Dreams Realized

Today was a very special day for me!

Firstly, Kaikoura is a beautiful town right on the Pacific Ocean with snow capped mountains as a background. It is a backpacker favourite because it offers just about anything an outdoor type could dream of ...and more....

For many years now, I have dreamed of swimming with dolphins. Although there were opportunities before this day, it never happened and now I know why. It was meant to be THIS particular day in this special place.

Bob booked the Dolphin Encounter very early this morning and we were fortunate to get spots on the boat. Our trip took place at noon and following being outfitted with wet suits (we brought our own snorkelling gear with us) and hoods, we were given a 15 minute documentary on protocol, safety and treatment of the dolphins. We were strongly reminded that these Dusky dolphins are wild and that WE were the entertainment for the day, not the dolphins. It was up to us to attempt to swim as much like dolphins as we could (arms by our sides with feet smoothly flipping), sing, and make other noises to attract these beautiful creatures. Under no circumstances were we to touch them. It is their world and if they chose to touch us, that was fine.

Following a short bus ride, we boarded three separate boats with around 20 people per boat (not all were swimming) and off we sailed. It was a sunny day with smooth waters and we drove around 12 miles finding small pods of dolphins along the way. Whenever they were spotted, the captain brought the boat to a stop, sounded the horn 3 times and we slid into the water......freaking cold water! The temperature was 13C and until the water slid inside the suits and warmed up and insulated us, it was a big shock to the old systems.

Our encounters with the first two pods were wonderful and I had a couple eyeball me at fairly close range then off they swam, seemingly not impressed with my melodious tunes.

We continued on and found the most enormous pod that circled around the boat and as we got into the water, they played with us, circled again and again, over and under...eyeballing us all the while. At one point, my fins were hoisted up out of the water and I turned, expecting to see another swimmer. No one was there and I knew it must have been a dolphin. Two circled and came so close I could have touched them and another came face to face, staring into my eyes. What an incredibly emotional experience!

A large purple anenome floated in front of my mask and huge albatross soared over my head.

The swells became larger and after around 3 hours, the horn was sounded and we all boarded the boat and were rewarded with warm water being poured into our wet suits.

We had been told (so I'd thought) that we would have a room to change into dry clothes however what we now believe our guide said was "there will be room to change". It was co-ed! Everyone in this big cabin, stripping off, drying and dressing. No kids, this was not "the dream" I was talking about in my title!
Most of the swimmers were half our age and at first I felt embarrassed then figured...what the heck, they don't know me and it's probably time these young pups learned what happens to the human form after more than 6 decades. Once we were dressed and back on deck there were a lot of buckets being used by people with upset tummies. I'd like to think it was because of the huge swells however who knows, perhaps it was catching a glimpse of the wrinklies that did it.

In spite of the upset stomachs, everyone was over the moon with the experience. It is one more dream I can tick off my list. Bob felt as euphoric as I did and I know that tonight we will dream of wonderful, playful, comical creatures in the sea.

Blessings!
Sharon