Had breakfast at Hanson's
waterfront Cafe. Went on Great Sights Cruise to Hole in the Rock. Cruised around the bay of Islands on a
perfect sunny day. About 10 people on
our boat braved the freezing (to me!) water to swim with the wild dolphins just
around from Captain Cook’s Cove. The dolphins
put on a fantastic display, two doing dives in unison and flipping out of the
water. All of which I caught on camera
two seconds too late so we’ve got lots of photos of dolphin tails and swirling
water where they went under. The captain
said this was an amazing dolphin display.
However, we are wise to the NZ sense of humour and are pretty sure they
do this everytime people get in the water with them. No one is allowed to swim with them when
there are babies in the water or if the dolphins are hunting or fighting. So we
were luckier than some. Then continued to the hole in the rock and cruised
straight through it. Saw a NZ brown seal
on the way home.
Dinner at 35 degrees
restaurant. On a jetty over the water, quite nice. They had a big fish tank and a big screen tv showing the All blacks vs Australia
Rugby. We were pleased the Kiwis won as we didn't want a riot on our hands. Learnt
how to play knockout whist with the help of kiwifruit chocolate and scotch.
Ronnie won.
Five dolphins showing off and deftly avoiding the swimmers and the camera.
If I had an underwater camera you could clearly see all five dolphins playing.
Hole in the Rock before we cruised through it.
Hole in the Rock after we cruised through it, on a pretty tricky day with a tricky tide. Good (female) captain.
Spirit of New Zealand just arrived from Australia from the International Fleet review that somehow included a lot of Tall Ships.
