New Zealand. Kaikoura day 1

So we set off from the bumpy roads of Christchurch bright and early and made our way to Kaikoura. No stops today other than the standard bakery stop. We had to get to Kaikoura in time for us to do our activities! Kaikoura means something about eating crayfish but is also one of the only places you can swim with dolphins and watch whales. I chose to swim with dolphins as had even keen to do this since feeling that I missed out in the Bay of Islands. 

So we got to the centre and got kitted up in wetsuits and with flippers and snorkel. We were told that the weather conditions were slight to moderate and to expect if to be a  bit rocky. We got onto our boats and about 100m in it was clear that it was more than a bit rocky! It was so rough! The captain made an announcement that we could turn back and let anyone off who thought that they would not be ok, but no one wanted to so we headed off. We all headed to the bak of the boat! This was the type of bumpiness that I had been expecting on the ferry crossing! It took about 20 minutes to locate the pod of dolphins and then we could get in! I got in and was instantly freaked out that I was in the open Ocean and there was going to be big animal swimming around me. I was almost hyperventilating in my snorkel. I was petrified and felt very alone in the water. There was no one close to me. You were supposed to make noise in the water to attract the dolphins attention and make them interested in you and want to play near you. The only noise I could make was the of panic and hyperventilation! I saw one dolphin swim under me and it was cool but also really scary! We had to get back into the boat as the pod had moved on which was a challenge in itself, I felt like one of the fur seals I had seen trying to get onto the rock amongst massive swells! We were allowed to go in with the dolphins 5 tines and I went in all 5 times. My fear was still there but I did manage to calm myself down more. The second time we went in I saw so many dolphins and I'm sure I heard them clicking!!!! There was about 250 in the pod and it was amazing and scary to see them swimming towards you riding the waves and then swimming underneath you! So scary but amazing also. The water was so choppy that there was a lot if people being sick. A lot of people stated out of the water hugging buckets, but I felt a lot better being in the sea. The wetsuit balaclava did not help me feel less sick as it was horrible having touching my neck. After the 5th swim I was looking forwards to getting it off and undoing my wetsuit. 

After the final swim we saw some albatrosses but I could not care less as I was feeling so sick! I had hardly eaten today and I was glad as I chucked up in a bucket. After that I was fine and managed to take some photos. They were a bit rubbish so hoping to find some on Facebook of my friends who also did it!