It was a smaller boat with about 20 passengers and 2 crew, so the boys lucked out and got a chance to sit with the Captain! We saw the salmon jumping in the salmon farm and some lazy fur seals hanging out waiting for their chance at dinner and we even saw a pair of little blue penguins swimming in the water (not fast enough with the camera for that one, but they didn't appear to be going around in circles! LOL) Truly though, we were in search of Hector's dolphins . . . and we found them!
There were about 6 or 7 of them that came to check out our boat and have a little play. Short wee things, they have quite a bit of white on them and little dorsal fins that look like Mickey Mouse ears sticking out of the water! It was great as we just sat on the bow of the boat and watched them swim around us for about 10 minutes.
We also got off the boat for an hour long walk on a bird sanctuary island that is pest-free and run by the department of conservation. There's a great look out tower at the top where just over Jack's hat you should be able to see the North Island on a clear day . . . doesn't really come through on the photo, but this is very nearly the top of the south island at the edge of the Queen Charlotte Sound, called Motuara Island. We saw some:
South Island Robin
3 Saddlebacks in the same tree (almost unheard of, as they are quite rare!
Some shags . . . and one solitary King Shag, apparently there are only around 200 of them in the world and 70% of them live in this one little area of the sounds, but they are quite shy and stay well away from people. We had one bird watcher on the cruise and he was quite thrilled by this sighting and jotted notes in his book (seriously!). 
It was a great day! We camped for the night in a Department of Conservation campsite again and then headed down toward Christchurch via Kaikoura the next morning, for - you guessed it - more wildlife! 
Then you come across the salt factory . . . pretty cool to see how they allow evaporation to take the water out of the salt water in the ponds. (That reminds me that we promised the boys we'd try it ourselves at home . . . hmmm)
Then the road heads back to the coast and the scenery changes again, become more dramatic as you get closer to Kaikoura. The road follows the coast for quite a bit of time and you are sandwiched between the mountain ranges on your right and the sea on your left. And there's a train track that goes between the road and the mountains with a series of tunnels as well.
OK, we spotted wildlife again! Can you?? 
New Zealand fur seals in all of their glory. Moms with their new pups (only born in Dec. / Jan.) only a stone's throw from the shore (not that we let the boys throw stones here!!) This is the Ohau seal colony and the best seal viewing I've ever had. We watched them sunbathe on the rocks, stretch, climb up and out of the water, swim around and on and on, the boys were fascinated, and so were their parents!
New Zealand fur seals in all of their glory. Moms with their new pups (only born in Dec. / Jan.) only a stone's throw from the shore (not that we let the boys throw stones here!!) This is the Ohau seal colony and the best seal viewing I've ever had. We watched them sunbathe on the rocks, stretch, climb up and out of the water, swim around and on and on, the boys were fascinated, and so were their parents!
Kaikoura is also a great place for whale watching - either by sea or by air . . . but no half price deals at the moment, so it was a no-go for the four of us (Kids can cost you a lot of money!) this time around. Maybe later in the year.
Right, so we carried on with our journey heading down to the Canterbury plains which looks a lot more like this . . . . if you can call sheep "wildlife" that concludes this blog!
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