Rather than rent another car from Picton I travel south by train. The schedule is simple; it travels north in the morning and south in the afternoon. I spend most of the journey to Kaikoura in the observation car. A simple idea - a carriage with a roof and walls, but no seats or glass in the windows.
"Good as Gold" says Ben from Dive Kaikoura when he meets me at the station. A phrase I am starting to get used to in New Zealand.
Kaikoura is the whale and dolphin watching capital. Signs everywhere proclaim offshore trips to watch whales, inshore trips to swim with dolphins and shore excursions to snorkel with seals.
We start with an early morning boat ride to Barney's Rock. It's a bit like diving Porthkerris reef, kelp on the horizontal surfaces gives way to anemones and sponges on the vertical surfaces and beneath overhangs to a seabed at 15 metres on the seaward side.
The other divers set off on a circuit of the rock while I stay in the shallows in front of 20 or so New Zealand fur seals hauled out on a ledge. After 20 minutes watching them doze and achieving little I decide to go for a swim and set off on my own circuit in the opposite direction.
Half way round I meet the others, a seal having appointed herself a member of the dive group. Visibility is disappointing on this side of the rock so I continue the rest of the way back to my starting point and clearer water.
Still no luck with seals, until the others complete their slower circuit bringing their seal with them. As they climb back on the boat she transfers her attentions to me and puts on a good show of acrobatics.
It's a grey day. The month of zero rainfall has ended at last. The seals just don't need to get in the water and cool off as they would on a sunny day. On the journey back across the bay we pass a small pod of dusky dolphins.
For a second dive we head for the north side of Kaikoura. As with most of my dives in New Zealand, the other divers are a mix of back packers, shorter term tourists, Kiwi tourists and locals out for the day.
Rounding the headland a seal is thrashing on the surface, tearing a large octopus to pieces for lunch. Octopus are a favourite food of the seals and one of the few inshore snacks they eat. For fish they prefer to hunt further offshore.
On the inshore reefs the fish are quite bold and not at all timid, but octopus are justifiably very cautious.
Its low tide with lots of room for the seals to haul out and snooze at Lynch's Reef. In the drizzle they just don't feel like playing.
I zig -zag back and forth along the face of the reef, popping up occasionally to see if they are moving. I can almost feel them snoring through my wetsuit. Then the seals are forgotten as I come across a lobster pot. Not because of the crawfish inside it; the thing that holds my attention is the seahorse anchored to the bars.
As a major stopping of place for backpackers Kaikoura is pretty lively in the evening, especially as it is the weekend again and the locals are out for a beer. Ben introduces me to a host of local divers and regular weekend visitors and the party is soon going strong. The pub has live music and I end up dancing with his bank manager.
On the way to my last dive the dolphins are out in force. A massive shoal of 1000 or more has gathered in the bay. Boatloads of dolphin watchers are heading for the bay as we head for the reef again.
Taking a philosophical attitude to seals on a grey morning I decide to concentrate on fish and sea tulips. If the seals want to play, so much the better. Its actually quite a pretty dive.
A wrasse entertains me, attacking his reflection in my strobe, the dome of my camera housing, then in the chrome of my regulator. All highly amusing until he darts in and takes a bite out of my lip.
At the right time of year there is some cage diving for sharks further offshore, but not while I am here. In March I get a vicious man-eating wrasse. I bet Cousteau was never savaged by a wrasse.
On the flight home I reflect on the highlights. If you go to New Zealand you have to dive Kaikoura; and The Mikhael Lermontov, Pupu Springs, Riwaka Caves, White Island, The Rainbow Warrior and of course the Poor Knights. And all the other places that I just couldn't fit into a hectic 2 week trip.
I also reflect on the perversity of the International Date Line. On the way out I had missed Saturday. On the way home I get 2 Monday mornings.