Dolphins, sharks, penguins and fur seals
As I said, it was great to see Fiona. And, despite being ill we did manage some expeditions into the city. Mainly for the purchase of beads and fishing equipment. Just the necessities then.
We headed down to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular, just south of Christchurch, the day before Larry and Lesley were due to arrive to check out the bach (kiwi holiday house). The place was very 70s chic, but well looked after and very well appointed on the waters edge. All in a good bargain for $90 (30 quid) a night.
Larry and Lesley arrived, via Singapore and Sydney, on the 9th and it was lovely to see them after 10 months. Courteous as they are, they arrived bearing gifts. Mainly edible and including proper cream eggs and proper marmite. Yummy!
So, we had a great few days in Akaroa - catching up, fishing, sightseeing, wine tasting, enjoying the fish and chips and swanning round the many well-stocked gift shops. There were a couple of particular highlights though.
I am not sure everyone agreed with me at 5.45am, but I rather liked the idea of an early morning dolphin swim. For one thing, the clearest weather had been in the mornings of the first 2 days. Still, we trudged out to the car with Larry muttering something about not knowing that dolphins were nocturnal...
However, I think I can safely say that my instincts were redeemed by the experience. With three of us suited up in thick wet suits and flippers and Lesley with the camera ready we were the only boat heading out at first light. We found dolphins within 10 minutes - Hectors Dolphins to be precise. Around a metre long and very playful.
We spent just over an hour in the water with them as the sky lightened over the harbour, singing through the snorkel to get their attention (they particularly like 'New York, New York' and 'Moon River') and trying to keep up with them when they came our way.
It was pretty cool even to be just floating about in the middle of the harbour at that time of day (it's pretty much impossible to sink in a wet suit) watching the dolphins. I had 4 or 5 very close encounters with them - when they decided they were interested in me and swam with me and around me.
With low water visibility (which is why the Hectors dolphins like the water as they are stealth hunters) they would suddenly appear out of nowhere and we'd have to get our flippers working and chase after them in play. I am sure Lesley had just as much fun laughing at our feeble attempts to keep up with the dolphins as watching the dolphins themselves.
Though the weather wasn't the best in Akaroa the rain stayed off and we managed to explore a fair bit of the Banks Peninsular by road (and thus introduce Larry and Lesley to kiwi drivers...). It's very pretty and we found plenty of wharfs to fish off.
After months of reassuring Lesley that the water in these parts is perfectly safe to swim in, the second catch of the holiday was a small shark. Very small you understand, but still a shark. Still not sure she believes us that they don't grow much bigger.
We did venture out on a fishing trip into the harbour one afternoon and catch even more spiny dogfish, which was tasty enough fried in beer batter. Again, it was nice being out in the harbour and we managed to spot even more wildlife including many different seabirds and plenty of fur seals. Plus, I finally managed to see a penguin in the wild - a little blue one to be precise. Very little and quite blue, so it is well named.
We headed down to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular, just south of Christchurch, the day before Larry and Lesley were due to arrive to check out the bach (kiwi holiday house). The place was very 70s chic, but well looked after and very well appointed on the waters edge. All in a good bargain for $90 (30 quid) a night.Larry and Lesley arrived, via Singapore and Sydney, on the 9th and it was lovely to see them after 10 months. Courteous as they are, they arrived bearing gifts. Mainly edible and including proper cream eggs and proper marmite. Yummy!
So, we had a great few days in Akaroa - catching up, fishing, sightseeing, wine tasting, enjoying the fish and chips and swanning round the many well-stocked gift shops. There were a couple of particular highlights though.
I am not sure everyone agreed with me at 5.45am, but I rather liked the idea of an early morning dolphin swim. For one thing, the clearest weather had been in the mornings of the first 2 days. Still, we trudged out to the car with Larry muttering something about not knowing that dolphins were nocturnal...
However, I think I can safely say that my instincts were redeemed by the experience. With three of us suited up in thick wet suits and flippers and Lesley with the camera ready we were the only boat heading out at first light. We found dolphins within 10 minutes - Hectors Dolphins to be precise. Around a metre long and very playful.We spent just over an hour in the water with them as the sky lightened over the harbour, singing through the snorkel to get their attention (they particularly like 'New York, New York' and 'Moon River') and trying to keep up with them when they came our way.
It was pretty cool even to be just floating about in the middle of the harbour at that time of day (it's pretty much impossible to sink in a wet suit) watching the dolphins. I had 4 or 5 very close encounters with them - when they decided they were interested in me and swam with me and around me.
With low water visibility (which is why the Hectors dolphins like the water as they are stealth hunters) they would suddenly appear out of nowhere and we'd have to get our flippers working and chase after them in play. I am sure Lesley had just as much fun laughing at our feeble attempts to keep up with the dolphins as watching the dolphins themselves.
Though the weather wasn't the best in Akaroa the rain stayed off and we managed to explore a fair bit of the Banks Peninsular by road (and thus introduce Larry and Lesley to kiwi drivers...). It's very pretty and we found plenty of wharfs to fish off.
After months of reassuring Lesley that the water in these parts is perfectly safe to swim in, the second catch of the holiday was a small shark. Very small you understand, but still a shark. Still not sure she believes us that they don't grow much bigger.
We did venture out on a fishing trip into the harbour one afternoon and catch even more spiny dogfish, which was tasty enough fried in beer batter. Again, it was nice being out in the harbour and we managed to spot even more wildlife including many different seabirds and plenty of fur seals. Plus, I finally managed to see a penguin in the wild - a little blue one to be precise. Very little and quite blue, so it is well named.
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