So long, and thanks for all the fish...

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Here in Kaikoura I actually made contact with the most intelligent beings on the planet. Yes, I swam with dolphins. They must have thought we were bl**dy loopy though: dressed head to foot in black neoprene (I really cannot get enough of this stuff), including a hood - yet more practise for my James Bond girl role, plus snorkel, mask and flippers, we splashed around in the water trying to be as dolphin-like as possible and making strange noises through our snorkels. Apparently dolphins like it - they probably like having a jolly good laugh at our expense. One of the guys said all he could think of was to sing Kanye West's "Goldigga" through his snorkel. The dusky dolphins must have been Hip Hop/R n B or whatever fans, as it seemed to work.
Kaikoura is a unique place where just 1 km from shore, the sea bed drops dramatically by 1000 m. This causes a nutrient rich environment as things swirl up from the sea floor making it a good chilling out place for dolphins and whales. The sea was pretty rough at 5:30 in the morning when I made my way down to the Dolphin Encounter place and it was touch and go as to whether we would get out. I was glad I took my travel sickness tablets as the ride out to find the pods was more akin to a roller coaster. It seemed an eternity trying to spot dolphins; we saw lots of seals and even an albatross - they are absolutely massive. Eventually we saw a pod and we lined up on the back of the boat and jumped in and out of the sea according to the on-board guide. The cold nearly took my breath away and I was just getting used to being in open water with flailing black legs and arms around me when I saw a grey shape dart in front of me. I couldn't quite believe it but then about 3 dusky dolphins came up close for a good look. For a split second you make eye contact and it is quite a special moment. They look kinda quizzical though as if to say "What on earth are you doing this early in the morning flapping around in freezing sea?" Dusky dolphins aren't particularly large, perhaps my length or smaller and they are dark grey with some grey streaks. They came up so close and I had to resist reaching out to touch them, and then they are away again in a flash. We had a few swims but none were so satisfying as that first contact.

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