Brandon and I woke up at 5:00 this morning and bid a sad farewell to the Discovery Center and to Mount Ngauruhoe. We had a long drive ahead of us all the way down the North Island to Wellington, catch the three hour ferry to Picton on the South Island, and then drive to Kaikoura. Kaikoura is known for being a marine life hot spot due to the nearby continental shelf that is home to thousands of sea creatures!
The road from Picton to Kaikoura winds along the east coast of the south island. Just outside of Kaikoura around 6:30pm we started seeing some seals on the rocks right by the road! All of a sudden we came upon a whole seal colony, right on the rocks right next to the road! We pulled over and stopped here for a while, watching the sleeping adult seals and the playful little ones! So adorable!
Afterward we had an awesome seafood dinner! Kearse had salmon, and I had this fish called... Orange something, I sadly can't remember the name, but it was so tasty and just melted in your mouth! Mmmm!
The next morning we went SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS!!!!! This was something I was just dying to do during our trip! Ah it was so incredible!! What a fantastic way to spend our last full day in New Zealand!
We put on these awesome wetsuits to prepare for the 17 degree water (brrrrr!), we even got fancy wetsuit hoods! We are going to be swimming with the Dusky Dolphin, which is known as the most acrobatic of the dolphin species and can even do backflips! There are several pods of these wild dolphins that call the Kaikoura area their home. I was looking at pictures of the dolphin pods before our swim, and I honestly didn't believe we'd be swimming with as many that were in the pictures. Of course, each day is different, as these dolphins are completely wild animals. The boat drivers do not attract them with food or sounds underwater, they simply use their knowledge and experience to go out and find the dolphins each day. Some trips see 10 dolphins, some trips see hundreds, others thousands!! Can you imagine??
Well what an experience! I indeed got to swim with hundreds of wild dolphins! It was unbelievable! The boat found some pods of dolphins after about half an hour, and literally dropped us right into the middle of the pod. Since the dolphins are wild, you have to swim toward them, make them interested in you, and play with them :) so fun! The boat captain gives you some tips, like making noises in your snorkel and swimming in circles, haha and it really worked.
My favorite tactic was diving down with the dolphins! You could see them swim right at you, close enough to touch. There were times when i was surrounded by more than ten dolphins! I even got to see mama dolphins with their little babies!
I also liked when a dolphin would start swimming circles around me, and I'd spin around and around in the water to keep up, holding eye contact with the dolphin. It was amazing to be so close to these amazing creatures (dolphins are my favorite animals)! I also loved when I would be playing with the dolphins and a few would jump right over me! Incredible!
I've got some awesome videos of the dolphin pods and the dolphins jumping. No swimming footage or pictures, but it was definitely a fun play time! Life dream of swimming with dolphins fulfilled! And it was even better than I ever could have imagined? Kaikoura is definitely the place to go for the best experience- it's the only place in the world that is home to this many dolphins!
As this was our last day in New Zealand, we had a lazy lunch by the beach after our dolphin swim, and then hit the road to get our van back to Christchurch before 5pm. We had to return it to Road Runner Rentals... Sounds a bit dodgy! All in all, we drove 3200 km through New Zealand in 11 days? Woooo Go Team America!
After returning the van, we relaxing in the sunny and quaint city center in Christchurch and had a celebratory dinner at an awesome pub we found when we first arrived in Christchurch. Then we grabbed a late night bus to the airport, where I met a guy who flies C130's down to Antarctica for the U.S. Air Force. (Mom, no comments about boyfriend potential please, I'm getting sick of those). Transporting mainly cargo and scientists, New Zealand is the USAF's base for flying to Antarctica. These C130's are painted orange instead of gray so that they can be seen in the snow if they go down. These planes also have skis for landing on the ice! Since all structures built in Antarctica must be removable, building a concrete runway on the ice is out of the question.
Now that we are at the airport, we are joining several other backpackers for a night on the airport floor (it's not as sketchy as it sounds, there are lots of people doing it. There are even showers in the airport. Apparently it's the thing to do in Christchurch). I am so sad to be leaving New Zealand. It is such a beautiful country. The next morning we will catch an early early flight back to Australia. Brisbane, here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment