The ferry left around 1:30am. I watched the train cars get loaded; there are decks for cars too. We explored the boat and looked at train cars strapped down. We had some cereal and found an empty cabin to sleep in. We slept on the floor till the boat arrived at Picton. Then we got our bags and walked into a small park and slept in a Gazebo. We awoke to freezing cold air. We sat around the park for a while then had some food at the cafe and left our bags at the train station. We watched the people in the park. We boarded our first train at 1:30pm. We sat in the economy car. Nice ride by the seashore, tunnels, and saw some seals. We arrived at Kaikoura, a small town known for its "swimming with dolphins". We ate some macaroni and cheese after we put our names on a waiting list for the trip to swim with the dolphins. We set up our tent in a campground in town.
We didn't have any luck getting on the dolphin swim today. It is very full. We should have booked 5 days in advance. So we went for a walk around town. We viewed an aquarium with huge sea horses. Then we strolled on the dock and walked on the beach back to the campground. I found a rock that looks like a kiwi bird. We chased a bunch of seagulls and one chased after Donna. We cooked vegetables and a pasta dish for dinner. The ducks are really funny at the campground. A pair of them makes a strange honking quack and scares all the other ducks away. We were up late talking to some other travelers about crazy stories of our travels. I watched some TV before going to sleep.
Christchurch
We got up early and went for a swim with the dusky dolphins. We took an old bus to the south wharf and took a boat out for 20 minutes and saw many dolphins jumping out of the water. I slid into the water and saw 2 dolphins right in front of my face. It was so cold I had to get out of the water. I had a new wetsuit but that didn't help any. The second swim I saw dolphins underwater again but they swam away. I didn't go in the water on the 3rd swim because I felt seasick. I went in the 4th time but didn't see anything. I got sick over the edge of the boat. We saw so many dolphins! After we returned we bummed around town and got kicked out of the campground. We took the train to Christchurch and visited the Viney family, friends or our sister, Roseanne. They met us at the train station and then drove us up the mountain range for a view of the sunset.
Got up early to catch a bus to Te Anau. It was a long bus ride with a few stops for meals and restroom breaks. We saw a penguin on the beach at Timaru. When we stopped in Dunedin I helped a guy get his bike off my bag. I was trying to keep a close eye on my things. But when we got to Te Anau my bag wasn't on the bus. It had been sent to Invercargil. I called the bus supervisor and he tracked it down for me and said it'll be here in the morning. I was nervous since our scheduled hike on the Milford Track started the next day and there is no way to reschedule. We had some awesome pizza for dinner that night at La Toscana and stayed at the YHA.
