Well, despite my best efforts, I didn’t sleep a single wink last night.

Nothing. Zip. Nada. (Which was not good, as I was supposed to be well rested for the early start that we had to get up and go on our Dolphin Swim!!) (which I was SO excited about!!!)

But, as it was a special day, I managed to scrape myself up out of bed, and get myself ready at 7am when the alarm clock sounded, before driving off to the Encounters Centre at 8am sharp. Luckily, we had picked a good day to do it, as the sun was shining, and there were lovely blue skies. (though this did not fool us into thinking that the water would be even slightly warm!)

When we got there, they gave us each a wetsuit, snorkel, flippers, and head cover-thingy to wear, which we had to get changed into. We all looked absolutely ridiculous, especially as they were all so bloody tight!! (But, I was glad of that as the tighter the suit, the warmer you are in the water.) I did take comfort from the fact that there was not a single person that looked good in their wetsuit, although I did think it was rather harsh that on the ladies’ suits, the sizes were all printed on at the bottom of one of the legs in big, white numbers. Personally, I wasn’t bothered about people seeing mine, but some women may be sensitive to that type of thing!! ( I figured “what the hell! I haven’t slept a wink, nor washed my hair, I’m never going to see any of these people ever again; I aint trying to impress any of them!!” Which is NOT how I would have thought before I started this trip!! I probably would have been in full make-up, sucking my guts in, pleading to the woman handing out the wetsuits to give me a size smaller so that I didn’t feel so fat!! But, things have changed since I became a backpacker!)

Then, they made us watch a DVD about safety, and what to expect, and about the wild Dusky Dolphins that we would be swimming with out in the Ocean, which included tips like “be dolphinlike,” “swim with your arms by your sides” and “make noises through your snorkel to attract the dolphins, as we will not attract them by any other means, such as enticing them with food.”

It was made clear that the dolphins would not be forced into swimming with us, and they would only come on their own accord, if they did at all, which I was glad about, because after all, they are wild, and if they become tame, it normally means something not good for them.

The fact that I suffer really bad Sea sickness, and my great fear of being in the Ocean hadn’t really reacquainted themselves to me at this point, as I was far too busy being excited by the prospect of swimming with the dolphins!!

Next, we were put onto Coaches, and driven to the Bay, where we were loaded onto our designated boats like excited School children. Luckily, our boat was barely full, and there was room to move about comfortably and stuff, which is always good.

Emma, the guide on board, quickly told us how to get the best from our Snorkels, as a few of us weren’t so sure, and before we knew it, we were being loaded onto the back of the boat ready to get in the water, as a group of dolphins had been spotted nearby.

I still hadn’t thought about the sea sickness thing or the fear of the Ocean, and before I knew it, the Claxon on the boat sounded as a signal to slide into the water, and I was in the freezing cold ocean.

I was so excited to see all the dolphins circling around and underneath me, that I almost didn’t realize how sick I was feeling, and soon warmed up in my wetsuit. But then, all of a sudden, the motion of the water bobbing me around like a weeble started to make me feel like I was going to puke everywhere, and I couldn’t breathe. I had also suddenly realized that I was in fact in the middle of the ocean, and started to panic a little, so I quickly swam towards Mum, who signaled the boat to come and pick me up.

When I got back on the boat, Paul was already on there, too, as he had experienced some difficulty, also. Everyone else soon came back to the boat when the Claxon sounded again, and we drove further and stopped at another place where the dolphins had moved to.

Undettered, and determined to get close to the dolphins again, Paul and I decided to get back in the water again for a second time, which we did, and I was so happy and amazed when the dolphins were swimming around underneath me again. But, it wasn’t long before I had that feeling again, and started to panic, before having to hastily swim back to the boat (which seemed like miles away) once again. On reflection, I probably knew that I shouldn’t have gone back in, but like I said, I was determined to swim with the dolphind again, so I ignored all my common sense and did it anyway! I should just accept that I’m just no good in water!! And the sea was actually relatively calm that day, so I don’t want to think how I would have been in a choppier sea!!

Mum decided to go in without her flippers on for a while shortly after, but came spluttering back to the boat soon after because she was finding it too hard to swim with her wetsuit on.

I was confused as to why quite strong swimmers like Mum and I would have so much difficulty, but then Emma pointed out that swimming in a pool, and swimming in the Ocean are 2 completely different environments, so you can get people that are very proficient at swimming in pools that find it very hard to swim in open water. Which makes a lot of sense, really! (Why didn’t I think of that?!)

Anyhow, after the second attempt, I decided it was probably best if I gave the third go a miss, and got changed back into my clothes, slightly disappointed that I hadn’t spent more time in the water with the dolphins, but at the same time, really chuffed that I had spent any time at all with them, too!

Soon, the others came back on the boat, and got changed, too, and we stopped the boat to observe the dolphins and to take pictures. By this time I was well and truly aware of my sea sickness, and was staying firmly on the back of the boat, shoving Gingernuts into my gob at the speed of light to try and remedy the situation. (which actually helped quite a lot!) and watched the dolphins doing their thing, leaping out of the water, flipping and turning, and thinking how amazing it was. I was glad that I stayed on the back of the boat in the end, as when I came to look at the photos that Mum took, it turned out that I saw a lot more going on behind the boat, than that was seen from the top deck, so I was a little consoled about my inability to stay in the water for as long.

Before we knew it, we were back at the Encounters Centre, and it was all over!! I was so glad that the dolphins had decided to come and see us, as I think I would have been depressed forever if they hadn’t have done, and was so greatful for the little bit of time that I swam along with them!(Although they were probably thinking “here we go again….”) It’s probably one of the most special things that I have done in my life so far!

Back at the Hostel, I took a much needed, and appreciated hot shower, whilst Mum and Paul took the stinky option, and didn’t! (Eewww!!) before we went on a short drive to see if we could find a Whale watching point from somewhere on the Coast.

We ended up parking at some random Caravan park that backed onto a part of the beach, that had really good views, and Mum and Paul started looking for distant shapes of Whales in the distance and taking photos, whilst I combed the beach, some very interesting things, such as a severed Eels head, (which was a lot heavier than you would expect…), some dead crabs, and a load of really pretty Paua Shells. (A type of shellfish. The shells are pearlescent inside and look a little like Mother of Pearl. It is polished and sold as ornaments or jewellery in a lot of places.) Then, as I bent around the large rock that Mum and Paul were stood on the top of, I let out a massive scream when I practically stood on a great, big, dead Seal…that turned out to be alive, and opened it’s eyes and looked at me with disgust at being disturbed in such a manner!! I ran away so fast! I was frightned that it might bite me or something, but when Mum and Paul got down from the top of the rock, we realized that it was quite placid. But still, you aren’t supposed to get more than 10 meters towards them anyway, as you have to respect that they are wild, and you are on their territory, and that you should not distress them.

Paul asked why I thought that it was dead, and why I had screamed- they both seemed like completely random responses to the situation to Mum and him, and all I could reply is that I thought it was dead because its fur was so dried out that it looked like it had been there for a long time, plus its eyes were closed, and I screamed because I was totally not expecting to nearly stand on a great big Seal, and it kind of took me by surprise, funnily enough!!!lol. (Made all the more random, as we were miles away from the local Seal Colony that we had visited briefly the day before. Maybe they were on vacation or in fish rehab or something? Who knows the way that the Seal Society works?)

It’s a good job that despite my scream, he was totally indifferent to us, anyway!!

Not much time passed before it was Mum who was squeeling away, directing Paul, who was armed with the camcorder as usual, as she had spotted a tiny, likkle baby Seal peeking out through a crack between 2 boulders!! It was soooooo…. Cute, flapping around, but we established that it wasn’t stuck or anything, it was just mooching around there. We couldn’t get too close, in case we scared it, and eventually it went sliding down the rock and plopped into the water and seaweed to find a bit more adventure, or a bit of privacy.

We had totally abandoned all efforts of Whale Watching at this point, and had worked out that we probably weren’t going to see any of them from as far away as we were, so after walking the beach for a while, we headed back to the car, satisfied with our Seal discoveries.

We briefly went to the shops, and picked up something to eat for tea, and stopped off at a lovely lookout that had a great view of the bay and the mountains around it for a while, as it was still sunny, we thought that we should make the most of it while we could!

Anyhow, I am going to go to bed early, as last nights distinct non-sleep was just not good, and it has been a very long day!!