Swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura

Kia Ora!

"Animals in the wild" was the theme of last weekend's trip in Kaikoura. Rachel (my mate from Illinois-Urbana/Champagne who is in Arcadia with me) and I saw 5 sperm whales, 250 dolphins, a seal colony, various types of albatross, and countless black shags.

Saturday morning we took a bus up to Christchurch (5 hrs), and then another one up to Kaikoura (2.5 hrs). Kaikoura is a small town situated right along the South Pacific coast of about 4,000 people, and is world-renowned for its whales and marine life. It only has become a tourist destination since 1987 when they began doing whale-watching tours. Saturday night the Christchurch Crusaders were playing the Wellington Hurricanes in rugby, and the whole town was decorated in red and black for the Crusaders. Rugby is absolutely HUGE here, and Rach and I watched the game in a packed bar. Afterwards, we met some really nice British and kiwi guys who we played pool with for the rest of the night.

Sunday we woke up really early and walked down to the beach where we watched a gorgeous sunrise, with the mountains to our left. It was quite a sight. We then went whale-watching with about 50 other people, and saw 5 sperm whales. We were lucky in two regards: The weather was clear enough to do the tour, since three days prior the tours had been cancelled, and two, most groups only see 1-2 whales. I never thought whale-watching sounded like a fun thing to do, but I was thoroughly impressed. The sheer magnitude of these whales was incredible, and seeing them dive into the water with the mountains as the backdrop was breathtaking. It was just like the cover of the Lonely Planet guidebook, haha. On our boatride back to the wharf, we passed a huge rock covered with black shags, a NZ bird that slightly resembles a heron. We also saw NZ fur seals bathing on the rocks.

Afterwards, Rach and I ate a delicious brunch in town. Two meals that are quite common in NZ: French toast topped with bacon and fried bananas( sooo healthy); and chicken sandwiches with brie cheese and cranberry sauce. Delish!

Next was Dolphin Encounter! We were given snorkel gear and a full wetsuit covering even our head, hands and feet. We then split up into two 12-person groups and boated 45 minutes out into the ocean where we met a smaller boat who had located a pod of 250 dolphins. Along the way we saw lots of albatross and another sperm whale. We then got into the water, surrounded by countless dolphins. Even though its winter here, and the water was about 11 degrees celsius, I don't even remember feeling how cold the water was because I was so overwhelmed by the incredulous sight of dolphins being a foot away from me. Dolphins are very smart and inquisitive creatures, and three things made them especially interested were: swimming around in circles (they circle with you and act like its a race), singing (I sang "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid and the Beatles' "I'd like to be...under the sea...in an octapus' garden..."), and lastly, taking dives into the water (while you're already in the water). It was amazing how much eye contact they gave me! After the pod swam away, we got on the boat and caught up with the dolphins again, and swam with them some more.

Monday morning, Rachy and I woke up early, rented bikes from Dusky Lodge, our hostel, and rode to the peninsula where the seal colony was located. It was the most majestic bike ride I had ever took: on our left was mountains and seals bathing on the shore, and on our right was lush green hills with sheep grazing.

The only way I can put this is that Kaikoura is quite a special place.