Today I ask for toilet paper that doesn't shred when you pull on it, music through good speakers, a toilet where I can fully sit down, a couch where I can stretch out and watch Golf Central, a haircut, a shower where I can actually touch the floor with my bare feet, something different and new to wear, real drawers to put my socks and underwear in, to put my toothbrush back unshielded, a day without using Purel and to get up and not have to immediately fold my bed away.
Reading my list to Jenn, she constructs her own:
Real Diet Pepsi, a frypan with a handle not threatening to fall off every time we use it, a deeper kitchen sink, counter space, her running shoes and a mandatory rule that all campground bathrooms have a ledge and all shower stalls have hooks and a bench to put your things on.
Just today, we ask for those things.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Kaikoura
With the dolphin swim under our wet suits, we decide to hang around Kaikoura for another sunny but breezy day and do the walk around the peninsula.
You see a few of these furry guys hanging around on the rocks by the shore. They're really not too bothered by people, as you can see.
Well, maybe this guy is...
You see a few of these furry guys hanging around on the rocks by the shore. They're really not too bothered by people, as you can see.
Well, maybe this guy is...
Dolphin Like
Apparently you need to book WELL in advance if you'd like the opportunity to swim with the dusky dolphins in Kaikoura.
We didn't book well in advance. We make the call after we set ourselves up at the DOC site to see if there are any last minute openings. The kind and organized folks at Dolphin Encounters tell us that we can probably get on the 5:30 boat Friday morning. That's A.M. folks!
We sign up for that one, but ask them to notify us if there are any cancellations for earlier boats — earlier as in on Wednesday or Thursday, not as in morning launch time... 5:30 a.m. is early enough as we figure it!
So yes, they call us Wednesday morning to say that we can now go on the Thursday 5:30 a.m ride. We say, "Great!".
They call back at 10:30 a.m. to ask if we can make it to Kaikoura by 12:30 today because 2 spots just opened up. Yay! We KNEW it would work out!
Quickly as we can, we get a move on. We arrive at the shop at 12:15 p.m. Cutting it close we think, but the experts at Dolphin Encounters are a well oiled team and have us kitted out in wetsuits, wet jackets, headgear, and flippers/snorkels/masks in no time. We go through a briefing that repeats several times that the dolphins that we will hopefully be seeing are wild and not lured or baited to come close to the boat. They prep us to not be disappointed if we can't swim with them because of weather or water conditions or lack of dolphins— after all, this is the wide open ocean we'll be swimming in!
There is quite a chop out on the water. We are asked several times if we tend to get seasick. Would we like seasickness pills? Have we ever gotten seasick? We actually start to second guess ourselves... might we get seasick? Should we take a pill, just in case? In the end we decide that we'll risk it - hey, they have buckets on board if the need be.
Dolphin Encounters are the only group permitted by the NZ Department of Conservation to swim with the dolphins. They have three boats in their fleet (only two are going out for the 12:30 departure) and only 13 swimmers are allowed on each boat. This means that the experience with the dolphins is a highly intimate one.
It takes about 20 minutes (minimum) to get out to the dolphins which are spotted by eye only (no sonar equipment or anything to disturb them). Along the way, we see albatross in the water and taking flight. They are giant birds with truly massive wing spans!
The dolphins are predominantly dusky dolphins (although Hector's dolphins and common dolphins mingle amongst them too). About 20% of NZ's population hang out here in Kaikoura. We're talking 2000 dolphins that travel in groups from 200 - 600 strong. Why Kaikoura? Just offshore there is a massive canyon that is part of the deep Hikurangi Trough which is at the boundary of two of the world's crustal plates. It drops straight down 1000 metres at one point. The trough funnels together cold and warm water making it an ideal spot, rich in all the right foods. So, whales (blue, sperm, and others), dolphins (including orca) and seals all come here to feed in the nutrient rich waters.
"Get ready swimmers!" yells Jay our guide (she's from Vancouver!) and before I can freak myself out, the horn sounds and I have slipped into the water off the back of the boat into the 1 1/2 meter swells and into the first pod of dolphins. Ahead of time, we are coached on things to do and not do in the water to attract the attention of the dolphins. So, once in the water, I begin to "act dolphin like" (really this looks like me flailing around trying to duck dive in my buoyant wetsuit) and sing through my snorkel (really this amounts to me squeaking out the only song I can think of at the time.... the Canadian national anthem). Yet, there they are, dolphins swimming up to me — looking at me in the eye, floating suspended alongside me, circling me. I loose my breath in my excitement and am soon sucking in mouthfuls of sea water. Sputtering, I pop my head up only to hear the horn blast from the boat signaling to all 13 swimmers to head back to the boat.
I scramble back aboard, pull up my mask and find Keir. Our eyes are wide and we can only look at each other in amazement "Can you believe this?!!" is what we are not saying out loud.
We are allowed five "drops" into the dolphins. Each drop find us amongst the pod. Keir is very good at diving down despite his buoyant suit and so the dolphins love to swim around him. He is also good at doing his squeaky "R2D2 speak" as he calls it. They seem to really like that as well. I try to swim nearby to him, but it is remarkable how quickly the ocean swells separate us. We both pop our heads up often enough to check that we are not too far from the boat.
After the third drop people are slowing down. Many are clutching buckets and getting sea sick in the swells and so stay aboard. There are Keir and I though, front and centre, every time the guide asks "Anyone want to go again?" In total we swim for about 1 hour, but it flies by.
After the last swim, we (those who are not sea sick - which amounts to about 5 people only at this point) head out to the front of the boat where we get to watch the dolphins from above. Their acrobatics are incredible! Continuous summersaults in the air, jumps, flips... they are truly the most adept and agile swimmers I've ever seen. It is nearly impossible to capture it in a photo as it happens so rapidly.
Both of us are struck by their sense of pure joy — free to frolic amongst the waves (and us) in the vast open ocean. Playing, socializing and eating — that seems to be the sole focus. People have described swimming with the dolphins as a spiritual experience and surely it is this intimacy with their infectious joy that is at the heart of it.
Jay stays out front with us, filling us up with facts about the dusky's (I'll spare you the science lesson, but do look them up if curious!). We even spot a few common dolphins playing amongst the pod.
Back inside the boat, we are given blankets to wrap around ourselves, ginger cookies and hot chocolate to warm up with. It is a feat in itself to watch our guide pour hot chocolate into a cup as the boat rocks side to side and up and down in the swells. She laughs when we point that out.
"No, the treat for me is now watching you all try to DRINK it!!!"
We didn't book well in advance. We make the call after we set ourselves up at the DOC site to see if there are any last minute openings. The kind and organized folks at Dolphin Encounters tell us that we can probably get on the 5:30 boat Friday morning. That's A.M. folks!
We sign up for that one, but ask them to notify us if there are any cancellations for earlier boats — earlier as in on Wednesday or Thursday, not as in morning launch time... 5:30 a.m. is early enough as we figure it!
So yes, they call us Wednesday morning to say that we can now go on the Thursday 5:30 a.m ride. We say, "Great!".
They call back at 10:30 a.m. to ask if we can make it to Kaikoura by 12:30 today because 2 spots just opened up. Yay! We KNEW it would work out!
Quickly as we can, we get a move on. We arrive at the shop at 12:15 p.m. Cutting it close we think, but the experts at Dolphin Encounters are a well oiled team and have us kitted out in wetsuits, wet jackets, headgear, and flippers/snorkels/masks in no time. We go through a briefing that repeats several times that the dolphins that we will hopefully be seeing are wild and not lured or baited to come close to the boat. They prep us to not be disappointed if we can't swim with them because of weather or water conditions or lack of dolphins— after all, this is the wide open ocean we'll be swimming in!
There is quite a chop out on the water. We are asked several times if we tend to get seasick. Would we like seasickness pills? Have we ever gotten seasick? We actually start to second guess ourselves... might we get seasick? Should we take a pill, just in case? In the end we decide that we'll risk it - hey, they have buckets on board if the need be.
Dolphin Encounters are the only group permitted by the NZ Department of Conservation to swim with the dolphins. They have three boats in their fleet (only two are going out for the 12:30 departure) and only 13 swimmers are allowed on each boat. This means that the experience with the dolphins is a highly intimate one.
It takes about 20 minutes (minimum) to get out to the dolphins which are spotted by eye only (no sonar equipment or anything to disturb them). Along the way, we see albatross in the water and taking flight. They are giant birds with truly massive wing spans!
The dolphins are predominantly dusky dolphins (although Hector's dolphins and common dolphins mingle amongst them too). About 20% of NZ's population hang out here in Kaikoura. We're talking 2000 dolphins that travel in groups from 200 - 600 strong. Why Kaikoura? Just offshore there is a massive canyon that is part of the deep Hikurangi Trough which is at the boundary of two of the world's crustal plates. It drops straight down 1000 metres at one point. The trough funnels together cold and warm water making it an ideal spot, rich in all the right foods. So, whales (blue, sperm, and others), dolphins (including orca) and seals all come here to feed in the nutrient rich waters.
"Get ready swimmers!" yells Jay our guide (she's from Vancouver!) and before I can freak myself out, the horn sounds and I have slipped into the water off the back of the boat into the 1 1/2 meter swells and into the first pod of dolphins. Ahead of time, we are coached on things to do and not do in the water to attract the attention of the dolphins. So, once in the water, I begin to "act dolphin like" (really this looks like me flailing around trying to duck dive in my buoyant wetsuit) and sing through my snorkel (really this amounts to me squeaking out the only song I can think of at the time.... the Canadian national anthem). Yet, there they are, dolphins swimming up to me — looking at me in the eye, floating suspended alongside me, circling me. I loose my breath in my excitement and am soon sucking in mouthfuls of sea water. Sputtering, I pop my head up only to hear the horn blast from the boat signaling to all 13 swimmers to head back to the boat.
I scramble back aboard, pull up my mask and find Keir. Our eyes are wide and we can only look at each other in amazement "Can you believe this?!!" is what we are not saying out loud.
We are allowed five "drops" into the dolphins. Each drop find us amongst the pod. Keir is very good at diving down despite his buoyant suit and so the dolphins love to swim around him. He is also good at doing his squeaky "R2D2 speak" as he calls it. They seem to really like that as well. I try to swim nearby to him, but it is remarkable how quickly the ocean swells separate us. We both pop our heads up often enough to check that we are not too far from the boat.
After the third drop people are slowing down. Many are clutching buckets and getting sea sick in the swells and so stay aboard. There are Keir and I though, front and centre, every time the guide asks "Anyone want to go again?" In total we swim for about 1 hour, but it flies by.
After the last swim, we (those who are not sea sick - which amounts to about 5 people only at this point) head out to the front of the boat where we get to watch the dolphins from above. Their acrobatics are incredible! Continuous summersaults in the air, jumps, flips... they are truly the most adept and agile swimmers I've ever seen. It is nearly impossible to capture it in a photo as it happens so rapidly.
Both of us are struck by their sense of pure joy — free to frolic amongst the waves (and us) in the vast open ocean. Playing, socializing and eating — that seems to be the sole focus. People have described swimming with the dolphins as a spiritual experience and surely it is this intimacy with their infectious joy that is at the heart of it.
Jay stays out front with us, filling us up with facts about the dusky's (I'll spare you the science lesson, but do look them up if curious!). We even spot a few common dolphins playing amongst the pod.
Back inside the boat, we are given blankets to wrap around ourselves, ginger cookies and hot chocolate to warm up with. It is a feat in itself to watch our guide pour hot chocolate into a cup as the boat rocks side to side and up and down in the swells. She laughs when we point that out.
"No, the treat for me is now watching you all try to DRINK it!!!"
The Bungy Awaits
Now that we are in the south island, I am suddenly aware that my bungy jump moment looms.
Not today. Not tomorrow. But soon.
New Zealand is renowned for its bungy jumping and I am determined when I get to Queensland, which the home of the bungy, to give it a go.
I don't think I am afraid. Heights do not bother me and the thought of free falling for a few seconds is thrilling. Bring it on, I say.
However, the stories swirl and accumulate as we travel and everyone you meet has one.
"You'll detatch your retina!"
"You'll ruin your back!"
Peter, who we met up north in Cape Reinga, described his NZ skydiving experience as the most exhilarating two minutes of his life. "But I lost my bottle," he said when recounting the tale of his attempt to bungy. Apparently, all strapped in, out on the ledge, staring down at the drop of 75 metres plus, he lost his nerve and asked to climb back down.
"You'll lose your $300.00," the drop master told him.
"I don't care." And he climbed down and walked away from his jump and his money.
Klaus, back in Toronto, once told me a story about his one and only NZ bungy jump experience.
"The guy in front of us was so freakin' nervous, he was hyperventilating and psyching himself up to do it. And when he got up to the ledge, he jumped before they had a chance to strap the bungie cord onto him!"
You can imagine what happened.
And yet, the very next day, after the police investigation, Klaus was back up on the same ledge and making sure he was all strapped in, did the very same jump, loving every minute of it.
If you stop to think about it, you'll never go — get the thumbs up from the drop master, close your eyes and then fall into the abyss.
I want the one where your head dips into the water.
If I can.
The bungy looms.
Not today. Not tomorrow. But soon.
New Zealand is renowned for its bungy jumping and I am determined when I get to Queensland, which the home of the bungy, to give it a go.
I don't think I am afraid. Heights do not bother me and the thought of free falling for a few seconds is thrilling. Bring it on, I say.
However, the stories swirl and accumulate as we travel and everyone you meet has one.
"You'll detatch your retina!"
"You'll ruin your back!"
Peter, who we met up north in Cape Reinga, described his NZ skydiving experience as the most exhilarating two minutes of his life. "But I lost my bottle," he said when recounting the tale of his attempt to bungy. Apparently, all strapped in, out on the ledge, staring down at the drop of 75 metres plus, he lost his nerve and asked to climb back down.
"You'll lose your $300.00," the drop master told him.
"I don't care." And he climbed down and walked away from his jump and his money.
Klaus, back in Toronto, once told me a story about his one and only NZ bungy jump experience.
"The guy in front of us was so freakin' nervous, he was hyperventilating and psyching himself up to do it. And when he got up to the ledge, he jumped before they had a chance to strap the bungie cord onto him!"
You can imagine what happened.
And yet, the very next day, after the police investigation, Klaus was back up on the same ledge and making sure he was all strapped in, did the very same jump, loving every minute of it.
If you stop to think about it, you'll never go — get the thumbs up from the drop master, close your eyes and then fall into the abyss.
I want the one where your head dips into the water.
If I can.
The bungy looms.
F**ksters and Dickbots
For the 8:00 a.m. ferry to the south island, we have to be at the terminal by seven. It's a pretty straightforward drive, being that our campsite outside of Wellington is only fifteen minutes away.
We join the queue to check in and rudely name call all the people who try to skip the line by using the outside lane which is CLEARLY marked for outbound traffic and then innocently attempt to merge into the waiting line up at the last moment — like they didn't realize. Fucksters and dickbots — that's what we label them.
Once through the check in, we join another queue to board the ferry. With some time to kill, we decide to make breakfast in the Scubby — nothing like a bowl of cereal and some fruit in the front seat.
It is only when we are eating that we realize that we are parked in the line up in such a manner that the entire convoy of cars for the ferry is looking at us as we eat breakfast... Oops... Hi there....
There are two ferry services to the south island — Bluebridge and InterIsland. Andrew from Cruzy Campers has advised us to take Bluebridge because it's cheaper — about $10 cheaper, from what we can figure. It all goes smoothly — we drive into the ferry, park and then go up top to find a seat in the lounge for the three hour ride. I go out on the front deck as we depart Wellington and hang around to watch the ferry clear the bay and head out into the open water. The Cook Strait is notorious for being a treacherous passage so I'm trying to get sense of the chop on the strait. Not too bad, from what I can surmise. I've already noted the location of the motion sickness bags, should one be required...
It's a blast of cold wind once we're into Cook Strait, enough that it sends most of us on the front deck running back inside. That's never seems to be a factor when watching a movie about the life of pirates and sailors — just how bitterly cold it can get out on the open seas. I will myself to stay out until the ferry clears the last point of the north island and then with a slight view of the south island on the horizon, head inside.
There's time for us to read the newspaper and share a coffee
For most people, the focus seems to be on sleeping or watching the movie playing in the lounge.
When we reach the shores of the south island, we head back outside to watch as the ferry navigates through the islands and straits into Picton. The wind has died and it is less cold, especially if you position yourself behind the heat vent of one of the ship's engines. The crowd up on deck is noticeably larger with everyone out to bask in the warm sun and observe the new island. We keep an eye out for whales and dolphins. The shoreline is rock and stone beach, with tall coniferous trees — rugged and with open pasture like hills, dotted with sheep and cottages that look only accessible by boat (the sheep and the cottages!).
We land in Picton and make a beeline for Blenheim and its i-Site, 30 K south. Blenheim and the neighbouring town of Resnick shape the heart of the Marlborough region — NZ's most touted area for wine. We've decided to skip over Marlborough for now, with plans to return and do it up proper after our kayak trip in March. But we do stop at one winery on the way out of the region, just to get a taste of what's to come!
Now we are camped at a little DOC campsite on the beach on Marfell's Beach near Cape Campbell. We like the DOC sites as they are cheaper and we always seem to meet new people who have interesting stories to tell, whether it be where they are from or where they've been. This site is no exception as we meet a couple of people as we wait to do our dishes and find out more about travelling to Argentina and South America and Bali. After hearing about Argentina, I am excited and determined once more to go.
The other campsites, the more established and organized ones, cost a little more and offer three things we need every so often — power, hot showers and Wi-Fi. We try to alternate nights — one in a DOC and then one in the commercial sites. It seems to work well.
It is cooler, with a brisk wind, sending us to our fleeces tonight for the first time in weeks. Tomorrow we hope to continue further south to Kaikoura to view the fur seals and see what we can do about swimming with the dolphins.
We join the queue to check in and rudely name call all the people who try to skip the line by using the outside lane which is CLEARLY marked for outbound traffic and then innocently attempt to merge into the waiting line up at the last moment — like they didn't realize. Fucksters and dickbots — that's what we label them.
Once through the check in, we join another queue to board the ferry. With some time to kill, we decide to make breakfast in the Scubby — nothing like a bowl of cereal and some fruit in the front seat.
It is only when we are eating that we realize that we are parked in the line up in such a manner that the entire convoy of cars for the ferry is looking at us as we eat breakfast... Oops... Hi there....
There are two ferry services to the south island — Bluebridge and InterIsland. Andrew from Cruzy Campers has advised us to take Bluebridge because it's cheaper — about $10 cheaper, from what we can figure. It all goes smoothly — we drive into the ferry, park and then go up top to find a seat in the lounge for the three hour ride. I go out on the front deck as we depart Wellington and hang around to watch the ferry clear the bay and head out into the open water. The Cook Strait is notorious for being a treacherous passage so I'm trying to get sense of the chop on the strait. Not too bad, from what I can surmise. I've already noted the location of the motion sickness bags, should one be required...
It's a blast of cold wind once we're into Cook Strait, enough that it sends most of us on the front deck running back inside. That's never seems to be a factor when watching a movie about the life of pirates and sailors — just how bitterly cold it can get out on the open seas. I will myself to stay out until the ferry clears the last point of the north island and then with a slight view of the south island on the horizon, head inside.
There's time for us to read the newspaper and share a coffee
For most people, the focus seems to be on sleeping or watching the movie playing in the lounge.
When we reach the shores of the south island, we head back outside to watch as the ferry navigates through the islands and straits into Picton. The wind has died and it is less cold, especially if you position yourself behind the heat vent of one of the ship's engines. The crowd up on deck is noticeably larger with everyone out to bask in the warm sun and observe the new island. We keep an eye out for whales and dolphins. The shoreline is rock and stone beach, with tall coniferous trees — rugged and with open pasture like hills, dotted with sheep and cottages that look only accessible by boat (the sheep and the cottages!).
We land in Picton and make a beeline for Blenheim and its i-Site, 30 K south. Blenheim and the neighbouring town of Resnick shape the heart of the Marlborough region — NZ's most touted area for wine. We've decided to skip over Marlborough for now, with plans to return and do it up proper after our kayak trip in March. But we do stop at one winery on the way out of the region, just to get a taste of what's to come!
Now we are camped at a little DOC campsite on the beach on Marfell's Beach near Cape Campbell. We like the DOC sites as they are cheaper and we always seem to meet new people who have interesting stories to tell, whether it be where they are from or where they've been. This site is no exception as we meet a couple of people as we wait to do our dishes and find out more about travelling to Argentina and South America and Bali. After hearing about Argentina, I am excited and determined once more to go.
The other campsites, the more established and organized ones, cost a little more and offer three things we need every so often — power, hot showers and Wi-Fi. We try to alternate nights — one in a DOC and then one in the commercial sites. It seems to work well.
It is cooler, with a brisk wind, sending us to our fleeces tonight for the first time in weeks. Tomorrow we hope to continue further south to Kaikoura to view the fur seals and see what we can do about swimming with the dolphins.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Fidel's Famous Joe
Wellington is quite well known in NZ for having a slew of terrific cafe's. We visited one today on Cuba St. for a decadent cappuccino and brownie...happy Valentine's Day to us!
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