Holy Earlyness...For the BEST Thing I've Done So Far...

Kaikoura's in it's history was a whaling town and a crayfish mecca. Today, the town is primarily a tourist attraction for whale watching, sperm whales to be exact and dolphin swims. I woke up BEFORE the crack of dawn at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m. and headed to the main ocean road. I was scheduled for a 5:30 a.m. dolphin swim tour. Why so early? Well, I had a choice of 5:30, 8:30 a.m. or noon. I chose the 5:30 because the seas are supposed to be calmer early in the morning and I needed to catch a bus back to Christchurch after the tour and didn't want to risk missing another bus!

I arrived at the tour office and immediately was given fins, a mask and a wetsuit. I suited up and went into a large room to watch an instructional video. Before the video, the guide gave our group a pretty stern warning. The wind was howling and the seas were NOT calm. She classified the weather as moderate to heavy which meant that they could cancel the tour at any time. She also said that on the way to find the dolphins, the seas were going to be rough and if you have a tendency to get sea sick, you should take some medication AND because we would be swimming in the open ocean, you should be a strong swimmer. Gulp, gulp and gulp! Now was the time to back out if you wanted to - one lady actually did. I considered it because I don't consider myself that great of a swimmer and I am a bit scared of the ocean. If I don't think about it too much, I am fine, but it is so powerful - I was completely taken out by a wave when I was young - now I tend to be wary of swimming in the ocean. I looked around at all the people that were moving forward and I thought if they could do it, I could too! (I've been doing a lot of self motivation/talk these days)

Off we went, loaded into the boat and headed out to sea. I witnessed an amazing sunrise, however this was the most choppy, bumpy, up and down boat ride I have ever been on. You had to hang on for dear life or else you'd get tossed across the boat. People were running to the buckets, getting sick left and right. Oh lord, what have I done? We finally arrived at the dolphin location where the sea had calmed down and were instructed to start the off board procedures we had just learned. I made my way to the back deck and was in AWE! "Oh my god - oh my god" was all I could say - I actually said it out loud over and over again, I was so overwhelmed. There were approximately 200 wild dusky dolphins jumping and swimming right in front of us! The dusky dolphins are a small robust species with a shorter snout and they are marvelous!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I despise cold water and won't get in if it's remotely cold. We had to off board and jump into the water rather quickly so, I didn't have time to notice the temperature of the water. I was in the water and, once again, the self talk came into play. I had to calm myself down and breathe. My heart was pumping so fast and the adrenaline was flowing, I was having a hard time breathing out of the snorkel tube. Once I caught my breath, I was in love! These dolphins just wanted to play. They came close enough to touch, but touching was not allowed. Hundreds were swimming around and with us. There was one lone seal and he was in quite a playful state. I got to the point where I recognized one of the dolphins from a scratch on his side. He kept coming around swimming in circles around me - so amazing! I can't even describe how this experience made me feel. Making eye contact with a dolphin from a meter or two away...WOW! Swimming with the dolphins has been the best experience I've had here in New Zealand! It's a bummer that my pictures don't capture the experience the way I'd like them to, but this day is in my heart as a very special day to remember. I conquered a fear, didn't get sea sick and swam with an one of the most beautiful creatures on earth!