12 Nov 2010
Rise & Shine at 10am.
I really had a good night's rest. A much needed rest indeed...
The kids slept well too. Rachel didnt need to wake up for a pee which is quite unusual.
The bed was also comfortable for our backs. Sturdy and comfy at the same time. I think the leather bed base helped.
We had bread and hard boiled eggs for breakfast.
The kids were very excited to check out the surroundings since they did not get to see much of it last night. The weather was great too. Blue skies with long white clouds.
We were running short of time as we needed to be at the Whale Watching Centre at 1pm and we only managed to leave at 1230pm. (We need to drive about 20mins to reach the centre). That leaves us with insufficient time for dumping so we decided to skip it till the next stop.
Sensing some hesitation from GM to take the helicopter as well as who's gonna sit with who.. (we need to split up as one heli can only take 3 adults; they are 4 of us! Kids get to go on the heli for free...), I suggested that DL will join 2 other strangers who had signed up for the ride and the 3 of us (GM, GP and me) will take the ride together with the kids. We finally got a consensus and it was good. We could move ahead with our schedule.
Indecision brings about nothing but a waste of time. Sometimes someone has to step up to make the decision and very often, I find myself in this role. :P
Our pilot of the day was Lee Armstrong. He gave a briefing before we set off to catch whales. (The other two strangers backed out from the ride and that left us, DL, GM, me and the kids on one heli. GP chose not to take the ride as he had enough of heli rides in his younger days while working in the States.)
We managed to catch two sperm whales. Saw one just before it did a backflip into the water and the other one taking its own sweet time at the surface refilling oxygen and probably fell asleep while doing so. We didnt have time to wait till it does a backflip into the water and had to head back to shore. It was a fruitful ride nonetheless.
Bought takeaway from a nearby cafe for our late lunch before we head north to Old MacDonald's Farm, Abel Tasman NP.
(Tarts/Quiche/Lasagna/Salad/Carrot Cake)
Make a quick stop at Ohau Stream where seal pups can be sighted but we didnt catch any. Winter would probably be a better season to sight them.
It was a long drive and we decided that we had to pull over at a public carpark to spend our night instead of pushing on to Old MacDonald's Farm. Had a late dinner at Relish Restaurant in Nelson.
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