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Published: February 27th 2008
Ok, well, I’m going to experiment with how to keep the blog up while on the road- so far so good. I prob wont be posting as many pics as the past several posts have had, but will pick out a few of the best to try and give you an idea of what I’ve been up to. Anyway, here we go...
Man- it has been a LONG day... I guess that’s what happens when you have to get up at 430AM to catch a boat. Alas, that is how my day began, with my alarm going off waaaaaay too early, and me trying to swat the sleepwebs from my head as I attempted to gather my thoughts (And courage...) to go swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura... I arrived here yesterday, after quite a melancholy 10 hour bus trip up from Queenstown. As I mentioned before, I’m still not ready to sum up my time spent in Qtown, but was definitely having mixed feelings about everything while trekking through the heart of the South Island. At least it was a beautiful day for traveling, which gave me an even higher appreciation for how amazing this country is. Unbelievable… Anyway,
Dolphin, dolphin, everywhere!
The guides said the pod must be at least 1,000 in number- they were EVERYWHERE!I arrived in Kaikoura around 7pm, checked into my hostel, and then went out into town to make sure I knew where I needed to be at 530 the next morning. 530am!!! Just to go swim with some dolphins (Sidenote- is “dolphinS” the plural of “dolphin”? Who knows… I’m going with dolphins…).
Well, the early wake up was worth it. What an incredible experience. There were literally dolphins EVERYWHERE! Wild, acrobatic, curious, beautifully graceful Dusky Dolphins- all you had to do was put your mask on, stick your snorkel in your mouth, and jump in the water- they would come to look at you! The guides told us to try and “talk” to them by making clicking noises and singing songs- I felt like Jim Carrey out of Ace Ventura. Too funny! It was amazing though. At times I felt like they were dancing with me, circling me under water, checking me out while I spun around trying to keep up with them. It was crazy! Then we got back on the boat and just watched with awe as they put on their aerial display- front flips, back flips, twists and turns, jumps 5 meters out of the water-
they are ridiculous. I had my underwater camera with me, but haven’t had the film developed yet, so cant post those pics, but have tried to pick out a few to give you an idea what the morning was like- it was INSANE!
After that, I hiked out to the local seal colony, laughed at some of the seals sunning themselves on the rocks, and then had to catch my whale-watching charter at 330. Got to see 3 sperm whales on the surface, lolling around between dives to the depths in search of squid- again- AMAZING! They are HUGE! The boats take you right up alongside them as well- so cool! It incredible to be able to see such impressive wildlife in their natural habitats, doing their thing. Such a great day.
But now, the internet café is closing, so I’ve go to go. Headed up to Nelson and Abel Tasman national Park tomorrow- 3 days hiking and kayaking through the sounds and coves- should be awesome as well!
Sorry so short, but they’re getting ready to give me the boot out of this place! More to come soon.
The blog is alive and well!!!
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