Porpoise Bay

Some Israelis that Oded met at Mt. Cook told us of a secluded bay at the very south of the south island where dolphins swim close to the shore. Not only had they seen them, but they swam with them. We checked into the camp in the late afternoon and immediately asked about the dolphin sighting possibility. The lady at reception casually pointed out the front door. I went out, stood on the edge of the cliff and immediately dolphins jumped out of the water, like a regular day at Sea World. I shouted for Oded and a few minutes later we were stripped down to our under things and running into the water.

Freeze frame for a second: this sounds amazing and fortunate but please consider that the day was sunless, the wind was whipping, and the water temperature was somewhere around 12 Celsius. OK, resume. Dolphins jumping and Oded and I doing our best to swim out over the huge waves to make it where the dolphins played. Once we got out to calmer waters, we lost the dolphins until one was five feet in front of me. And then there were five circling us and swimming with us. It was exhilarating and frightening, and amazing to see such truly beautiful creatures so close. We made it back to shore, fighting the waves, to hot showers and glasses of hot cocoa.

We also managed to see sea lions, seals and the rare yellow-eyed penguins throughout the day at different coastal spots. While I miss the constant presence of kangaroos, NZ has some great fauna of its own.