From there we continued across to Hanmer Springs, about 3 hours away. Hanmer Springs is famous for, funnily enough, its hot springs, and after a long time in the car, plus the previous day's exertions, we decided to indulge. Hanmer Springs is a series of 9 pools of varying temperature, from 33 degrees all the way up to 41 degrees – basically the hotter it gets, the more it smells of sulphur. We enjoyed a good long soak, although I got a few odd looks: one of the life guards gave me a surgical glove to cover my injured thumb and keep it dry. I looked like I was some kind of weird Michael Jackson fanatic, although from my point of view, even this was better than holding my thumb out of the water in the 'thumbs up' position, as I did for the first 15 mins! We also treated ourselves to a private sauna which was lovely – saunas have been few and far between since we left home.

Suitably refreshed, we continued on to Kaikoura. The drive there along Lewis Pass was stunning: winding roads carved into the mountainside, shrouded in mist. And Kaikoura itself was breathtaking: craggy mountains fall spectacularly, and almost directly, into the ocean. Kaikoura means “crayfish food” in Maori and was originally a local fishing capital. Today, whilst its restaurants are still renowned for producing quality seafood, it's known as more of a natural paradise. We had hoped to swim with dolphins but the sea was a little too choppy, so our trip was cancelled. Instead we visited the seal colonies, both at Dean Point in Kaikoura itself, and then just up the coast at Ohau. Dean Point is home to a small colony, where we saw 3 little pups playfighting and racing each other in the water. We also saw the biggest seal daddy ever, with enormous whiskers, sleeping on the boardwalk. We must have disturbed his sleep as he growled at us warily, but we made sure we kept our distance – apparently a tourist was recently bitten by a seal after getting between a female and her pup!

Ohau is home to a much bigger colony, with well over two hundred seals sunning themselves on the rocks as we drove past. Before we left Kaikora a local we'd met told us that we should definitely check out a small national park that was just up the road and inland from the colony. What an amazing tip! Just inside the forest we found a fast flowing stream that ran through several rock pools down to the sea, fed by a waterfall. The stream acts as a kind of crêche for the seal colony, so we found about forty or so little seal pups playing there. They were chasing each other's tails and playing fetch with pieces of wood and seaweed, and hopping up and downstream over the rocks to get to the different pools. Incredibly cute. We didn't make it quite to the top and the waterfall, as one pup had decided to go for a wander along the path and lay in our way. We both spotted each other at the same time and I'm not sure who was more shocked. I let out a squeal, and he immediately sat up and started growling. We made a quick exit, just in case! But at least I know that seal noises are one of the few impressions I can do that actually sound convincing.