Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This morning was pretty lazy. I strolled to the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lake Tekapo, just beating a hoard of old Japanese tourists to get some good photos. The collie statue was swarming with them, so I made a quick exit and waited for the bus to Kaikoura.
One bus, one minibus and four episodes of Flight Of The Conchords later and we had rolled into Kaikoura, meaning "Eat Crayfish" in Maori. I'll be fulfilling the apparent top item in "100 things to do before you die" by swimming with dolphins as long as I stay alive until a little after 12:30pm tomorrow...
Next day: I can safely say that swimming with dusky dolphins is among the top experiences of my life. Mission successful! We went out on the boat wearing two-piece wetsuits - the top half had a rather uncomfortable bottom strap that went between my legs and raised my voice an octave. This was useful as we had to use our voices to sing and screech to attract the dolphins. They were everywhere! In the hour of swimming that we did, we were among five or six HUNDRED dolphins. Some of them played with me by looping around me as I followed them. They are amazing and friendly creatures and you really feel like you have a connection with them while you swim together. Sounds a bit w***y, I know, but I can't explain it any other way.
It seems that IBM have despatched a spy to check on my progress and to make sure I don't defect to another country/business. When I was waiting to do my dolphin swimming, I met Paul Partington, who was sat on a chair right next to me! That's almost what he does at work, too - we work a mere 10 feet from each other in London. Small world indeed.
I spent the rest of the evening with Gail and Paul (another Paul) walking around the peninsula, stopping along the way to photograph some seals and to sample a crayfish fritter. The sun was setting as we walked, which gave us some breathtaking views. And now I'm back at the hostel with a beer. So all in all a bloody good day!
- comments