Dusky Dolphins of Kaikoura, Hot springs of Hanmer, and Confessions of a Hitchhiker- OH MY!

The town of Picton is the gateway for all the ferries that travel between the North and South Island.  We watched cars, campers, vans and trucks board the massive ships en route to Wellington, the country’s capital.  I had a magnificent chocolate milkshake in a very cute café while observing its operations.  There was a hard-working woman behind the counter and you could tell she quarterbacked the whole operation.  There was such a welcoming, artsy feel to the place.  After I ordered, they gave me a beautifully painted rock with my order number on it.  I thought it was such a nice touch.  It could have just been a plain number like any other place but it wasn’t.  These cute rocks were more personal and gave character to the restaurant, the town, and the country.  Thank you, small cafe owner.

                We were so cold the next morning in Kaikoura that we hoped our long-awaited dolphin encounter trip would be cancelled.  The thought of swimming in 15 degree Celsius water was not appealing in dreary weather but fortunately/unfortunately the ship would sail!  Outfitted in our thick wetsuits, we took to the stormy seas in pursuit of the famous Dusky Dolphins of Kaikoura.  Now this wasn’t like anything I had seen in Florida where the Marriot has two trained dolphins in a confined pool that swim near you.  These were wild dolphins that come into the harbor in pods of hundreds.  There was a 95% encounter rate but they don’t bait the area so there is no way of predicting how successful each trip will be. 

The sea was really strong and I felt the cheap thrill of losing my stomach with every large wave.  I headed up top to help the skipper and my new German friend, Stefan, look for the dolphin pods and was thrilled to spot some sea lions as well as the infamous albatross birds with a wingspan of over 7 feet!  After about 30 minutes, we saw lots of duskies leaping through the waves and doing backflips in the water!  Knowing our window was unpredictable, we turned into Navy seals that were ordered to, “Go, go go!” into the water.  My adrenaline was so high that I was hardly bothered by the cold water.  I put my mask into the water and started making funny noises in order to attract the dolphins.  It proved to be completely unnecessary because these dolphins were EVERYWHERE!!  And ready for a good time! They were darting all around me in every direction, all within arm’s length.  I was singing to them through my snorkeling mask, “Who wants to swim with me??”  We were told that if we made eye contact with them and started swimming in a circle, they would follow.  It was almost impossible to keep up with them!  They were such gorgeous creatures and so playful.  We were there to entertain THEM, not the other way around.

Dusky dolphins!

You scuba??

Bird in Kaikoura



Dolphins!!

It's all about eye contact.

Albatross.  Have fear.

Do you want to swim with me??

                For thirty minutes, I was overwhelmed by the beautiful duskies.  They were so interactive that it was hard to believe that they were wild.  Why would they even want to play with me if I wasn’t feeding them anything?  Why weren’t they afraid of me?  There were times when three of them would come darting straight towards me and I thought, ‘What if a shark snuck his way into the group!?’   Luckily this was not the case.

                The horn sounded and we all made our way back to the boat.  When I got on board I realized that we had lost half of our group to sea-sickness.  Most girls had their heads in buckets for the rest of the trip home while the rest of us were absolutely freezing!  It may have been the coldest I have ever been in my life.  They served us hot chocolate and cookies back on land but it took quite some time to restore body temperature.  Thank goodness the trip wasn't cancelled!  The dolphin encounters of Kaikoura turned out to be one of the best parts of my trip!!

                I came out to find Maria talking to officials because our car battery was dead- someone left the lights on.  That person’s name may have rhymed with “Terry” but there is not enough evidence to place full blame.  We had a delicious meal right in the café and then I drove us on the beautifully scenic road to Hanmer Springs.  I didn’t think I could be further impressed by the scenery in this country but, sure enough, I was.

                The Hanmer Springs were kind of nasty.  I felt like I was at Disney World- the pools were so overcrowded and there were kids everywhere.  I don’t consider a hot pool experience appropriate for a child.  We spent a few hours in the human cess pools and then drove as far as Christ Church before staying on the side of the road.  Our last night before going our separate ways.

We were blown away by the beautiful blue water of Akiemore the following day!  God, it honestly turned me on!  I was hot for this water!  I just wanted to pour it all over my skin.  The drive to Omarama was outstanding due to the mountains surrounding this pristine water.   I’ll never see anything like that again.  Incredible. 



                The next leg of my journey was a gutsy one.  I was going to hitchhike for the first time from Omarama to Queenstown (about 2 hours).  Maria was worried when she left for the hunting lodge but said she would check in several times that evening.  I put my bags on the side of the road and stuck out my thumb.  It was not a heavily populated road and there seemed to be a lot of older couples not interested in accommodating a third passenger.  After about 20 cars, a nice BMW pulled up with a handsome man named Charles.  I asked where he was going (because you’re not supposed to say where you’re going just in case the person’s weird and you want to get out earlier) and he said near Queenstown.  He helped me with my bag and reassuringly said, ‘I used to do this all the time when I was younger so I’m happy to help.’

                Charles was awesome!  He was a father of three and husband of one.  He worked for himself in capital introduction for hedge funds around New Zealand so we talked shop!  He had worked in NYC for 7 years as an international sales trader for Credit Suisse.  He had a fabulous life.  His wife was also self-employed as an interior decorator and they sounded like the ultimate power couple.  They vacationed for three months every year with (and without) their kids all over the world!  I’m not sure how but he remained modest when telling me about the different locations we passed.  He would nonchalantly say that his uncle owned the upcoming town.  Granted the town had a population of 50 and consisted of a general store, café, and souvenir shop…but his uncle owned them all.  And then the next town was covered by wineries, which were owned by their close family friend.  His cousin’s family owned a 4000 sq mile hunting lodge in the next town after that and his wife’s family owned the winery in the town after that!  I was beginning to notice a theme here.  The country was only 4 million people and 2 million of them live in Auckland.  So if you grew up in an area outside of Queenstown like he did, you would know everyone.  And one person would own most of the town.  He was kind enough to stop off at the famous AJ Hackett Bungy location but we couldn’t stay long enough to watch anyone jump.  He knew the famous guys that started that as well. Haha.

                He dropped me off near Arrowtown and I stuck my thumb out again.  The next guy had a nice car as well but the windows were tinted, which is always alarming.  He was probably about 60 years old and was an insurance adjuster.  We had a brief 15 minutes together before he dropped me outside of Queenstown.  For the last 5km, a younger guy welcomed me into his beat up car reeking of cigarettes.  Hitchhikers could not be choosers and I was grateful to make it to Queenstown alive.  I was proud to have done it alone.  Hitchhiking in NZ was easy-peezy!   J

                Heading back to the North Island tomorrow for the last few days in New Zealand.

Lake Aviemore



Lake Aviemore