May 1, 2024
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This time round in the South Island we decided to brave the cold Akaroa water to see if these wee poppets would be interested in some company and I was NOT expecting how intrigued they would be by us! They did so many swim-bys and I could hear them chattering under the waves, it was incredible (as you can probably tell by my goober face....)
I love how much work the local tourism offices have done to get these rare dolphins more protection. And every single swimmer contributes more money to the cause, so that these beauties can hopefully recover and thrive in their natural environment <3
Fur Seals and Dolphins
We managed to do a return trip to Akaroa in the hope of this time seeing the rare Hectors dolphin that only live in this area and which is the smallest dolphin in the world being approx 1.2m max length. We were told to look out for fins and there would usually be 3 or 4 together but when we found them there where approx 10 so far more than anyone expected so we got a double dose after none at all. These dolphins and grey and rarely jump so it was a question of trying to capture them with noses out of the water.
We spent the night in a lovely little heritage restored cottage in Christchurch and then headed up the coast the following day ready for our ferry crossing back to North Island. This took us along the coast at Goose Bay where we were lucky enough to see dolphins playing out at sea jumping over each other and doing some pretty spectacular aerial jumps. After lunch in Kaikoura we headed on as I hoped we might see baby seals at Ohau. Sadly the stream and rock pool the mums used to leave the babies in is now closed off following the Kaikoura earthquake but a purpose built viewing point has been built and the fur seals have taken over the rock pools on the coast itself. There were literally hundreds, many young playing in the rock pools and waves. It was a fantastic day for wildlife.
Tomorrow we are on the ferry back to Wellington overnight.
