"An Around-the-World-Ticket for Two, Please."

Kaikora

Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Monday, 2 May 2011 23:42

We got up nice and early on Friday as we had to drive to Kaikora to get to the dolphin tour we had booked on for 12.30 that day. So we set off nice and early and made good time, getting there in time to check in at the campsite and have a quick lunch. Kaikora is THE place to see whales, dolphins and seals! They have a resident pod of 200-300 dolphins, and do three tours a day where you can swim with them. So we got suited and booted in wetsuits, wetsuit jackets, wetsuit socks, and hoods, fins and masks. Then they took us onto the boat and off we went to see the dolphins. Ben’s friend at work had told us about when she did this tour, and how swimming in the sea with 200 dolphins swimming around her was so amazing, so I had been really looking forward to it! However, it was not to be! They have a really really high success rate, but we were one of the unlucky few! We trawled around for ages looking for them, normally it only takes about 20 mins, but we were looking for a good couple of hours in the end! Our guide was lovely, and kept updating us that we weren’t giving up, and they had asked the plane doing whale watching to look out, and had their boss on the peninsula looking with his binoclars, but it wasn’t meant to be! We were lucky enough to see a Sperm Whale, but the boat wasn’t allowed to get too close to it, but it was great to see, and a bonus! The plane did spot a few dolphins, so our guide got us on the back of the boat ready to go, and off we plunged into the water! It was SO cold, it took my breath away! I did catch a glimpse of the dolphins, but not for long, and then they sounded the horn of the boat which signalled for us to come back in! What with the coldness of the water, getting used to a snorkel again, and having to swim back to the boat I was shattered from just that little excursion! The dolphins had scarpered! So, we sailed a bit further, and had a second go, all ploughing into the water again! Ben and I were first off, and were lucky enough to dive straight into the middle of about 15 dolphins swimming by, which was amazing, but they didn’t hang around again! They sounded the horn, and we got back on the boat. Then she told us the bad news that it was just not going to happen today, but that we would receive a refund, minus a small running cost, which was very fair of them. So we got dressed, the hot showers on the back of the boat were a great blessing! The trip was $165 each, but they only charged us $20 each, which we thought was amazing, and plenty of places would not have been so good! So, felt a bit sad about that as the next day’s trip was fully booked, and we couldn’t stay in Kaikora any longer, but at least I have seen lots of dolphins before. For some people it was their first dolphin encounter, and some did not even see them at all, Ben and I were very lucky! On our way back to the van we stopped at a lovely cosy pub with a fire. Ben had a 'Red Beer', after trying lots of other tasters, and I had a very nice crushed apple cider! We were both pretty tired and hungry when we got back, so we bought fish and chips, which we really enjoyed, and then fell asleep in front of a DVD! I woke up around 7.30 and we decided to make the bed up, and go to bed early. Both of us were asleep by 8.30pm, I think after the last few days we needed it!