Swimming with Dolphins
27 Tuesday February 2007 Filed in: Travel
Actually
we was supposed to do a tour with dolphins when
we was in Kaikura, but it was full booked at that
time. So we tried to get on a list to get it
later. But we had no luck with tat so Susanne
found another place that offered the same thing
in Akaroa. Well almost the same thing, here there
was not the big dolphins that had surrounding the
boat at the whale watching excursion, but a
smaller type, called the Hector Dolphins. They
where threaten to die out and this was almost the
last spot they lived on now. Well they where on
other places too around NZ but there is only
about 7000 of them left.
The road out to Akaroa was a little bit curvy the last 10 km before we came there. This peninsula 70 km outside Christchurch was an old volcano too so we had to pass a summit. On the way down to the sea again we where amazed with the looks. It was totally astonishing.
To swim with the dolphins we had to go by boat out almost to open sea. The waves got bigger as we approached the sea but there they where. Hector Dolphins is about 1.20-1.40 m long full grown. There calfs just about half the size. We had wet-suites on so the water 15-16 degrees was OK to swim in. The water was rather murky though so we didn't see that much under water but we had about 10 of them Hectors around us so we got a good look on them when they passed us just half a meter away. Curiosity made them come so close cause they wanted to look what it was that clicked. We had stones that we clapped together under the water and they heard that and wanted to have a look at it. They don't see any further under the water than us so thats why they came so close. Otherwise thy use sonar to navigate.
All went terrific until we where to enter the boats again. The big waves and the rolling boat was too much for Susanne and she got really seasick, as did some other persons on our boat. We had to go back to the harbor. On the way back I put my eyes on some birds that I first thought was seagull childs, but it was Blue Penguins. Now I realized how close to Antarctic we where.
The road out to Akaroa was a little bit curvy the last 10 km before we came there. This peninsula 70 km outside Christchurch was an old volcano too so we had to pass a summit. On the way down to the sea again we where amazed with the looks. It was totally astonishing.
To swim with the dolphins we had to go by boat out almost to open sea. The waves got bigger as we approached the sea but there they where. Hector Dolphins is about 1.20-1.40 m long full grown. There calfs just about half the size. We had wet-suites on so the water 15-16 degrees was OK to swim in. The water was rather murky though so we didn't see that much under water but we had about 10 of them Hectors around us so we got a good look on them when they passed us just half a meter away. Curiosity made them come so close cause they wanted to look what it was that clicked. We had stones that we clapped together under the water and they heard that and wanted to have a look at it. They don't see any further under the water than us so thats why they came so close. Otherwise thy use sonar to navigate.
All went terrific until we where to enter the boats again. The big waves and the rolling boat was too much for Susanne and she got really seasick, as did some other persons on our boat. We had to go back to the harbor. On the way back I put my eyes on some birds that I first thought was seagull childs, but it was Blue Penguins. Now I realized how close to Antarctic we where.
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