Kaikoura

New Zealanders are surveillance freaks, like the Australians. You are on film there 24*7. One can only hope it will not get that worse in Austria.

NZ fur seal sunbathing. Not a seal, but a sealion, remember?

NOT a NZ fur seal! ;)

NZ fur seal - look at the streamlined nose and face. They are quick swimmers and as we learned also deep divers (like 280m's deep or so)

Kaikoura - one of the few places where one really sees mountains and see easily at the same time

A crab - don't know anything more. Beautiful color though.

Our native guide on the whale watching trip, that was changed to a nature trip, since no sperm whales were present in the operating area...

so, we saw albartrosses.... (huuuuge birds!)

.... seals and all sorts of seabirds...

...aaand: WHALES! Actually a dusky dolphin, but as you may all know, dolphins are simply small whales, and the group of animals named "dolphins" is simply the group of all small whales - animals within the group are not closer related to each others than they are to all other whales. And man are the dusky dolphins beautiful and playful animals!

Pure elegance and joy!