on west coast near Fox glacier), FranzJosef Glacier, Te Anau, Queenstown, Lake Wanaka and Milford Sound.
 
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