Tuesday December 20th
Since our Dolphin Safari was moved to today we had to pack everything up and get ready to go before we left. We had a very light lunch-not knowing what the waves would hold for our stomachs. We then checked out and went to Salisbury wharf. It was supposed to be sunny but was mostly cloudy to start. It would clear to bright and sunny later and we would feel the full brunt of the sun with little ozone protection. Despite two rounds of sunscreen Gabe still left with red ears and cheeks.
The boat was crowded with people bumped from the last two days and so was a little annoying. Brody and Gabe soon wormed their way up into the captains deck and were looking out the windows with binoculars and asking a million questions. The Bay of Plenty is apparently famous for its wildlife and dolphins-including orcas.
At first all we saw were groups of fish, thousands of them with lots of hungry birds floating above. The birds were diving down and feeding on them, and it was quite the site. We even ran across some amazing flying fish. They are absolutely stunning. I had never seen anything like it before. It really looks like they have little wings moving as fast as a humming birds as they skirt 2-3 feet over the water.
Mount Manganui from our boat.
Mount Manganui from our boat.
Gabe helps keep a look out in the Captain's deck.
Kids in front of boat.
Tuatara and sea lion island.
Lots of birds and fish.
Finally, after too many hours, we found a small micro pod of dolphins. They were incredibly playful and interactive and we had a blast. Because we found them too late we couldn’t swim in the ocean with them as we were supposed to-much to Tara’s displeasure, but it was still a wonderful interaction. They really responded to our cheers and singing! You could see them turning to look up at us from under the water. Despite not getting to swim with them, it was an amazing experience.
The dolphins would swim right in front of us and then zoom out to the sides to do a trick-they loved the interaction of our applause.
That metal is the anchor on the front of the
Picnic after boat ride.
After our great day out on the water we had a long drive from Mount Maunganui to Rotorua. We are staying at the Kuirau Lodge in a small cottage. We went shopping to stock up on food before heading in for the night. We stayed out longer on the water than we were supposed to in order to find the dolphins so after the drive, we were all pretty tired.
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