New Zealand – 11th Nov 2008 - Day 19

After a good nights sleep, we had a quick breakfast and headed for Kaikoura for our Dolphin Encounter. The weather was looking good with a few clouds and lots and lots of blue sky and sunshine. At last!!

We drove through some stunning scenery, snow capped mountains with green rolling hills and beautiful bays with sparkling blue water.

As neared Kaikoura, we began to see seals leaping about in the clear waters. We stopped the car for a good look. Half an hour later we were in town visiting an internet café so we could book hotels for Sydney and check out the Helicopter Glacier trips at Franz Josef.

We arrived at Dolphin Encounter (see: http://www.dolphin.co.nz/) for 12.30, checked in and walked down to the bay opposite to take some photo’s of the surrounding mountains and bay.

They called us into the wet suit area, handed out two piece 10mm suits, headwear, snorkels, masks and flippers. After squeezing into them, we sat in a small auditorium where they showed us a video about the sea life in the area and some tips on how to behave when swimming with wild dolphins. They kept ramming home the message that the dolphins are wild and not fed, so there was always a chance you would not see any. Our expectations were definitely being lowered!!

They loaded us on to the coach and we realised there were only eight swimmers, including us, and approx. twenty people who just wanted to watch dolphins from the boat.

We travelled over calm water, in the blazing sun, for about 25 minutes before we were called to the back of the boat so we could put our head gear, snorkels, masks and flippers on. They then moved us to a platform at the back of the boat where we waited for the signal to slid into the water. Our feet dangled in the water and the water was freezing cold.

Suddenly the signal to get in went off and we both got in quick. Immediately we were surrounded by dolphins. According to the skipper we were swimming with a pod of 150. There were so many and they were swimming within inches of us, looking into our eyes, darting under our stomachs and legs and leaping into the air. This went on for twenty minutes. Fiona and l continues to make squeaking noises as the crew told us that this would encourage the dolphins to stick around. We both stuck our heads out of the water for a few moments just as five dolphins leapt into the air together just in front of us. At times there were six or more swimming with us, mimicking our movements. They are quite large but were always smiling at you. Not once did you feel threatened being in the water with so many huge mammals. They were just magical.

After twenty minutes, they called us back onto the back of the boat and maneuvered the boat towards a second pod. Within a few minutes we were back in the water again, swimming with the pod. After another fifteen minutes we came back on board to change out of our gear, dry off and get changed. They gave us hot chocolate to warm up, however, the gear was fantastic and we did not feel the cold too much.

On the way back to base, we came across another pod of dolphins with young as well as a colony of seals. At one time, we hit a spooky bank of sea fog but for most of the trip the weather was perfect. What an amazing experience, made all the better because they do not encourage the dolphins in any way. They simply wanted to swim with us out of curiosity. Once back at the centre, Fiona purchased a T-Shirt and we were back in the car for our five hour journey to Motueka near Abel Tasman.

The journey was fine with some more stunning scenery, however we had to go through the mountains to get to Motueka and as we got higher, the clouds came in and the rain began to fall, again. We are still amazed at how local the weather can be in NZ, sunny in one place and raining just a few hours down the road.

After four hours we hit Motueka, but couldn’t find the Motel. After logging back onto the Laptop, and looking up the details, we realised that our Motel was in fact in another location. A town called Marahau, 19 kilometers away! We stopped and asked a wee girl how to get their and her directions were spot on. We arrived at our B&B for about 8pm, after an almost 5 hour journey. They had left the keys in an envelope, taped onto the reception door.

We settled into Marahau Lodge (See http://www.abeltasmanmarahaulodge.co.nz/) , munched a salmon salad and watched Mission Impossible III on the TV. Luckily, the Motel manager had contacted the company with whom we have booked a days Kayaking around Abel Tasman, tomorrow. They will be picking us up from here at 8:560am, which means we do not have to travel 19 kilometers back to town.