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Published: April 20th 2008
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We arrived in Kaikoura on Friday at around 12:00pm, and our afternoon was spent watching movies and TV, and doing our journals and reading... A relaxing afternoon!
We were meant to go whale watching yesterday, but when we woke up, the weather was not at its best. It was very windy, cold and raining. We phoned the whale watch company at 9:30am and they told us that due to the sea conditions they had cancelled the trip and we were given a full refund. It was a bit of a dissapointment, but it would not have been nice going out in that weather! So, instead of watching whales, we went on the internet, sat by the fire, played cards and Mel did some washing. Then in the afternoon, we braved the weather and walked into the town and did a bit of shopping for presents for people, so you had all better appreciate it! :D
This morning we didn't have to set an alarm! YAY! :D We got up at about 8:30, and got ready to go and swim with dolphins. We had breakfast, and after changing to a different room, we talked to Vardon on MSN for a
while, and then watched the first part of 'Snakes on a plane' - what a predictable movie!
At around 12:00 we set off down to the dolphin encounter office, and it only took us around 15 minutes to walk down there, and although it was cold, it was at least a bit sunny today! YAY! When we got to the dolphin encounter place, we had a toasted sandwich and had to finish it off as we were being given a briefing... We got into our wetsuits, and tried our gear out for size. Then we watched a short video about how to interact with the dolphins and then taken by minibus down to where they moor the boats.
It only took about 10-15 minutes to sail out to where the dolphins were, and we got ready and took our place on the back of the boat. As soon as the horn blew, we all slid into the FREEZING cold water and the dolphins were right there wanting to play! It was incredible. They were so playful, and they got so close to you. Sometimes they were so close that they touched you as they swam past. They have races with you to see who can swim round in circles fastest, and funnily enough, they always win! :D
We stayed in the water for a while, and then were called back to the boat. We moved position to where the dolphins were all heading, and got back in again. When we were in the second time, a dolphin hit me in the head with its tail as it swam past, and another dolphin played a game of swim right towards you until it is REALLY close and then dive down just in time! It was funny!
We got back on the boat, and after getting dressed and warmed up a little bit, we headed back into shore, but not before seeing an albatross and a whole pod of dolphins leaping out of the water and playing. It was amazing!
We walked back to the hostel, and we have now been to the supermarket and got some food for dinner tonight. We are having rice and veggies and I bought some beef to have with it. Now we are just going to relax and maybe play some cards...
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