The plan was to find the dolphins and then try and swim with them. We headed out, weaving in and out of the many islands constantly on a state of alert. There are very strict rules on engagement here, and rightly so. We found two pods of bottlenose dolphins together but they seemed agitated. We had a proper dolphin expert with us, which was amazing. It turned out one pod was trying to bully the other one! Eventually the pods split and we followed one. After quite a while (we needed to see if there were any babies etc) we were told that we could get in. At this point the clouds had covered the sky, the wind was blowing and the sea was choppy, so please don't imagine tropical seas! It was like jumping in at Vazon on a February day in gale force 6! With no wetsuit! To be honest the fact that as soon as I got in the water the dolphins scarpered was no surprise as I am sure that the cry I emitted when the cold hit was probably only audible by them!!!
We got back on the boat and followed them a bit more. They were frolicking all around us. So we tried again, this time I think I was still numb, so it wasn't as much of a shock, as I had literally lost all feeling anyway. However again they were in no mood to play. And by then our time was up. We had some fabulously close encounters with them from the boat, which had only 18 of us on board, so I was more than chuffed.
News then came through on the radio of activity across the bay, so off we zoomed. Turned out some common dolphins were hunting. They had wiped the fish into a frenzy and all of the birds were circling. We saw gannets, turns etc just dive bombing the water, time after time, literally 10 metres in front of us. It was the most amazing sight.
Back on shore I was in serious need of hot coffee and a warm shower!
Then it was on to another boat, the ferry to Russell, across the bay. Russell was the very first capital of New Zealand. It originally was home to 31 houses of ill repute, but sadly there are no longer such dens on inequity! A quick tour of the peninsular presented various firsts for New Zealand, first bank, first church, first governor etc. Captain Cook named it Bay of Islands, and decided it was a most agreeable place!
It's a gorgeous place. The jetty juts out, whilst the quayside is lined with pohutukawa. I decided to park myself at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, the first hotel in New Zealand, with liquor licence No 1! It claims to have been serving rascals and reprobates since 1827! Being one (or both!) of those I could only join in. So I sat there eating oysters, drinking local Sauvignon Blanc, watching a cormorant catching its dinner and watching the boats. Life is tough!
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