She says:
So we managed to flee Blenheim and the tomato plant and headed south to Kaikoura. As we travelled down we saw the magnificent southern alps, it was very impressive seeing them looming over us as we drove down the coast. Fortunately, as we travelled down we were able to stop off at a look out point and watch some seals play in the water and sunbathe. However, we were unlucky on seeing any dolphins :(.
In Kaikoura, we considered going swimming with dolphins or going on one of the boat tours to see dolphins, however, we decided that I would save that adventure till we were in Akaroa and I would do it for my Birthday! Mainly, because Akaroa is the only place in the world where you can swim with Hector Dolphins. Ryan having swam with dolphins before was not as bothered. We decided against the whale tours or the whale helicopter rides, due to cost. I’m hoping that we will be able to view whales another time, maybe back when were in Auckland and have saved some more money up.
After much debate we decided that we would try sea kayaking having never done it before, there was also a small chance to see dolphins, but we mainly went to see the seals swimming. It was a great experience, struggling against the waves, watching the male seals claim a space on outcroppings of rock and fight for dominance. One even joined us in the water, showing us what masters they are in the sea. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area and the aquatic life. We learnt that seals are nocturnal, and that one breeding male can have up to 50 females. It was also very pretty to see the sunset over the alps whilst we were in the water among other facts. She also taught us how to say kaikoura ( apparently it ends with you almost pronouncing cold at the end, kaikolda), or that is how I understand it. The only downside, well as far as Ryan is concerned, was that the kayaks were paired, so he was ‘lugging’ me around apparently. However, I feel I pulled my weight, and despite neither of us capsizing the kayaks I still came away with a wet back and bum because Ryan kept on flinging water at me!
After, our one day stop in Kaikoura, we headed onto our next place of work, a pig farm. I was very nervous, having never worked with pigs before and I didn’t know what to expect. But, I really do love pigs so I was also very excited. The Pig Farm, along with having over 250 pigs, not counting piglets, also has 20 sheep, two horses, 15 chickens and ducks, three cats and one dog. So, Ryan and I are getting our fill of animals. The Farm is a Breeding Farm, so the highlights are that I regularly get to hold piglets that are less than a week old, see pigs run ( the funniest site), have mud baths, and I get unlimited boops ( pigs bumping their noses into my hand). The downsides of working on a pig farm are; you see the piglets that were squished from their mother ( she may have had 18 piglets), or the ones that for no reason don’t make it, plus all the cleaning up of poo we have to do.
I will stop myself there from describing anymore as we are staying at the farm for over two months so want more to say in other posts. So the pigs and I say:
Farewell.
He Says:
As per usual when I write my experiences second, I’ve been left with very little to talk about! So i’ll keep it reasonably brief.
Kaikoura was great! As Vicky said we decided not to splash out and do this and that cruise, with better opportunities down the line for most of the experiences. As for the sea kayaking I 1000% did most of the work, this was evident by the fact I felt like throwing up when we got back to land as I was so exhausted! (Definitely wasn’t seasickness…. i think).
Working on the farm has been a fantastic experience so far, plenty of time to play with all kinds of animals, having our own accommodation (with a warm shower) has been a nice change, and the family we’re staying with are lovely in every way. Also, as its a pig farm I get to eat as much pork as I could possibly want, its amazinggggggg.
Now it wouldn’t be a ‘He says, She says’ blog post if I didn’t critique at least a few things my other half has said, so I’ll quickly correct her on the fact that there are 300 sows on the farm, not 250, and she completely forgot about the 50 or so bulls! Terrible. Just because she doesn’t like beef.
That’s pretty much all the interesting facts for now… not much I know.
I suppose I could also tell you that today I washed in a glacial stream? That’s right, i’m not afraid of a bit of cold water. In fact i’m starting to see a new side to myself, a type of hardcore-outdoors-survivalist type of character is emerging, one that I think could easily challenge Bear Grylls himself. And before you ask, yes, I did shower afterwards, and yes, I did use shampoo. How else am I going to get my fuzzy brown curls? I’m not an animal. Jeez.
He says, She Says 