Puking With Dolphins
First the good news: it's stopped raining. Mostly anyway. Which is nice.
Over the last few days we've been staying with Mike, top bloke from the South America trip, and Jacquie (and her brother Andrew) has been around too. We've done heaps of things around Tauranga, which is a really, really great place to be. There's sea (good for beaches, boogie boarding), land (good for beaches, walking), hot spars (good for relaxing, relaxing), and there's a few good bars as well.
Also, there are boat trips out into the Bay of Plenty to try and see and swim with dolphins. Which is what Iona and I have been up to today. The morning dawned grey and murkey, as has been its wont recently. However, as soon as we were out on the water it cleared up to patches of blue sky pretty quickly, and the sea was absolutely perfect: calm, deep blue, with just a hint of a gentle swell.
Ahh, the gentle swell. This was just enough to make Iona feel a bit queasy. And then a bit nauseous. And then a bit like throwing up over the side. Which was a real shame, as by that time there were heaps of dolphins all around us. We're not allowed to be in the water while juveniles are around, so there was a fair amount of time just watching pods come up to frolic under the boat.
After a bit, we lost all the young ones (dolphins that is, not the kids on the boat) and so into the water it was. Iona had perked up a bit by now, so we were part of the first group. Swimming with dolphins isn't quite how I imagined it, as it consisted of being towed behind the boat, holding on to a metal bar. Whatever, we say loads of dolphins really close up, which was really great. I managed to wangle a second go as well, which was top. Iona also managed a second go, but more on the vomit stakes. Hey ho.
Trip back was lovely, sitting out on the bow in the sun: it really was an awesome morning out. Iona felt better as well, and the puking didn't spoil her day too much.
As you can see, I now have a new camera. Photos ahoy as usual on Flickr.
Over the last few days we've been staying with Mike, top bloke from the South America trip, and Jacquie (and her brother Andrew) has been around too. We've done heaps of things around Tauranga, which is a really, really great place to be. There's sea (good for beaches, boogie boarding), land (good for beaches, walking), hot spars (good for relaxing, relaxing), and there's a few good bars as well.
Also, there are boat trips out into the Bay of Plenty to try and see and swim with dolphins. Which is what Iona and I have been up to today. The morning dawned grey and murkey, as has been its wont recently. However, as soon as we were out on the water it cleared up to patches of blue sky pretty quickly, and the sea was absolutely perfect: calm, deep blue, with just a hint of a gentle swell.
Ahh, the gentle swell. This was just enough to make Iona feel a bit queasy. And then a bit nauseous. And then a bit like throwing up over the side. Which was a real shame, as by that time there were heaps of dolphins all around us. We're not allowed to be in the water while juveniles are around, so there was a fair amount of time just watching pods come up to frolic under the boat.
After a bit, we lost all the young ones (dolphins that is, not the kids on the boat) and so into the water it was. Iona had perked up a bit by now, so we were part of the first group. Swimming with dolphins isn't quite how I imagined it, as it consisted of being towed behind the boat, holding on to a metal bar. Whatever, we say loads of dolphins really close up, which was really great. I managed to wangle a second go as well, which was top. Iona also managed a second go, but more on the vomit stakes. Hey ho.
Trip back was lovely, sitting out on the bow in the sun: it really was an awesome morning out. Iona felt better as well, and the puking didn't spoil her day too much.
As you can see, I now have a new camera. Photos ahoy as usual on Flickr.
posted by Johnnie at Tuesday, January 31, 2006
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