Swimming with dolphins

Trip Start Aug 21, 2006
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Trip End Nov 24, 2006


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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Having broken up our journey with a trip to Hamner Springs and lain in a 40 degree, sulphur stinking hot tub for a bit, we arrived in Kaikoura. The hostel was a bit crap; we didn't have a duvet or sleeping bag. Luckily, it wasn't one of the colder nights so far. We started fairly early (I'm still struggling to get up in the cold!) and went for a walk along the sea front to see some seals - our track record with wildlife spotting isn't great so we didn't expect much, but we were astounded to see about 15 seals. Some of which, we didn't see until they barked at us from about a metre away - seals have big teeth and are quite scary when angry - these ones were anyway!

That was only a warm up for the days big action: swimming with dolphins! We went out on the boat fully armed with a harpoon gun and a big hunting knife to kill as many of those evil devils of the sea as possible....not really. We had some awesome wetsuits complete with boots, gloves and hood though, which were required because it was bloody cold. After riding around for a bit, we spotted a pod we could swim with. Apparently there were only three dolphins, but I could have sworn there was about ten. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were there to entertain these wild dusky dolphins, not for them to entertain us. So we had to swim around in circles, under water, and sing like idiots to attract their attention. It worked. There I was underwater, swimming around in a circle, making myself dizzy whilst constantly humming at a high pitch, with these three beautiful dolphins swimming around me - no morew than a metre from my face! They were so playful and I think you can really sense their intelligence - they seemed to know that they were better at swimming in circles and it was like they were laughing at me whilst saying, 'We're better than you - look. Haha.' We swam with three pods but the first was by far the best. It was absolutely brilliant - the kind of experience that leaves you smiling for days. To top it all off, we saw some albatrosses which eluded us in Dunedin. They're just big seagulls, but impressive nevertheless. Next stop Abel Tasman for a bit of walking and kayaking.
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Comments

andyhunt
andyhunt on Nov 4, 2006 at 04:20PM

afternoon
alright chaps.

good to see you're still having a fab time! bungy jump looked rather mad - i think i said on doolys entries that i'd probably need to be pushed - and i think thats still the case!

liked the entry about the dolphins as well, sounds quality!

same old stuff happening back here in ipswich, not too much to report. oh and west ham finally ended their drab run by beating Blackburn last sunday (just thought i'd add that pipe!!) still, you can console yourself with the fact that you're leading the sun dream team (again!!) sampson - you're coming back into it as well.

oh yeah, apparently Lucy Trahern (remember her!?) saw you guys in Oz!! she's a bit shy i think, so didn't come over and say hello. small world though!

keep warm

hunt

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