Late last night, we drove in to Kaikoura. This morning, we got up early to do a tour where we swim with the dophins. The business takes us out on a boat with full wet suit and snorkel and we find a pod of dolphins to join as they swim along their way. After about 15 minutes, we caught up with the pod and all of us were slow to get in the water, being new to the activity. But we still saw a couple of portly porpoises swim on by. They definitely knew we were there, but I didn't sense that they cared that much. The boat captain made the signal and we swam back to the boat to get ahead of the pod again. The second time we tried, I barely saw a one. There were a couple of dolphins and a little more mingling, but I didn't really feel the connection that I was promised. So, we went back to the boat again to have another try. The guides had instructed us to act like dolphins to be one with them. We should be making noises, singing to them and making eye contact to become one with the dolphins. Surprising, on the third attempt, this actually happened. Liz and I jumped in together and found one large friendly dolphin to become our friend. He swam by us as we were singing, me with the Star Spangled Banner, and Liz with something from ... We made eye contact as he did circles around us over and over again. I thought that we had finally made contact, as we were playing with him. Then, I realized that I had it wrong. At one point he dashed right at us and then swam away quickly, leaving a stream of pee behind him that was difficult to avoid swimming through. I guess he was the one playing with us, and was making fun of our awkward swimming abilities. Overall, the encounter was a unique experience and a lot of fun. I took way too many pictures after we got back to the boat. I got some great ones of the dolphins doing back flips in the water and generally having a good time.
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