Mount Cook

Dolphins, Balloons, Penguins, and the Southern Alps

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January 20th 2008
The alarm sounds...it's before 5am. Could this be right? Is it set to the correct time zone? Yes, this is even the reason we are in Kaikoura, to go swimming with dolphins. We crawl out of our toasty sleeping bags, into the dark night, hop in the car and head down to the sea. Once fitted with wetsuits, hoods, fins, snorkels & masks we are loaded onto a bus and then onto our boat. We had only 10-15 ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch

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The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more