Day 5 (Wed. April 27th)
On Wednesday, I got up early and went to stake out a place to watch the sunrise. Even as I was leaving the hostel in the early dawn, I could tell it was going to be beautiful. The sky was clear, the waters were calm, and there was peace that cannot be put into words. The sunrise was one of the most incredible I’ve seen in awhile. I’m so glad I woke up early to catch itJ. After I saw the sun crest the horizon, I found some coffee, ate another delicious banana and met up with Camille so we could catch our boat to head out in to the Bay of Islands. We had booked a tour the day before that took us out on a boat to find, observe and SWIM with dolphins! I was a little apprehensive as these were wild dolphins… in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (the ultimate in “open-water”). I have always been scared of swimming in water I can’t see the bottom of, but I decided that this experience merited forgetting ALL my fears and just living life! We started out on the boat at 8am and found our first pod of dolphins at about 8:30am, fairly close to the Bay. It was SO cool to see them swimming around our boat and playing with us! We got to sit on the front of the bow and look over into the water. They were swimming with usJ. After the driver and dolphin expert on board observed the pod for a little while, they got us situated to go swimming. There were really strict rules for being allowed to get in the water with them… there couldn’t be any babies with them, we were only allowed in the water for a certain amount of time, etc. New Zealand is very strict on environmental conservation – it’s really impressive. Anyway, the dolphin expert had us sit on the back of the boat and the driver got us close to the pod and then they said, “GO” and we all jumped in! Also, I want to take a quick break to mention that Camille and I chose the best time to go to New Zealand and the Bay of Islands in particular. It’s the very end of their tourist season and summer so they are offering deals on all tours, the water is the warmest of the year, and there are WAY fewer people there. There were only 5 total people on our boat! It was excellentJ. So, anyway, they told us to jump in and just start swimming toward them! It was the most incredible thing!! The dolphins were swimming around us, diving down and around us, calling to one another, clicking, and playing with us. It was so cool. The water was cold and I was pretty terrified, but once I saw them, I couldn’t help but be overcome by the experience. After we got out of the water, we just cruised around on the boat through the Bay until we found another pod. The dolphins we’d swum with earlier had joined this pod and there was baby! It was precious. The dolphin expert explained that we were lucky we’d found our pod before they’d joined with this one because we couldn’t swim with a pod that had a baby. Not only was it unhealthy for a growing baby to be interrupted from nursing, etc. by swimmers, but also, baby dolphins were much more attractive to sharks. Right before getting in the water, I’d asked if there were sharks… the “expert” had told me no. I felt a little betrayed, but I was pretty glad I didn’t know about the sharks beforeJ. I wasn’t attacked… no harm, no foulJ. After we were done with dolphin searching, the boat stopped at a small BEAUTIFUL island in the middle of the Bay and let us off to explore for a few minutes. There was a short hike straight up the side of the hill and offered incredible views into the Bay. Also, the grass covering the entire island was BRIGHT green and there were sheep everywhere. It was such a peaceful time. I wanted to stay there all day. After the stopover, the boat dropped Camille and I off at Russell (a town across the Bay from Paihia) so we could explore before taking the ferry back to Paihia. Russell was so precious! We ate at a little café – I had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich… it was SO good. I’ve had weird food cravings since I’ve been here, especially in terms of seafood. It’s probably because it’s everywhere and SO fresh! I figure if I’m going to eat it, it might as well be where it’s the freshest and most deliciousJ. After exploring Russell, we went back to Paihia and collected our things to catch our bus to get back to Auckland. We had to make special arrangements with another bus company to take us back to Auckland on Wednesday since the tour company we’d booked our trip with didn’t offer a bus back on Wednesday… and then we got on the wrong bus! It was crazy, but the driver of the bus we got on by mistake was SUPER nice about it and offered to just take us back regardless and dropped us at a closer spot than our original bus even would have. Kiwi hospitalityJ. I was really impressed with how awesome everyone in New Zealand was… it was great! The bus ride back to Auckland was beautiful and the stars were bright even through the bus windowJ. When we got back, we searched out internet, but it was a super weak connection and we got frustrated before we got it to work. We ended up just going back to the hostel and going to bed. Another GREAT dayJ.
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